D-Link has added CAPTCHA confirmations to some of their routers, ensuring that the entity trying to log into your super router is a human and not an animal or robot.
For those not in the know, CAPTCHA is essentially a challenge-response test that separates robots from humans. If you’ve ever seen those squiggly graphics you sometimes have to type in to confirm a web-form submission, you’ve seen a CAPTCHA. By adding CAPTCHA D-Link ensures that automated attacks on most routers are difficult – but not impossible – for hackers to carry out. CAPTCHA isn’t 100% secure, obviously, so this is a deterrent not a preventative measure.
D-LINK FIRST TO ADD CAPTCHA
TO ITS HOME ROUTERS TO HELP
PREVENT AGAINST ATTACKSAdditional Safety Measure Helps Defend Computers from
Worms, Viruses and Other Growing Security ThreatsFOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., May 12, 2009 – A series of recent Internet security attacks on home and small office computers are compromising networks where users least expect it – their routers. These malicious software invasions, in which users unknowingly download a Trojan horse when performing common tasks, invade the router to detect wireless capabilities, then alter the victim’s domain name system (DNS) records so that all future traffic is diverted through the, attackers’ network first.
In response to the growing number of these attacks and subsequent user security concerns, D-Link has integrated CAPTCHA – a system, designed to detect whether responses are human or computer-generated – into its popular home and small office routers as an extra safety measure. CAPTCHAs are used to prevent malicious software from performing actions that degrade the quality of service on a network, such as those found in worms, viruses and Trojan horses.
The term CAPTCHA is an acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. CAPTCHA is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that responses are generated by humans, not computers. A common type of CAPTCHA requires the user to type letters or numbers from a distorted image that appears on the screen.
“Unlike other brands, the majority of D-Link® routers are not as easy to be compromised since our design is proprietary. However, we’re excited to be the first in the market to announce we have taken the initiative to implement CAPTCHA into our routers, thus providing yet another layer of security to our customers,” said AJ Wang, chief technology officer of D-Link.
Popular D-Link router models that now feature CAPTCHA include the DIR-615, DIR-625, DIR-628, DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855, DIR-685, and DGL-4500. To upgrade routers with CAPTCHA, customers need to visit support.dlink.com to download the upgrade.