NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
wifi preset name and password for model R6120
Is there a good isecurity reason to change the preset name and password for the R6120 router wifi or is it safe to just leave them with the factory presets? My anit-virus complained about a "common name" for the wifi but keeping the presets for the wifi was recommended in the setup. I would appreciate feedback on this issue and would prefer to keep the presets if it is not a security issue. Thank you in advance for your help.
4 Replies
Not a whole lot of concern. If they've got access to the label, they've already got access to your home and router. Having access to the wireless might not be the top priority in that case.
I just prefer to change it so that way I have 1 name because I'm frequently changing routers and I don't have to change every device's settings when I swap.
Thank you. So it's not easier for someone to hack into my wifi because of the default Netgear name? Also a related question - have any firmware updates reset the name and password to the factory presets?
I appreciate hearing from you so quickly today.
> [...] So it's not easier for someone to hack into my wifi because of
> the default Netgear name? [...]Hiding or changing an SSID does little for security. The passphrase
is what matters.If someone knew a good way to break into Netgear routers, then an
SSID like "NETGEARxx" might make it easier to identify your router as a
Netgear router.> [...] have any firmware updates reset the name and password to the
> factory presets?Shouldn't happen, but if the settings get corrupted (by a firmware
update, or some other way), and the router notices it, then the router
might self-reset in an attempt to straighten itself out. One could
program both default and custom credentials into a device, and survive
such an event with little trouble.
> [...] My anit-virus complained about a "common name" for the wifi
> [...]"NETGEARxx" might be considered a "common name". Especially if you
have neighors with Netgear routers, and they don't change their SSIDs.> [...] keeping the presets for the wifi was recommended in the setup.
> [...]I've never understood the reason for that recommendation. Perhaps
the idea was that the typical Netgear customer would choose some more
easily guessed passphrase than the original (two-word composite?) one.
But that wouldn't be a reason to keep the original (lame) SSID.I choose a memorable/distinctive SSID, and a hard-to-guess
passphrase. And I try to ignore nonsensical advice.
