New security threat identified

A new security threat preys on people who use the default password on their home broadband routers, according to security experts.

In a process that has been dubbed 'pharming', hackers could hijack your router and then send you to a malicious website designed to steal your data when you think you are logging into your bank account.

The attacks are effective because many people who set up home networks don't bother to change the default password on their routers. This means that hackers who have detected your Wi-Fi network can take over the router and use it to mis-direct you every time you use the internet.

Even if you are certain you've entered the URL for a website correctly, the hackers can direct you to just about any website they want, as they have changed your DNS server settings.

DNS stands for Domain Name System and it is the directory that your router uses when you access the internet. If a hacker has your password then they can quite easily adjust the DNS server settings to send you to a 'spoofed' website - for example, a site that looks just like your bank's but is actually designed to steal your login details.

Zulfikar Ramzan posted a warning about this type of attack on the Symantec website last week and suggested that everyone using a home Wi-Fi router should make sure that they change the password from the default to something unique.

How you change the password differs depending on who the hardware manufacturer is so it is recommended that you check on the vendor's website.

For more information on how to secure your home Wi-Fi network, click here.

http://www.symantec.com/

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