[Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations

Mon Mar 10 14:01:59 CDT 2014

That is a concern. I usually have it running behind NAT, and I don't allow
remote admin on the WAN port. Also turn off UPnP on all of your modem /
routers.

In any case, I'm pretty sure it's more secure than the stock firmware. For
instance, I've seen some of the SOHO routers that you can't disable WPS,
and the routers are under constant brute-force attack by someone. Another
had an option to disable WPS, but wouldn't allow you to do it while there
was an outstanding WPS request.

-dc

On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 1:45 PM, Kenneth Younger <kyounger at gmail.com> wrote:

> Does anyone have thoughts about security of DD-WRT? I know they had an
> issue a couple years back or something. I must say, their development
> process seems opaque, and the last build I find listed on their website for
> my router was nearly a year ago. Can that possibly be secure?
>
> (Though, I run it because of the same reason everyone else here proclaims:
> it's stable as you can get on a good, supported router.
>
> -Kenny
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 1:37 PM, Brian Broughton
> <brian-broughton at mchsi.com>wrote:
>
> > Agreed, I have a ~$20 Linksys router, first thing I did was to reflash it
> > with dd-wrt and it has been rock steady even with large file up and
> > downloads.
> >
> > Plus the addition of features not included in the stock firmware in my
> > opinion make this a must do for any router I purchase. You can make your
> > config as simple or as complicated as you like or anything in between.
>  So
> > why not get all the features that are available on your router?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On
> > Behalf Of jim kraai
> > Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 1:20 PM
> > To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
> > Subject: Re: [Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations
> >
> > David,
> >
> > That would make a great Area515 workshop!
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 1:13 PM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > Again, if you take that cheap Linksys and replace the stock firmware
> > > with DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Tomato, it will probaby run much better. I've
> > > done this for friends that had the WRT-160n's for instance, they
> > > didn't work worth anything with the stock firmware. Installed DD-WRT,
> > > it's been running for over a year with no problems.
> > >
> > > They almost all use a similar processor chip, they may have smaller
> > > amounts of RAM on the cheap versions so you need to install a version
> > > of DD-WRT with a smaller footprint, but that's not a problem unless
> > > you're trying to run extra stuff like Asterisk on it.
> > >
> > > If you'd like, we can do a DD-WRT demo at an upcoming LUG meeting. We
> > > did one in the past, showed how to set it up as a router, wap or wifi
> > bridge.
> > >
> > > -dc
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 12:33 PM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I will toss out one more point to consider... buying the cheapest
> > > > router
> > > in
> > > > the line of whatever brand you pick is probably going to lead to
> > > > frustration. For example, I had an old d-link router that worked for
> > > > most basic stuff, but if I started using BitTorrent sometime between
> > > > an hour
> > > or
> > > > 24 hours later the router would crash. Turns out that some routers
> > > > get stressed out by activities that open many network sessions. They
> > > > get hot and eventually need a reboot.
> > > >
> > > > Going up a notch or two in the price point usually gets you a device
> > > > with more RAM and a better CPU and they are going to hold up to a
> > > > variety of network activities, including those that aren't on our
> > > > radar this year
> > > but
> > > > next year will be all the rage.
> > > >
> > > > I suspect this is why people will say, "I hate Linksys, love D-link"
> > > > and then the next person says "I hate D-link, love Linksys" etc.
> > > > There was a dark-age of router development probably 2008-2009-ish
> > > > where cheaper was better and they cut a lot of corners on the
> > > > hardware. A lot of brands
> > > were
> > > > using drastically different hardware even in the same models.
> > > >
> > > > It's probably still happening on the low-end products, so I'll just
> > > > say I won't buy a $50 router again except for very special cases
> > > > (i.e. a travel router).
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 12:08 PM, jim kraai <jimgkraai at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > scott, that's a lotta bang for $25
> > > > >
> > > > > /me googling dd-wrt support for that router ...
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 11:53 AM, Scott Yates
> > > > > <Scott at yatesframe.com>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > I have one further point to make in all these comparisons.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Stability has been spotty among a LOT of the different brands I
> > > > > > have
> > > > > tried.
> > > > > >  Typically d-link, belkin, and a LOT of linksys routers require
> > > > periodic
> > > > > > power cycling.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I will say that netgear appears to be an exception, along with
> > > > > > Cisco,
> > > > > and a
> > > > > > company called tp-link.  I am sure there are others, but as you
> > > noted,
> > > > > most
> > > > > > people expect their devices to run without thinking about it
> > > > > > after
> > > the
> > > > > > initial config.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Here is a link to the TP-LINK router I bought and have been VERY
> > > happy
> > > > > with
> > > > > > in case you want to check it out.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UBU8IE
> > > > > >
> > > > > > If you don't want to buy a more expensive Cisco, and are uneasy
> > > > > > with TP-Link (I had not heard of them myself, but DO like their
> > > > > > gear),
> > > then
> > > > I
> > > > > > would recommend doing your best to find a router that supports
> > > DD-WRT,
> > > > as
> > > > > > it is probably the most likely to be stable, run on more
> > > > > > inexpensive hardware and has a large community.
> > > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Matthew Nuzum
> > > > newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter
> > > >
> > > > ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫
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> > --
> > Kenneth Younger III
> > Founder, Sheer Focus Inc.
> > e: kenny at sheerfocus.com
> > p: (515) 367-0001
> > t: @kenny <http://twitter.com/kenny>
> > <http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug>
> >
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