Asus Routers

[SpellowHouse]

I was doing some reading and noticed with some interest that Asus have introduced a policy in their latest firmware that means they can force security updates on their routers even if owners disable the feature.
This adds to a long line of router functions that allow access to your personal data. In theory, even access to your emails.

This made me wonder, which manufacturers do people here think are the most trustworthy names for routers? I mean, Asus are a popular make. I assume we can't really trust TP-Link either?

 

[SpellowHouse]

My memory gets older by the day, but aren't you the chap that usually defends Asus in the threads pointing out their woefulness?

They all have pluses and minuses, but personally speaking: OPNsense, Mikrotik, Juniper (mostly), Sagemcom, Alta Labs (new, watch), Ubiquiti (concerns about firmware maturity and completion), Firewalla and GL.iNet.

I think Asus routers are generally good consumer products, I don't think they are as bad as people say they are, but I have never liked the way that they farm out some functions to other companies in exchange for access to personal data. Of course you can always not use those functions, which is an opt-out for the tin hat users.

Anyway, apparently there are two knew agreements that the user is confronted with when a router first powers up. The first is a new software agreement that basically states that Asus can disable your router at any time. The second is a privacy agreement which allows Asus to collect data and give it to other companies. You can not say no to the software agreement and you have to be over 16 to use the router! It goes on to state that even if you say no to the privacy agreement, and disable firmware and security updates, they can force security updates on you, meaning they can pretty much do whatever they want, including disabling your router. This, in my opinion, is a step too far.

 

[SpellowHouse]

You seem surprised, folk on here have been saying to avoid Asus for quite some time. The 'step too far' is when they knew about a security exploit in their firmware, they knew it was being actively exploited, they denied knowing about it, and stuck their fingers in their ears 'la la la la'. Until the US Govt forced their hand.

Yes but I tend to find that there are two different types of user on this forum. Those who understand networking blub and those who don't. The ones that don't need a consumer product that is free from tech-speak, and that immediately rules out many business class products.

 

[SpellowHouse]

And in most cases, the ISP supplied router would be perfectly fine for those users.

Yes, I think many of the people who buy their own are searching for a particular feature or performance level they aren't getting from their ISP router. And one of the reasons I like Asus is because they have a very comprehensive array of features, and they are the same from one router to the next so you know what you are getting. They also have Merlin so there is actually some support and that's a very strong point in their favour, for me. It's true that I am not an expert at this and I do not know many makes, but the number of times I have sent a router back because a particular function is missing.... I did wander in to commercial routers at one point, but honestly didn't understand the language and found the configuration really hard going. And my supplier, Zen, will not support "other routers" any more. And before anyone says it, I don't want to learn it either. I have better ways to spend my time.
Anyway, I was afraid this post would descend in to "defending Asus" which is exactly what I didn't want it to do. Nothing anyone can say is about to convince me that they are a complete waste of time. Maybe they are like Cat7 cables, but people still buy a lot of them.

 

[SpellowHouse]

I’m not sure how anyone can defend, or want to spend money with a company which knew its customers were being exploited by a security issue, and not only did they deny it, they refused to help until they were forced to by the US government. It’s not like they’ve got any better, look at their latest RMA scandal.

I don't think that are that many alternatives. These days it largely seems to be Asus and TP-Link. Devil and the deep blue sea to me. Yes there are plenty of other makes, but I think many of the business class products are shrouded in a veil of mystery for the average home buyer. And, also, the reviewers on Youtube seem to focus on, you guessed it, Asus and TP-Link. Yes, Asus do have problems, but I've never had a problem with them. I would happily buy something else, if there was something else. But mostly, when I ask for alternatives, I just get told how bad Asus are!

 

[SpellowHouse]

That's because they are paid reviews, or reviews by people who have zero clue about what they're talking about. Plenty of alternatives have been mentioned in this thread - UniFi, OPNsense etc, you ignore them.

I'm not ignoring them at all. Most of them are too low spec and the one that is pretty interesting is quoted as "the loudest router I have ever heard" by several owners.

I am sure that I will find something, but that's not really the point. The point is that this sub-forum tends to be the worst for concentrating on attacking peoples choices rather than being constructive.