Wireless Router IP Change and Security

Euclid

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Jan 13, 2000
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My new wireless router has a default IP that it uses (192.168.0.1).
Are there any compelling security reasons to change this to something else?
If so, will any address do?

Thanks.
 

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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Nah, if the Wireless Clients is set to Auto Obtain IP, it would pick any 802.11b that can assign any valid IP.

However if you have (example) 3 computers and you restrict the DHCP to three IPs. When the three computers are on there is no more available IP for an intruder.

More here: Wireless Security.

:sun:
 

Euclid

Member
Jan 13, 2000
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Thanks for the quick response.

I was thinking more of the base IP of the device itself.

Meaning that the device has an ip of 192.168.0.1 by default.
The DHCP assigns ip's from 192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.199

I have the option of changing the device ip to say 210.210.0.1
and thus causing the DHCP to assign ip's from 210.210.0.100 - 210.210.0.199

In other words, does it give the potential hacker any advantage in knowing
that many routers come with a default ip of 192.168.0.1?
(given of course that all passwords are changed, mac filtering on,DHCP ranges shortened as you suggested, WAN pings disabled, etc etc)
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
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You should keep it an RFC1918 compliant address (192.168.0.0/24, 172.16.0.0/16, 10.0.0.0/8). Changing the default address of the WAP is basically just a security through obscurity option. It doesn't provide much, or any for someone that knows what they are doing, but it's not necessarily a bad option.

It's a small piece of information that would be easy to get.