Flavor of the ... week ?

[Cozmo]

Hey folks - new member here. I've been following @Steve for about a year... AND I'M DEPRESSED !!! I figure just about every week, M. Gibson comes out with another security flaw affecting practically whole entire brands of hardware. Granted we've skipped a couple of weeks, mostly because of the world-wide WordPress mess...

Here I am, needing to propose a new router to a client. Ideally with wifi and VPN capabilities. Something of the Cisco RV160w calibre.

What I would really like, is to buy a router (or any kind of hardware for that matter) AND NOT HEAR ABOUT IT ON THE NEXT PODCAST !!!

Anybody care to chime in ? Thanks a bunch.

 

[PHolder]

It's pretty simple (t-shirt slogan time): KEEP YOUR SH*T PATCHED. Don't recommend something that isn't supported and then make sure support is actually used (or is automatically provided by the device itself.)

 

[Cozmo]

Yeah, that was indeed simple and not really what I asked.

PLUS, what do you do when the update breaks more that it fixes ?
I just updated a router that (I presumed) fixes bugs, but also breaks the time and timezone settings...

 

[PHolder]

what do you do when the update breaks more that it fixes

Software (which includes router firmware) is made by humans. Humans are flawed, and so therefore, will be our software. So, as always, you choose your poison. There are no magic bullets for security problems. The only answer is to patch what is found and hope the serious but as yet undiscovered exploits remain undiscovered before being patched. (Yes it's a pipe dream, but it's all you've got.)

 

[vvbudh]

Have you thought about using Free Range Routing on an old computer/ router you can flash? https://frrouting.org

FRR is more of the OS that does the routing than an actual router. But it's open source and IMO open source software is hardened more than closed source software since everyone can see the code and is trying to break it. You could buy like an old Zotac Thin Client and put FRR on it and use it as a router. That may be a route you could take. Or PfSense!

A router that I was thinking of getting was one of the Cisco 900 series routers. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/routers/900-series-integrated-services-routers-isr/index.html

I don't know if you'll hear about them on the podcast next, but, it does have Wifi and VPN capabilities. I was wanting this router so I could practice the Cisco CLI and actually use it and gain real world experience. This may not be the router that suits your needs, but I wanted to give you something that might be useful.

Cheers!