Everyone wants to enjoy the convenience of having a wireless home or office network, but malware developments continue to threaten the security and create unauthorized access if the appropriate security measures are not taken. Linksys recently identified a strain of malware that is being called “The Moon” that exploits the firmware in certain older model Linksys devices, primarily the E-series routers and older models of the Wireless-N access points and routers.

Login credentials are at stake because “The Moon” bypasses the available login information and generally infects the device once it has gained access to it. The malware then begins to send out large amounts of unsolicited outbound requests over the Internet increasing data usage. One of the preliminary symptoms that you’ll notice is that your Internet connection may appear to slow down. Linksys has provided a description of what is resulting from “The Moon” malware and offered a work-around patch here until they are able to permanently resolve the issue.