RouterCheck for Android tests your router's security
How secure is the router your computer and devices are connected to whenever you are using the Internet? The free Android app RouterCheck tries to find that out by running a series of tests to reveal security issues or even vulnerabilities affecting the router.
Most home computer users connect to the Internet using a router or modem making these devices the gateway to the Internet.
What many don't know is that these devices may be as vulnerable to attacks as computer systems.
Kevin published a guide recently about securing a wireless router properly recommending the use of a new strong admin password for it, the right type of encryption for wireless connections and other best practices.
But security goes even beyond that. For instance, unless routers are configured to update automatically when new firmware is released, they may operate using old firmware that may make the device vulnerable to attacks.
RouterCheck is a free app for Android that scans the router for known vulnerabilities but also for common issues like open ports or an insecure admin password that can be fixed immediately by the user.
Tap on the "check my router" button when the main interface has loaded to start the test. You need to confirm that you are the owner of the router or home network before you can run tests.
The test itself won't take longer than a minute to complete and a detailed report is presented to you in the end.
The report lists the finding of the tests and you may want to go through all of them one by one to fix issues found by the app.
Results are color coded: green means ok, blue that the test could not be performed, yellow issues that you may want to address and there may also be red for severe issues but I could not confirm that.
An option to fix the issue is displayed for each yellow issue in the interface. For instance, you may receive a warning that your router is pingable. If you click on the fix button you are taken to a page that describes why that is a problem and how to fix it.
It needs to be noted that the instructions are general in nature as routers may use different menu names and navigational structures. The information provided are extensive on the other hand and should help even inexperienced users correct it.
The app checks several important values and preferences including the admin password, the type of wireless security used (if any), and whether the router is vulnerable to a set of known vulnerabilities (currently three in total).
The explanations and instructions provided help understand why something is an issue, why it is better fixed and how that is done.
Verdict
RouterCheck is a useful application for Android that checks whether your router is configured properly security-wise.
While you may not have an issue with all issues the app recommends to fix, the vulnerability check alone makes it worth running at least once.
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?