Netgear releases patched firmware to fix vulnerability.........

Pretty sure I've never allowed it. There are those that do it though so they can access their home network remotely. I wouldn't do it, not worth the risk. 

Ah but I'm so afraid to touch my nighthawk!! Thanks for the info, sgoshe.

Amanda

So has the fix been officially made available to the general public yet?  If so, how does one know if they need the fix for their particular NetGear box?  Does it affect the boxes we were issued, or in my case, had replaced by NetGear in general, or just specific ones?  How do we tell if we have one of them?  Sorry for all the questions, still learning.

Cuddlebug, it is available here and affects the eight router models listed: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29959

You can go into your router web management interface by typing its IP address into your browser search bar and hitting enter. There will be able to see what version of firmware you have.

If you don't have remote access enabled on your router then the only way someone could hack into it is if they had access to it on your internal network. Many people enable remote access for various reasons and they are the ones who are really vulnerable.

Thanks sgoshe.  One more question, about remote access, does that count the time home tech support had me turn over control of my computer to them so they could analyze and solve the problem?  I thought that was alright to do.  I hope I did not mess up there.

Depends, remote access through Windows is different from remote access through the router. I believe they do it through the OS but have never dealt with them. Maybe someone else will have the exact answer.

Pretty sure it is through the OS though because you'd know if you went into the router and enabled it. Besides, they only need access to your computer, not the whole network.

I would make sure remote access on your computer is turned off now along with the router.