Virus question

Poppa_Viagra's Avatar
Is it possible to get a virus that resides in you router instead of in your 'puter?

My (wireless, cable) internet connection seems to have slowed down of late, the antivirus on my laptop finds nothing, and my cable box response to the remote control is also slowed.

Am I paraniod or am I just being followed?
Mokoa's Avatar
  • Mokoa
  • 07-24-2012, 12:39 PM
Who knows. It appears to me that you need to contact your cable TV provider to check for any issues with the connection and the cable box. Rule those out first.

Yes, there are viruses that have been known to infiltrate routers.
jframe2's Avatar
Have you tried a firmware update on the router? If it is 1-2 years old you should check into this by going to the manufacturer website and do a little research.
before you do all this try connecting to the router with a network cable and see if it is faster... also if you have a friend who has a laptop have them do the same..if its faster then its not the router, but some wireless interference if it only happens while on wireless.

power cycle the router as well. try going to speedtest.net and do a few tests..
There is a virus that will even infect a digital camera but most usually USB sticks
Nasty little bugger
Makes XP turn on ' hide hidden files' cannot make them visible or see hidden files
Does not bother Windows ME or 98
Gotyour6's Avatar
It would be hard to get a virus on a router and doing this for 21 years I doubt you have one.

1) Reboot the router
2) Clean up your computer and run vipre rescue in safe mode.
3) reboot your computer.

You can update your firmware but I doubt this will resolve anything. It does help the router though.
As long as you dont have to many things on your router like forwards or VPN settings you can always reset the modem to factory.

Most of the time in order to get your rig running smooth again you should backup all of your document, songs and pictures and blow it away.



Your antivirus wont help you with malware. Vipre rescue will find it.

http://live.vipreantivirus.com/
It is ABSOLUTELY possible to get a virus on a router, and simply rebooting the router does not fix it; nor does holding the reset button/pin for 15 seconds. If you have the original disk that came with the router, use that to reset the router to factory condition, then take the time to encrypt the router signal and put the password on all your computers/wireless devices. If you do not have the disc, you can usually get the owner manual as a pdf from the manufacturer website.

I bet you are getting "redirects" all the time, especially when doing google searches. And Yahoo is giving you fits, if you use that. And ohmygod, please tell me you don't use AOL. Anyway, reset the router to factory, encrypt, be happy.
Gotyour6's Avatar
Lol, you don't use a cd to reset a router. A virus on a router is next to impossible to get and it wouldnt be for a home router.

The only thing a cd will do is the same as a reset by holding the reset button. No one I know has ever used a cd lol.

Just to let you know, I am a CIO for an engineering firm who designs networks for airports.

Reset the router only if needed. Definitely reboot it and use the tools I posted.

I make an ass load of money doing this and I can assure you that I know what I am talking about. If its your router i will buy you a new one and a notebook of your choice. I want the router with the virus on it.

Eta: the way your router could be screwed up if you didn't set a wireless password and someone changed your settings.
AV does not detect everything ... Having said that, I recommend doing the following: ...

1 - Check with your ISP to see if they are throttling or doing something that reduced your bandwidth.

2 - Check the tasks that are running on your puter for anything that may be a resource hog (via Taskmanager). Also look for any running processes that look suspicious

3 - Check you network performance (via Taskmanager)

4- Scan your pc via Kaspersky online

5 - Run a full scan via Malware Anti-Bytes.