Is Your Router Wide Open?

When it comes to the Internet black people are sometimes unaware of the little things that are happening all around them.  For example how many black people knew that there are maps online that can show every house and every WiFi network and even the devices that are on the network in your home?

Everything in your house that is online has two distinct numbers. One is a MAC address and the other is an IP address. These are exactly what they say they are, addresses. A MAC address or media access control address is a unique set of numbers assigned to each device on a network. It is a permanent number that is assigned when the product is manufactured. Sometimes it is called a physical address.

The other number or address is the IP address. An IP address is a unique set of numbers separated by periods that identifies each computer using the Internet Protocol to communicate over the Internet. Your laptop, your printer, your set top box, your smartphone, your tablet and your router all have a MAC and IP address. And that is where the problem begins.

Every home that connects to the Internet has a router. Its the front door to your home network. Its the entry and exit  for everything on the Internet you ask for and many things you don’t.  You probably leave it wide open.

The router can be hard wired and all your equipment is connected to it via a wire of some type. Or it can be a wireless router that allows the devices in your home to connect via radio waves. That router is the only thing standing between you and the jungle we call the Internet.

A wired and wireless router

The one thing you need to know about that router is that it has a password and if you have not changed that password then any hacker can, and may have already, been on your home network.

Anyone can get the password to your router simply by going to any one of several websites that have a list of default passwords. One of the sites that reveals default passwords is Routerpasswords.com. This site allows you to search by the brand name of the router. Just select the brand name and the password is revealed. Another website for router passwords is Portforward.com and there is PCwintech.com. The message being; it is easy to get your router password if you have not changed it.

The next question you may ask is how would someone know what router is in my house? That is a simple answer as well. They simply go to a website that displays maps of home networks. Yes; I said that your home network is located on a map on the Internet. Wigle.net will show you what networks are on in any neighborhood in the world! Simply go to the site and enter the needed information and you will probably find your own network. Not only will you find your home network mapped out but your equipment may be identified by brand name. Google has mapped every WiFi network in England.

Here are a few steps you need to take if you have not already. First get a hold of your Internet provider and ask them to help you rename your router to keep it from revealing who you are and where you are. Don’t use any information that will tell people who that router belongs to. Something simple such as an odd mixture of numbers and letters like JK44RC578. Then change your password so no one can break into your network. Its the simple things that will protect you.

Now you know.