Archived Thread

NFT: VPN software on your home router

Alan in Toledo : 4/16/2018 6:22 pm

I've implemented this on two different routers this year as I wanted whole house coverage without the need to launch an app on each device. I'm looking chiefly for protection from online financial transactions (purchasing, bill paying, banking & brokerage).

I first bought a Netgear R7000 router (about $150 on Amazon), subscribed to NordVPN ($99/3 years), and No-IP.com ($50/2 years).

Configuring the R7000 was tedious (replacing the Netgear firmware with DD-WRT firmware) but straightforward -- including Samba connectivity for the external hard drive that contains my 188Gb music collection and our photographs.

My LAN (16 connected devices) ran smoothly for a month or more until I happened on a highly-reviewed Asus RT-68U router rebranded for T-Mobile @ $48 on Amazon. Although it's advertised as refurbished, it seems new and its native firmware has VPN and Samba features built in. I did find it necessary to perform a factory reset on the router before I could connect.

Link - ( New Window )

Is there a question or...?

pizbo : 4/16/2018 7:32 pm : link

You do realize that the "VPN" is share with other people right? As in other can watch your financial transaction on that VPN. It's not just unique to you.

RE: Is there a question or...?

Alan in Toledo : 4/16/2018 9:42 pm : link

In comment 13916575 pizbo said:

Quote:

You do realize that the "VPN" is share with other people right? As in other can watch your financial transaction on that VPN. It's not just unique to you.

You, sir, are quite mistaken as traffic using a VPN is conducted via an encrypted tunnel.

Not sue what the question is

if_i_knew : 4/16/2018 10:54 pm : link

But I am interested in any input on this thread. I have a similar model that is branded for big box resellers.

I have been interested in setting a vpn up on this as my work has blocked access to some sites including personal email. If I can vpn to the router, I can then use the connection to ping the restricted sites;

I looked at it briefly about a year and a half ago, but never really persued it.

From what I understand, this router has native capability to vpn to devices within your internal network, but you need a service provider to vpn to the router from the outside. A good tutorial can be found here

https://www.vpnuniversity.com/tutorial/how-to-setup-openvpn-asus-routers-asuswrt

VPN Router

gntman : 4/17/2018 6:52 am : link

Another alternative is to purchase your router with the vpn software already installed. Google "VPN Routers" and there is as at least one company selling them, for a premium of course, with the software installed and configured for VPN access.