Last Updated on October 28, 2021 by Dave Farquhar
As you may know, lots of D-Link routers have serious vulnerabilities. Some are patched, some aren’t, and many are being exploited by Javascript on web pages. (See, routers don’t make you invincible.)
The right thing to do is patch. But most exploits will assume that your router lives in the 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x space, whatever the factory default is. So you can get a degree of protection even against future vulnerabilities by moving your IP space somewhere else.I recommend moving elsewhere in the 192.168 range, because many corporate networks use the 10 and 172.16 ranges for their own networks and that can cause issues when you VPN in. Pick a random number, and call your helpdesk at work to find out if it’s going to cause any issues with your VPN if you work from home sometimes.
You still need to keep your firmware up to date of course, but when there are little things you can do that make no difference in your day-to-day life but make things difficult for an attacker, they’re worth doing.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.