Linksys has posted beta firmware for its WRT54G that closes a potential remote access hole in its security: The initial report indicated that remote administration of the WRT54G was possible out of the box. The consultant who reported the problem checked other WRT54Gs: if firewall protection is turned on (Linksys says this is the default and users confirm), then the remote issue is non-existent. However, some of the units that the consultant purchased to test had firewall service turned off out of the box.
A Linksys spokesperson said that this release is labeled beta because other functionality changes are in progress and not yet finalized. Linksys' official statement reads, "For those rare few that do disable the firewall and turn off remote admin on their WRT54G, Linksys advises those users to download the latest beta firmware which is posted on the Linksys website."
I just purchased a WRT54G to test out its default configuration, and I can confirm that I received a unit with firmware v2.02.2 (which predates the 2.02.7 March 2004 release), and that its firewall service enabled.