TP-Link has actually “forgotten” to renew two domains that are used to access the administrative panels of Wi-Fi routers and extenders. Although users can access their router administration panel through local IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.1, most router marketers make it easier for customers by having a easy to remember domain names. TP-Link’s mistake shows how they can lead to problems. Cybermoon CEO Amitay Dan said on Friday that TP-Link lost control of its tplinklogin.net domain because it forgot to renew the address. Rather than forking out money to regain the domain from an external company that happened to scoop up the address, TP-Link instead decided to update its online manuals by removing the domain name references altogether.
— Amitay Dan (@popshark1) July 1, 2016 “The logic behind using [a] domain in the first place, instead of an IP address, is the main problem here,” Dan said in a blog. “Forgetting to buy the domain is the second mistake. While checking how many users are trying to use it, I’ve realized that’s this is effecting plenty of people. My advice is to block the domain by the ISP.” Another similar TP-Link domain, tplinkextender.net was similarly not renewed. The new owners of tplinklogin.net and tplinkextendernet have put up For Sale sign. The big security issue here regarding the two uncontrolled domains is that when TP-Link customers use the tplinklogin.net domain to access TP-Link devices other than routers (like an extender), it will pull up a public Internet web page instead of the internal logon page. This page can easily be cloned to look like a TP-Link page and ask people to give their Wi-Fi credentials. Such credentials can then be used to steal personal as well as banking information from the victims. If you are a TP-Link router or Wi-Fi extender owner, dont visit the tplinklogin.net and tplinkextender.net to set up your gadgets. TP-Link reached out to Techworm and told us that the above domains were no longer in operation as they have shifted to new domain names. Their response is given below : The following are our current domains for different products: Router: https://tplinkwifi.net DSL: https://tplinkmodem.net Range Extender: https://tplinkrepeater.net Wireless PLC: https://tplinkplc.net
