well the region is Egypt not Argentina as mentioned above.

Now I figure out why I got this error because I was using version 3 however my device is version 1 and I downloaded the latest version from there http://www.tp-link.it/support/download/?model=TD-W8961ND&version=V1#tbl_j & it works fine. apparently the latest version is not new as it was released on 25.11.2011 so I guess that this is not enough for my need to upgrade the firmware. there is a vulnerability that allow an attacker to modify the router configuration remotely so they will be able direct the router to their own server & it is published there http://rootatnasro.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/how-i-saved-your-a-from-the-zynos-rom-0-attack-full-disclosure/. so is there a way to prevent this or a way to update the router firmware.

I got the following reply from Catherine Duan from the support team

Thank you very much for your reply.


sorry that the firmware for V3 cannot be used for V1.

For your question, we can try to change some settings to make it much secure.

please login to the management page, go to access management, ACL, change the interface to LAN, save.
Then please go to change the login username and password. try to make it much more complicated that only you remember it.
Go to maintenance, administration, change username and password. the default one is admin.

Please try to change those settings firstly, sorry for the trouble caused to you. and we are still working on it.

Best regards.

neo.max wrote

I got the following reply from Catherine Duan from the support team

please login to the management page, go to access management, ACL, change the interface to LAN, save.
Then please go to change the login username and password. try to make it much more complicated that only you remember it.


Please try to change those settings firstly, sorry for the trouble caused to you. and we are still working on it.

Best regards.

Hi,

I have had my router hacked as well - TD-W8961ND v2.0.

ACL was off already. While I have changed the password, the vulnerability is able to extract the admin password directly from the routers ROM so this is not a long term solution.

The attack injected a DNS server (50.28.34.201) into the router which was used to display 'Internet Explorer is outdated' messages on Facebook, Youtube and Gmail sites. It then automatically downloads Setup.exe in an attempt to get the user to install malware. Fortunately, it was detected on a linux machine, so no harm done yet.

Will there be firmware to patch this vulnerability for V2 or is it time to get new routers?

Thanks

there is a temporary way to fix it but it's really hard to apply. http://piotrbania.com/all/articles/tplink_patch/

there is a final and easy fix published there: http://egyptianvulture.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-to-fix-zynos-vulnerability-prevent.html