Routers at risk, Canadian chaos, and a Hidden Cobra | Avast

FBI advises Americans to reset their routers

Last week, we reported how the FBI had seized a key domain to the botnet VPNFilter. That story continued yesterday when the Bureau publicly asked all US residents to reboot their routers. The advice comes with the knowledge that while VPNFilter can take control of a router, part of the malware can be easily kicked off the system with a simple reboot — turning the device off for a moment. This renders the malicious program harmless, though the router can be reinfected. To prevent that, users are also advised to make sure the router’s security is fully up to date and the password has been changed from the default to a suitably complex one. The malware attacks many kinds of routers, most notably Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, and TP-Link. Each of those companies have posted further detailed instructions to combat VPNFilter on their websites.