Member Avatar for newgeekintown

hey guys ,
I have a doubt that if there is worms/virus attacks on the router.
If yes , is there any antivirus for that?

If not Can we use antivirus for that???

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Dani AI

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Short summary and updated guidance (adds to what asked and to points made by , and ):

Modern consumer routers do run embedded operating systems and have been targeted in the wild — not like a PC virus that runs on Windows, but as devices that can be hijacked and used in botnets or to intercept traffic. High-profile examples include Mirai (large IoT botnets) and VPNFilter (multi-stage router malware), which show attackers exploit default credentials, open services and firmware flaws. (cisa.gov)

Common attacker techniques are simple: scan for routers with default logins or exposed management ports, change router DNS to malicious servers, or install persistent firmware modules. These attacks can redirect every device on your LAN or add the router to a DDoS/spy network. Checking for altered DNS, unknown admin users, or unexplained outbound connections is a practical way to detect compromise. (welivesecurity.com)

Practical, immediately usable steps:

  • Change the router admin password from the factory default and use a unique strong passphrase.
  • Update or reflash router firmware from the vendor and enable automatic updates if available.
  • Disable remote management, WPS, and UPnP unless you need them; use WPA3 or WPA2/AES for Wi‑Fi.
  • Put IoT devices on a guest network or VLAN and monitor DNS settings and attached devices.
  • If you suspect compromise: reboot (clears memory-resident malware), then factory-reset and reflash official firmware before reconnecting; contact your ISP/vendor if unsure. (cisa.gov)

Advanced option and caution: flashing third‑party firmware (OpenWrt, etc.) can improve control and patch cadence for some models, but it requires technical skill and vigilance — third‑party projects also issue security advisories and occasional high‑severity fixes. Decide based on skill, device support and update practices. (routersecurity.org)

This brings the thread up to date: routers are not immune, but simple hygiene (passwords, firmware, remote services, network segmentation) stops most attacks.

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Member Avatar for Kraai

To the best of my knowlege, there is no such thing as a virus attack on a router. There is no operating system in a router to attack. You need a computer to access a router, so it would not make sense to disable a router in the first place, as there are no benefit in it for the virus creator, who wants the virus to spread, and a dead router cannot help in that.

There can be attacks on your router by someone that wants to access it, to steal your bandwidth, or to access your computer, that can happen.

The only "antivirus" for this kind of attacks is to make sure you use a very strong username and password to access your router and your internet account, and not the router default passwords.

Member Avatar for SecLoRum

I think non, because routers only deliver data(transferring, sharing). If there would be problems on the router its definitely not a virus. Might be a wrong connections in pc or etc, something like that. But somehow it is possible that there is a virus that attacks the computer by screwing up the function of routers, for example maybe, automatically sending your files to a computer that is connected by the router. But I haven't heard so far something like that before. It's always been the Central Processing Unit that is always damage by such viruses, it is the one that controls all things in your computer anyway. And also, viruses only infects your pc, not the other external devices, not the mouse, the printer, not the storage devices (but it can do copies and multiply in it), nor the speakers, nor the monitor, and most likely not a ROUTER. Lastly if there a virus that attacks router i think many would've known it because routers today are widely-use. Hope I helped. :)

Member Avatar for rch1231

There is an operating system on the router however it is normally chip based and not easy to hack. Try this site for a discussion on the CISCO-IOS used on CISCO routers and listing of links to other OS's used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_IOS

Member Avatar for youwill

The router will almost never heard of the virus

Because there is no way the virus to infect it

Member Avatar for traskdigital

I think virus can not attached on router.Virus can be affected only system as well as application software.

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