Symantec Launches Free VPNFilter Security Tool

Symantec has unveiled VPNFilter Check, a free online tool designed to help individuals and organizations to determine if a router may be impacted by VPNFilter malware, the company says.

VPNFilter is an IoT botnet that has infected more than 500,000 consumer routers and network attached storage hardware from Linksys, Netgear, MikroTik, TP-Link and Qnap. The malware's discovery prompted an FBI alert urging consumers to reboot their devices.

However, the malware can survive a router reboot, Symantec warns. Moreover, VPNFilter can collect confidential information and tamper with network traffic as it passes through an infected router, as well as render the router unusable, the security company says.

To mitigate those concerns, Symantec's VPNFilter Check is an online tool that checks if your device has been compromised by a specific component used by VPNFilter, known as the the ssler plugin. But there's a caveat: If this tool finds that your router is not infected with the ssler plugin, your router may still be compromised by other threats or components of VPNFilter, the company warns.

Symantec offers this list of vulnerable routers.