Has your router been seized?

Do you know if your router has been hijacked? You might not have any clue how to answer that question. But, fortunately for you, there’s a simple way to find out… and it’s free and fast!

But, why would you even need to check? Because routers can also be hacked and infected just like any computer can! Routers are not immune to the attacks of cyber criminals. Most people don’t pay much attention to their routers once they are up and running, but a compromised one could put users at risk for a very long time.

DNS hacking can lead to all kinds of horrible problems; it can lead to a flood of harmful advertising or push you towards phishing sites in order to try and steal your credentials for your banking, email and social network accounts.

That’s why security experts at F-secure just announced the launch of their Router Checker tool. It’s a dead-simple way to find out whether or not your DNS is working just the way it should. The best thing is, there’s no app to download and install, and it’s just a website that you can visit with any modern browser. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera should all work just fine!

All you have to do is Click on the “Start now” button, and the Router Checker tests to see if DNS requests sent from your device are being routed as they should be or whether they’re being hijacked by a third party. If you test your computer or smartphone and see yellow, it’s not necessarily a reason to panic; just proceed with caution until you can dig a bit deeper.

Some of us might have things at home locked down well enough that you don’t even need to use the Router Checker. Still, it is a nice site to bookmark and pull when you’re connecting to less trustworthy access points, always keep in mind that your router can be hacked too!

Contact The Computer Guyz in Cape Town or Centurion for all your IT services. From general IT support and repairs to graphic design and website hosting.

Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz in Cape Town