Noob/Basic Security Features / Setup /Configurations??

[anotherengineer]

Basically what is says, just wondering if there is a tutorial or sticky. I would like to ensure against being a victim of identity theft or stolen banking info, etc.

Basically running an Asus AC68U with Merlin 386.2_6.

All/only I have done is set DNS to open DNS and that's about it (besides decent wifi passwords on WPA2).

Just wonder what other minimum/basic security steps others do here with their router??

 

[Tech9]

You should not worry about stolen banking info. The mount in your bank account is rather low.
Run AiProtection and malware/phishing filtering DNS, DoT optional. You should be good. I would not bother with Skynet/Diversion blockers.

 

[anotherengineer]

You should not worry about stolen banking info. The mount in your bank account is rather low.
Run AiProtection and malware/phishing filtering DNS, DoT optional. You should be good. I would not bother with Skynet/Diversion blockers.

Thanks
I usually update firmware twice a year lol. Should that be more often? Say quarterly?

 

[Tech9]

Should that be more often?

Honestly, what was fixed in last few Asuswrt is highly unlikely to happen. There is a theoretical possibility only. I found some routers work better with different than latest firmware releases. I don't use Asus routers, but I have a few around for tests and fun. I would run 384 software on AC68U. 386 is all about AiMesh 2.0 and I'm not impressed. I would perhaps use 384.18 on this AC68U as long as possible or John's fork. 386 on AC68U has an annoying bug in traffic monitor making it useless. Have you downloaded the entire Wikipedia in 3 seconds?

Traffic spike fix from 384.14_2 was reverted in 386.1

Did they ask you to tell us to email them or did you just suggest that? If it was the former, you’d think they would expect emails. If it’s the later, I’m not sure they’ll ever respond. They asked me to have people with that issue contact them through that email address, and also specify in...

www.snbforums.com

 

[torstein]

These are general personal advices for online security, since you're asking for basic features / recommendations.

Should I update more often?
Yes, you should. I'm no security expert, but the general recommendation is to update all available software as soon as available - pc, phone, router etc. Not every little security or bug fix is mentioned in the changelog, and running old software / firmware is the greatest risk to online security and privacy. Update your devices!

AIprotection / parental control / skynet
I use Nextdns.io for tracker / ad blocking, parental control, security, anti-malware, anti-phishing, DoH/DoT, and NextDNS is compatible with merlin-wrt so you have all those features on router-level. And it speeds up your internet, since the DNS-resolver has low latency, in Norway it's down to 10ms. Aiprotection is through Trend Micro, and I feel uncomfortable with them. Skynet and all that is finicky and time consuming, and could possible break your connection if setup wrong.

WPA2
If your devices support WPA3, you should use that instead of the outdated and broken WPA2. WPA3/WPA2 compatibility mode does not offer any benefits.