Don't click that link - it may re-program your router?

["Gary Funck" <gary () intrepid com>]

What does clicking on a "suspicious link" have to
do with being pharmed (or is that getting pharmed)?  And if
someone has re-programmed my router, how will disabling
Javascript save me?

And I must ask ... is this a real present threat,
or a security software vendor FUD campaign?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20070219/tc_nf/50150

Millions Vulnerable to New Hack Attack Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com
Mon Feb 19, 1:25 PM ET

Security firm Symantec and the Indiana University School of Informatics have
discovered a new type of security threat that could leave up to 50 percent
of home broadband users susceptible to attack. 

Called "drive-by pharming," the threat is focused on home routers, which can
be reconfigured and directed to a malicious Web site if default settings and
passwords are being used. 
[...]
Symantec recommends that users should change their default passwords and=
employ a multilayered security strategy consisting of an Internet security
program that combines antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection, and
vulnerability protection. Also important, the research team noted, is
avoiding clicking on links that seem suspicious. 

But the main issue, according to Sophos senior technology consultant Graham
Cluley, is that many users either do not change settings or use the password
supplied by the manufacturer. Many devices are given obvious passwords for
shipping and setup, such as "administrator" or "password," which Cluley
noted are very easy for hackers to guess. 
[...]
"More prominent warnings that passwords have not been changed from their
default might help encourage users to take this relatively simple step," he
said. An additional line of defense is to disable JavaScript on untrusted
Web sites, he added.


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