![]() "The Circle update daemon that contains the vulnerability is enabled to run by default, even if you haven't configured your router to use the parental control features," explained Adam Nichols of the D.C.-area security firm GRIMM in a blog post. ( Bleeping Computer earlier reported this story.) Here's the catch: If you have one of the affected routers, the vulnerable Circle software is on your device regardless of whether you ever ponied up the $4.99 monthly charge for the Circle feature. The Orbis and newer Wi-Fi 6 Nighthawks got parental-control software built in-house by Netgear earlier this year, while the Circle service was discontinued for older Nighthawk models in late 2020. The problem here stems from the Disney-designed Circle parental-control feature, which was rolled out to Netgear Nighthawk and Orbi mesh routers, some of them already in customers' homes, as an optional add-on feature in 2017. Follow the web administrative-interface instructions in the paragraph above, and then click the check-for-update button instead of uploading a file from your PC or Mac. However, for most of these routers, it's going to be just as easy to download the firmware update directly to the router. You can upload the file to the router from there. The Genie app also allows users to stream media from storage devices connected to the router through the mobile interface, giving the opportunity to select from various sources and formats.Then use your favorite web browser to access your router's administrative interface (it's most likely at ), click the Advanced tab, select Administration and click Router Update. My MediaĪs of the writing of this article, here are the routers supported by the Genie mobile app:įor more information, see NETGEAR's official site. The built in traffic meter gives you at-a-glance information about the traffic and bandwidth used by the network. With a free OpenDNS account, parental controls can be set up from directly within the app.Īll one really has to do is input login settings and the app takes care of the rest of the interaction, based on the filtering settings chosen. Network MapĮven though a list of network attached devices can be accessed from the router directly, the Genie app makes this a visual thing, enabling users to see quickly what's accessing your network.ĭetails of each device can be accessed, including the signal strength, MAC address, and other statistics of each. Have friends or co-workers over and discover last-minute that you forgot to set up Wi-Fi access for them? Use the NETGEAR Genie app to set up a guest network for them in a jiffy. Once inside the app, the settings of the main wireless network can be tweaked directly, including the SSID, password, and wireless channel. Once the login is completed, the user has access to all the main features of the app through a colorful and straightforward interface. Once the app is installed, a login is required, just as if the router was being logged in to. I took the app for a spin on my Samsung Galaxy SII to see what it's capable of. NETGEAR is now taking the convenience factor a step further and has bestowed upon us a mobile app, available for lovers of both Apple and Android. We cover the NETGEAR Genie in our WNDR3800 review and also demo it in our video. For a while now, several newer NETGEAR wireless routers have been shipping with support for a utility called "NETGEAR Genie." In a nutshell, NETGEAR Genie allows you to manage a variety of settings for your router directly from your desktop, without having to log in to a browser window, making it easy to tweak settings on the fly.
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