Your modem's firmware might be a privacy time bomb

Credit: Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek Published Jul 31, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Monica J. White is a journalist with over a decade of experience in covering technology. She built her first PC nearly 20 years ago, and she has since built and tested dozens of PCs. PC hardware is her main beat, and graphics cards and the GPU market at large are her main area of interest, but she has written thousands of articles covering everything related to PCs, laptops, handhelds, and peripherals. From GPUs and CPUs to headsets and software, Monica's always willing to geek out over all things related to computing. Outside of her work with How-To Geek, Monica contributes to TechRadar, PC Gamer, Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, SlashGear, Whop, and Digital Trends, among others. Her ultimate goal is to make PC gaming and computing approachable and fun to any audience. Monica spends a lot of time elbow-deep in her PC case, as she's always making upgrades, testing something, or plotting out her next build. She's the go-to tech support person in her immediate circle, so she's never out of things to do. Whenever she has spare time, you'll find her gaming until the early hours and hanging out with her dog. Sign in to your How-To Geek account Your modem is probably one of the least-checked devices in your home. After all, how often do you really need to look at it? Only if your internet goes down, I'd imagine. But the forgettable nature of modems is exactly why you should go out of your way to remember their firmware. If an old firmware version leaves your modem vulnerable, the consequences can stretch across the entire network. Your modem runs more software than you probably realize And a lot of it is important Your modem's firmware controls how the hardware starts up, connects to your ISP, negotiates your service, receives configuration data, records errors, and exposes any local status or management pages. Without that software, the modem would have no idea how to turn the signal coming through the cable line into an internet connection your home can actually use. This is also where the distinction between a modem and a router comes into play, because a standalone modem mainly handles the link between your home and the ISP, while your router manages the local network, including Wi-Fi, device addresses, firewall rules, DNS settings, and traffic between devices. But many ISPs combine those two jobs into a single gateway, so chances are that yours has given you one single box that serves as both. This also means that one firmware package essentially covers everything that matters on your entire network ... see what I'm getting at when I say it's pretty important? If your modem/router is of the ISP-issued kind, outdated firmware becomes even more worrying. But if it isn't, don't think that you're getting a free pass. Standalone modems still sit directly at the edge of your connection and may run a whole bunch of important processes that you want to keep as secure as can be. NETGEAR Nighthawk DOCSIS 3.1 Mid/high-Split Cable Modem $270 $300 Save $30 The Netgear Nighthawk CM3000 is a high-end modem that delivers download speeds reaching as high as 2.5Gbps, followed by 1Gbps of upload speeds. It works with many leading providers, including Xfinity, Spectrum, and Cox. You might not even be allowed to update it yourself Buying the hardware doesn't mean you control the software (oddly enough) Credit: Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek Keeping the firmware current is a chore, but it's a chore we're in full charge of. Modems, though? They may work differently. The manufacturer may create the firmware, but your ISP usually has to approve it and push it to the modem over its network. In many cases, you won't even be able to update it yourself, even if you should wish to. This is one of the many reasons why I'm not the biggest fan of ISPs. Oddly enough, this can still apply when you bought the modem with your own money. Owning the hardware doesn't necessarily give you control over the software it runs, so you may be stuck waiting for your ISP to deploy a newer version at any given time between now and the end of eternity. Gateways can make this whole situation even more confusing, because you might be able to update the router portion yourself while the ISP still holds an iron grip on the modem firmware. And yes, they both run in the same box. Old firmware can expose more than error logs The worst failures hand over credentials and control Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek Vulnerabilities in modem and gateway firmware have exposed Wi-Fi passwords, administrative credentials, network names, and other config data. Some flaws have even allowed attackers to access management functions without logging in properly, which is quite a lot of power to hand over to anyone. The worst-case scenario if you're using outdated firmware would be an attacker gaining administrative or root-level control of the device. From there, they may be able to change network settings, enable remote access, redirect traffic through malicious DNS servers, and more. HTTPS still protects the contents of most websites you visit, so a vulnerable modem doesn't automatically get to read everything you do, but it's not like that makes it all that much better. The TL;DR is simple: Yes, you do want to update your modem firmware if it's at all possible. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeFun facts and quirky history of the internetTrivia challengeFrom the first email to the birth of the web — how well do you really know the internet's wildest moments?OriginsMilestonesProtocolsCulturePioneersBegin What was the name of the first operational packet-switching network, widely considered the precursor to the modern internet?AMILNETBCSNETCARPANETDNSFNETThat's right — ARPANET! Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, ARPANET sent its first message in 1969. The network pioneered packet-switching technology, which remains the backbone of how data travels across the internet today.Not quite — the answer is ARPANET. Launched in 1969 with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET was the first network to use packet-switching at scale. MILNET, CSNET, and NSFNET all came later and built upon ARPANET's groundbreaking foundation.Continue What was the content of the very first message ever sent over ARPANET in 1969?AHELLOBLOCTESTDLOGINCorrect! The first intended message was 'LOGIN', but the system crashed after just two letters — making 'LO' the unintentional first message ever sent over the network. It's a fittingly quirky beginning for something that would change the world.The answer is actually 'LO' — and it was an accident! Programmers at UCLA were trying to type 'LOGIN' to connect to a system at Stanford, but the receiving computer crashed after just the first two characters. The internet literally crashed on its very first message.Continue Who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web in 1989?AVint CerfBTim Berners-LeeCBob KahnDMarc AndreessenSpot on! Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist working at CERN, proposed the World Wide Web in 1989 as a way to share information among researchers. He also created the first web browser and the first website, and he has never sought to profit from his invention.The correct answer is Tim Berners-Lee. While Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn co-invented the TCP/IP protocols that underpin the internet, and Marc Andreessen later created the influential Mosaic browser, it was Berners-Lee who invented the Web itself — HTML, HTTP, and all — at CERN in 1989.Continue What was the first item ever sold on eBay, back in 1995?AA baseball cardBA used laptop computerCA broken laser pointerDA Pez dispenserYou got it! eBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed a broken laser pointer as a test item and was stunned when it sold for $14.83. He even contacted the buyer to confirm they understood it was broken — and the buyer replied that they collected broken laser pointers. A perfect start for the internet's biggest auction site.The first item sold on eBay was actually a broken laser pointer, which fetched $14.83 in 1995. Founder Pierre Omidyar listed it as a test, fully expecting no one to buy a broken item. The Pez dispenser story is a popular myth that eBay itself once promoted, but it has since been debunked.Continue What does the 'HTTP' in a web address stand for?AHypertext Transfer ProtocolBHybrid Text Transmission ProcessCHyperlink and Text Transmission ProtocolDHigh-speed Text Transfer ProgramCorrect! HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the foundational system that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted across the web. It was designed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 and remains the basis for data communication on the World Wide Web today.The correct answer is Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the set of rules governing how web browsers and servers communicate with each other. The 'S' in HTTPS stands for 'Secure', meaning the connection is encrypted using SSL or TLS technology to protect your data.Continue In what year was the first ever spam email sent?A1971B1978C1983D1991Well done! The first spam email was sent in 1978 by Gary Thuerk, a marketer at Digital Equipment Corporation. He blasted an unsolicited advertisement to 393 ARPANET users to promote a new computer — and received both angry complaints and actual sales. The age of spam had officially begun.The first spam email was actually sent in 1978 by Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation. He mass-emailed 393 ARPANET users advertising a new product, causing considerable outrage among the network's tight-knit community. Thuerk is sometimes nicknamed the 'Father of Spam' — not exactly a title to be proud of.Continue Which country had the first national top-level domain (ccTLD) ever assigned on the internet?AUnited StatesBJapanCUnited KingdomDIcelandCorrect! The United Kingdom's '.uk' domain was among the very first country-code top-level domains assigned in 1985. Interestingly, the U.S. already used generic domains like '.edu' and '.gov' rather than a country code, which is why '.us' was rarely adopted domestically.The answer is the United Kingdom, whose '.uk' domain was one of the first country-code top-level domains assigned in 1985. The U.S. had little need for a '.us' domain since American institutions already used generic domains like '.edu', '.gov', and '.com' from the very beginning.Continue What is the name of the very first website ever published, and it is still accessible today?Ainfo.cern.chBwww.w3.orgChome.cern.chDweb.mit.eduExcellent! The world's first website was published at info.cern.ch by Tim Berners-Lee on August 6, 1991. It was a simple page explaining what the World Wide Web was and how to use it. CERN has lovingly restored the original page, and you can still visit it today as a piece of living internet history.The correct answer is info.cern.ch, the address of the very first website ever published, created by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN on August 6, 1991. The page simply explained what the World Wide Web project was. CERN has preserved and restored it so that anyone curious can visit a genuine piece of internet history right now.See My Score Challenge CompleteYour Score/ 8Thanks for playing!Try Again Checking your firmware isn't super straightforward There may be no single update button for you to click Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek Checking your modem firmware isn't the easiest thing in the world, but let's give this a go. Start by finding the exact model number and hardware revision on the label, then connect to the modem or gateway and open its local management page in a browser. Standalone cable modems often use 192.168.100.1, while gateways may use the same default gateway address as your router. If neither works, check the manual or run ipconfig in Windows and look for Default Gateway. Once you're in, hunt around under Status, System Information, Device Information, or Administration. You're looking for the current firmware version. Copy the entire version string, including any letters or ISP-specific suffixes. The irritating part starts right now. You've got to figure out whether whatever version you have is the latest one you can have. Check the manufacturer's support page first, but don't stop there; search your ISP's approved device or firmware info, and if that gets you nowhere, get on the phone and contact support. Unsupported hardware just isn't worth it Don't gamble with your privacy Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek An old modem isn't dangerous by default, of course not. But its age starts to matter once the manufacturer or your ISP stops supporting it. If neither side can confirm that the modem is up to date with security fixes, replace it with a model from your ISP's current compatibility list. Any ISP worth their salt should replace it for you, but that's not how it often is, at least in my experience. The bottom line is the same, though. Unsupported hardware is not worth keeping around. Don't forget your modem Don't sleep on those firmware updates. Check your modem every so often, especially if it's getting old, and badger your ISP if you're not sure where things stand. Your network security and privacy are both at stake here. TP-Link Dual-Band BE6500 Gaming Router $180 $220 Save $40 Supported standards 802.11.be, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11g, 802.11n Your modem is one piece of the puzzle; the router is important, too. TP-Link's Archer GE400 supports Wi-Fi 7 at an acceptable price point. Speeds 6500 Megabits Per Second