SNMP Vulnerability - 'Your home devices could be at risk' letter

[SnJ]

I have received quite a few of these letters from VirginMedia and each one pees me off every time it lands on my doorstep.

It says ' To fix this problem please visit www.virgimedia.com/snmp for guidance on how to secure your network' 

these are the instructions that are posted for me to follow

The easiest way to deal with SNMP threats/vulnerabilities is to configure your firewall to block UDP ports 161 and 162.

It is worth noting that blocking these ports will only stop traffic over that port leaving or entering your home network. Services within your home that use ports 161 and 162 should continue to work as normal.

Hub 3

To close the vulnerable port on the Virgin Media Hub 3:

• Access your Hub's configuration page - default web address: 192.168.0.1
• Login with your username and password, default will be shown on the Hub itself
• Select Security on the left side of the page
• Select the Port Forwarding option
• Remove any rules that will keep ports 161 & 162 open
  YOU CAN'T REMOVE ANY RULES!!!
• Select the Port Triggering option
• Remove any rules that will keep ports 161 & 162 open
  YOU CAN'T REMOVE ANY RULES!!!

So how do I prevent this happening then if i can't remove any rules????

I will be very blunt - Virgin, your approach to customer service and assistance is sh*t. I cannot verbally discuss this issue with anyone who has a clue what I am talking about because there are no telephone numbers for me to call. 

I am fed up now.... 😞

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @SnJ

Thank you so much for your post and I am so sorry to hear this has happened! It sounds incredibly frustrating and I would really like to be able to look into this further for you! 

I'm going to send you a PM now so we can further investigate, please keep an eye out for the purple envelope in the top right corner of your screen alerting you to a new message.

Thank you. 

[Villain]

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem - I have had two letters now, additionally - I called the helpdesk, but they are totally useless. One of them asked me to reset my Hub by pressing the reset button on the back of the router. I'm not sure if this has fixed the problem.

Also, I'd like to know how this has happened, nobody in my household could have gone into the router settings to inadvertently cause this SNMP Vulnerability issue.

[Nathan_B]

Hi there @Villain, welcome to our forum and thanks for your post.

I'm sorry to see that you have not had any clarification as to why this has happened and what has caused it. The letters you have would've given all the info our team are able to provide.

Have you been able to follow the instructions on the letter sent to resolve this?

Let us know if you need any further help.

Regards

Nathan