Virgin Media thinks 800,000 users should change their router passwords

Virgin Media wants you to change your router password.

The company recently published guidance on how to do that for older router models after Which? magazine -- a publication "known for testing household products" -- found that Virgin Media routers weren't so hard to hack.

Which? found that Virgin Media's Super Hub 2 "can be hacked in a matter of days" if users don't change the default password the devices come with. Once someone hacks into a router, that person can often get access to devices that use that router. Around 864,000 people apparently own a Super Hub 2.

Virgin reacted quickly to the Which? investigation, and has provided step by step instructions on how to change Super Hub 2 passwords.

"The security of our network and of our customers is of paramount importance to us," the company said in a post. "We continually upgrade our systems and equipment to ensure that we meet all current industry standards."

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That sounds like corporate-ese, but Which? found that "Super Hub 3.0 uses much stronger passwords than its predecessor."

These stronger passwords run 12 characters long, and include numbers as well as upper and lowercase letters, a significant upgrade from the last version, which used single case passwords of only eight characters.

So, if you have a Super Hub 2.0, change your password. Go to the link. It's easy. And while you're at it, change your email passwords just because it's a good thing to do. Make it harder for hackers to get in there. It's one of those things that seems annoying to do until your personal information ends up in the digital hands of someone without the best of intentions.