I think I am looking at the current scenario from a biased point of view, yes it's good to secure your router - lakini the alarm created is needless, for a typical installation supporting pcs and mobile devices - there is nothing to be worried about even if by chance someone managed to log into your router, a logger can not be installed on your pc via the router nor can your files be stolen via the same.

But I am not an IT expert, so not in a position of authority to discuss access via the router, through the ftp server on the router to your pictures folder on your pc.

Actually you should be very concerned ... once someone has access to your router especially one which has vpn capability, port forwarding etc they can create havoc on your network, open back doors and all manner of horrors on your network

. Intruder is able to see all connected devices, thus can check for all running services , if a vulnerability is found they can easily push a script on your devices and that's it , next time you double click on what you think is Microsoft word ....

Lets all be responsible and just be sure to ask your installer for all your credentials and change them.

Be sure to change

1. Wifi SSID ( wireless network name ) and password ...most likely they use the same all over

2. router management credentials ( most devices come with a friendly explanation on the right that explains what each setting does )

The fear mongering on this thread is getting ridiculous. Will you apply these measures when you visit a friend? Or how about public wifi?

In the domain of IT, security should not limit usability.

hah hah hah ..you cannot be serious! Go ahead and reset your enterprise routers to default then post back.

The simple fact that someone can actually see your network is doom.

now how will they steal my pictures on my android phone connected to my home router, as I said there is no need for alarm, for a kawaida home setup,actually my worry would be more on the online actions of the users - the router is the first line of defense in the network, don't undermine that small box - in its default settings it provides decent security for the kawaida home setup.

Have you done a brute force? most people are not bothered to do so due to the effort vs reward, they just check if you are using default creds and thats it ( why make it easy for someone to come in, if you were to use this principle , the please do go ahead and leave your gate and front door open, just because the people in the inside can get out ), Please note we are not talking of SSID or local network, we are talking of someone in China or Russia or jkuat on a coffee break who has done an nmap scan of the zuku block of ips.

Good for you for not having your data online. :)

my whole concern with all this exploits, man in the middle, hacking, creating vpns and somehow managing to make all the pcs on the network join in that vpn, is that its causing alarm for nothing.

for a kawaida home setup there is nothing to worry about, you are better off worrying about the sites you visit, and updating your antivirus - especially if you are using ms windows nodes.

its easy walking along hapo mutindawa in umoja, marveling at the beautiful sofas, seeing all the flimsy mbao structures they are stored in at night, but its another thing altogether tying stealing those sofas.

@speculz, Scaremongering gets alot of IT guys security related work but I am not convinced that an insecure router can lead to loss of data, it takes much more than that.
Considering the fact that this small box just passes the packets to another box and another box until they get to my destination, a would be hacker has more to gain initiating his mitm attack closer to the destination where there are more gains than at the source.

I won't loose sleep over some idiot phishing through cable customers' routers. Just like you mentioned effort vs reward.
The real gold is sitting elsewhere and the real data thieves know that.