Email from VM - Security Alert – Remote Desktop Protocol server notification

[Jixarixie]

Hi, I’m new here, and not all that tech savvy…

I received an email from Virgin Media the other day informing me that a Device on my network has been configured as a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) server.

When I confronted my teenage son, it’s turned out that he had done it, without my permission (I am the bill payer - It’s my account). 

The Virgin Media email, said “if you no longer or never did need Remote Desktop Protocol access from outside your home, please visit virginmedia.com/rdp “

The advice on the page I landed on, told me to access the router, but when I put the router password in, on the router admin page, The password did not work. I tried it three times, in case I had made an error, but still it did not work.

I believe that my son has probably changed the password, (again without my permission). He probably thought I would never notice!

How can I go about changing the router password back to the default again? (Or, perhaps to a password that only I know instead, so he can’t make changes like this again in future!)

if I change the router password, does that mean that I will lose access to the Wi-Fi on all my devices? i.e. Phone /doorbell etc, And if so, how would I be able to access the Wi-Fi again?

Thanks in advance for any help - (I really am clueless about all this stuff, so please reply using easy to understand words/instructions!)

[goslow · Accepted solution]

The password defaults are on a sticker on the hub. Make sure you can see/read the sticker before resetting.

To log into the hub you need the settings password (not the wi-fi password)

You can use a pinhole reset to put the hub back to its factory conditions. See

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Unable-to-log-into-HUB5-constant-issues/m-p...

If your wifi devices use the default setup from the hub sticker then you should not need to change anything. They will disconnect temporarily when the hub is resetting.

As for any future changes to limit the activities of your teenage son, they may be a waste of time as he may simply reset the hub again ... instead it might be time for a reminder that (in your own words) "I am the bill payer - It’s my account"!

[Jixarixie]

Thanks for your Reply, goslow,

The password I was entering in, was the settings password and not the WiFi password. 

if I do the pinhole reset, will the password revert back to the one shown on the router?

Also, is there any way that I can block the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) server, that he has set up? If so, how would I do that?

[goslow]

Sounds like your son has put in his own admin password for the hub. A pinhole reset should put it back to the values shown on the sticker underneath.

Resetting the hub should remove the settings he has created for RDP.

[Jixarixie]

Thanks goslow, that’s reassuring.

I’m going to try to reset the router later once he goes out. He’s admitted to changing the password.

If I reset the hub, once it’s completed, will all of my devices (phone, doorbell, etc) automatically reconnect to it afterwards? Or will I have to do all of those manually?

thanks

[goslow]

If your wi-fi devices used the default wi-fi settings from the hub (as shown on the sticker under the hub) then they will briefly disconnect as the hub reboots and should reconnect themselves once the hub has restarted.

If any fail to reconnect you may need to restart the device or maybe re-enter the wi-fi info from the hub sticker.

If necessary to do that, that might be a suitable way for your son to apply his tech skills but under your supervision!

[Jixarixie]

Thank you, that is very helpful. 

Next question…

I went on the Virgin Media connect app, And an alert flagged up saying “ We detected multiple Wi-Fi networks” 

underneath it says “you have to merge all Wi-Fi bands, before entering your network info, via our app” - underneath that, there is a button to press to potentially merge - I don’t know what he has done here? 🤷‍, could you explain the implications of merging, and what I am merging, exactly, too, please?

[goslow]

That's an additional complication as far as resetting the hub and reconnecting your wi-fi devices. You will probably need to find out more info from your son before resetting the hub.

The wifi from your hub works on two frequencies at the same time (2.4GHz and 5GHz). When you are trying to connect to your wifi network you look for your hub wi-fi name which will typically look like VM1234567.

By default (and after a reset) the 2.4GHz signal and the 5GHz signal both use exactly the same name so to find your wifi network you look for VM1234567 (your own network name is the SSID name from the hub sticker) and you tell your device to connect to that.

Some devices, however, are only capable of using the 2.4GHz frequency band and can be difficult to connect when the two frequency bands use exactly the same name.

To get around this, it is possible to give each frequency band its own name (which allows the 2.4GHz devices to find, and connect to, the network). This can be changed via the settings for the hub.

So, when the wifi on the hub has been split in that way, your hub may then show two separate wifi names such as

VM1234567_2 and VM1234567_5

for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands separately.

Depending on what devices you are connecting to your wifi network, this might actually be a good/necessary thing to do in order to allow particular devices a reliable connection.

It sounds like your son has split the wifi bands.

If you reset the hub, it will revert back to the single name (e.g. VM1234567) and your devices may not recognise that single name and may no longer connect. You may have to re-enter the wifi details again for the single wifi name or you may have to re-enter the split names/password back into the hub which should then allow your devices to reconnect again without reconfiguring them.

I think you will have to involve your son in this to find out more about what he has done and why he has done it.

Who set up the hub and the wi-fi devices in the first place? Was it your son acting in an 'authorised' capacity when he did so?

Personally I would recommend doing any changes to the hub through a login via a web browser. The VM Connect app is probably more trouble than it is worth.

[Jixarixie]

Thank you for your excellent reply.

1. What information would I need to find out from my son before resetting the hub?

2. I did ask him if he had split the bands, but he denied doing that. Could there be another possible reason for the alert message that I got?

3. When I look at the list of Wi-Fi names available, only one comes up with our Wi-Fi name, I’m not seeing ones with a _1, or _2 tagged on at the end, however, he may have adjusted the name so that it would not stand out, as it were (basically, so that I wouldn’t notice!).

4. Virgin Media Centre sent an engineer out, to set up everything for me, my son was not involved, and I did not give him authorisation to do any of the setting up, nor to make any changes in this way.

5. I did try to login using the browser initially today, but seeing as he’s changed the password, I could not login. That’s when I looked at the Virgin Media connect app, which allowed me to see what devices are connected, and that’s where I saw the alert about there being multiple Wi-Fi networks, on my account, (I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

6. I’m seriously considering cancelling my contract, and just using my phone for Internet use. I have asked my son to give me the password for the router, and he has refused. It doesn’t leave me much choice, as like you said in a previous comment - even if I reset the router now, there is nothing stopping him from doing this again.

[goslow]

When you look for your wireless network, you should see the wireless network name that is printed on the bottom of the VM hub (something like VM1234567).

If your son is in non-cooperation mode, as far as telling you what he has done and remedying it, then the only way you will get back into the VM hub, and regain control of it, is to do the factory pinhole reset.

If he won't tell you the password he has effectively locked you out of it.

Worst case is that you might have to go around your wifi devices and re-enter the wifi info from the sticker underneath.

If you find that some devices struggle to reconnect you will have to cross that bridge when you come to it.

The amount of time/effort involved will depend on what changes he has made and how many devices in your home use wifi.

If you think he has made further unauthorised changes in the future you could just reset the hub again. If your own wifi devices are using the default settings, then a hub reset in the future will only remove his custom changes (which will be at his inconvenience).