Network Hardware Company Forget To Renew Domains Used By Routers

Got a wireless router or modem? If it’s made by TP-Link you might run into an “interesting” issue.

The company was using the domain tplinklogin.net for their configuration portal for users. Unfortunately for them and their users, they forgot to renew the domain name.

Why they chose an external domain name instead of an IP address or a “fake” domain name is not clear.

In any case every device they shipped up until relatively recently included instructions on the label telling users to go to the site to configure their router.

Here’s an image of one (click to enlarge):

With the domain no longer in TP-Link’s control anything could happen. If the domain were taken over by someone malicious they could wreak havoc on thousands of consumers.

For now the domain isn’t pointing to anything “evil”, but that could change easily.

More on the story here, here and here.

Moral of the story? Don’t forget to renew your domains!!