Forum Discussion
Netgear Routers
Generally, we should be ok because of double-NATing, but it scares me that these probes go out by sequencing through specific IP address ranges and seeing what 'hits'. The majority of hackers probe for vulnerabilities this way.
I think the three main things I would do would be:
1. Make sure the router's firmware is completely up to date. One major thing hackers bet on is that the router still has the firmware it was shipped with, along with all the discovered vulnerabilities. Keeping the router's firmware (as with all software) up to date is imperative.
2. If possible, change the default administrator username from admin, administrator, root, or guest to something less common or recognizable. Those are just the most common that I see. Given that most router's default access is shipped with username: admin, password: admin, a lot of hackers bet that a low-tech user won't have changed it, making it a cakewalk to compromise.
3. Completely disable configuration capability over the Internet. This will completely cut off any access from the outside, allowing only those on the local LAN the ability to administer the router.
This is kind of old (2013), but as you can see, it's basically the same old trick to take control of a router:
Netgear DGN Authentication Bypass / Command Execution
