[RT-N66U] Cloudcheck on FW 3.0.0.4.378.9313

[RMerlin]

The cloudcheck service will NOT start unless that flag is set to 1. So if you don't use the app, the service will never be enabled, and therefore it will never run. There's no reason to panic here...

I know that security and privacy was one thing Asus did have in mind while implementing it, as they have clearly told me when I asked them about that new feature a few weeks ago.

 

[RMerlin]

This is a very bad road to go down.

I hope the RMerlin firmware gives us the option of downloading stripped and 'Asus/RMerlin' only build to flash to our routers.

I'm not going to start compiling a bazillion of variant builds for those who don't wait AiCloud, or Cloudcheck, or USB support. This is a firmware project, not a Subways restaurant... You have specific tastes, then grab the ingredients from Github, and make your own damn sub!

 

[L&LD]

I'm not going to start compiling a bazillion of variant builds for those who don't wait AiCloud, or Cloudcheck, or USB support. This is a firmware project, not a Subways restaurant...

No, of course not. And that is not what I asked / wished for.

What I want is a firmware that doesn't have useless bloat, much less security questions. Much like any computer I buy gets a clean install of Windows, rather than whatever customizations the manufacturer thought would be best for me.

While the cloudcheck service will not start unless the flag is set to '1', how easy is it to be set like that in the future, by default? And, most people (including myself) will not make a conscious effort to check it either (once, let alone continuously).

 

[wouterv]

The cloudcheck service will NOT start unless that flag is set to 1. So if you don't use the app, the service will never be enabled, and therefore it will never run. There's no reason to panic here...

I know that security and privacy was one thing Asus did have in mind while implementing it, as they have clearly told me when I asked them about that new feature a few weeks ago.

There is no panic here, just a big security and privacy concern and not just for Cloudcheck but for the development and integration of this kind of tools in general.
By implementing a third party (Cloudcheck) piece of software, they increase the risk for security issues. Look at Open SSL, the same will be true for Cloudcheck: it will for sure require updates to fix all kind of issues.

The way Cloudcheck responds in this forum increases my vigilance. Their website is as vague as the responses in the forum until now. I am curious to their answers to my pretty straight questions.

Next to Cloudcheck there is the new support for the ASUS router app which seems to be very similar, with one difference: it is an Asus development, not from a third party company Assia.

 

[RMerlin]

While the cloudcheck service will not start unless the flag is set to '1', how easy is it to be set like that in the future, by default?

I would not allow that to happen. And considering Asus's own focus on privacy while implementing this new feature, I suspect that neither would they.

 

[wouterv]

This forum is the perfect platform to answer the questions, so it will be clear to the user community.



Sorry, I am not interested to use this functionality, I am only concerned about the end-users privacy.



Can the Cloudcheck Smartifi Router Monitoring service easily be de-activated, after it is activated? (I strongly suggest Asus to a add an "Activate Yes/No" switch in the router GUI).
Can you explain "the end-user providers", is that the Internet Service Provider of the end-user?
The third party I refer to is Cloudcheck or the ASSIA company, which is allready a concern to me.
What are the router settings Cloudcheck or the ASSIA company is able to change?



Can you exactly indicate what network parameters are collected, where these are stored and for what period of time these are stored?


No thanks.

Is Cloudcheck still in the air to answer the remaining questions?

 

[Cloudcheck Products]

Is Cloudcheck still in the air to answer the remaining questions?

Is Cloudcheck still in the air to answer the remaining questions?

The Cloudcheck Smartifi service can be disabled easily through the settings menu line item of the application.

There was typo (auto-correct) in the response containing the "The end-user providers" . It should read "the end user provides".

ASSIA establish a consent-based direct relationship with the end-user for the use of Cloudcheck Smartifi Service. In this case, ASSIA/Cloudcheck is a direct party.

We don't change router settings with Cloudcheck Smartifi.

The data collected is a small subset of 802.11 standard MAC and PHY MIB (Annex C IEEE Std. 802.11 – 2012, and available through wireless LAN driver).

We store the data collected in world's most respected and largest data storage facilities.

 

[wouterv]

The Cloudcheck Smartifi service can be disabled easily through the settings menu line item of the application.

I suggest to let router manufacturers add a clear "Cloudcheck ON - OFF" function in their router GUI to make it more clear and give more control to the end user.

There was typo (auto-correct) in the response containing the "The end-user providers" . It should read "the end user provides".

Noted.

ASSIA establish a consent-based direct relationship with the end-user for the use of Cloudcheck Smartifi Service. In this case, ASSIA/Cloudcheck is a direct party.

Allright, although I doubt if the majority of end users understand what they agree with.

We don't change router settings with Cloudcheck Smartifi.

It may be your wording, many of your publications suggest that Cloudcheck can make changes.

Earlier post http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-n66u-cloudcheck-on-fw-3-0-0-4-378-9313.28101/#post-217156
"Cloudcheck doesn't share information with any third party and doesn't have a capability to allow a third party to change router settings."
Can be read as: a third party (beyond ASSIA) cannot change anything, but Cloudcheck can make changes.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.assia.cloudcheck&hl=nl
"Smartifi monitors and optimizes your network from the cloud to ensure maximal performance on your Wi-Fi network"
How does Smartifi optimize the network if it cannot make changes?

http://www.assia-inc.com/pressrelea...automatically-optimize-internet-connectivity/
"When a consumer finds potential performance improvements, he or she will simply opt into a monthly service, available later this year, called Smartifi that automatically monitors, and continuously improves, Wi-Fi performance across the home network."
How does Smartifi continuously improve without making changes?

The data collected is a small subset of 802.11 standard MAC and PHY MIB (Annex C IEEE Std. 802.11 – 2012, and available through wireless LAN driver).

Noted.

We store the data collected in world's most respected and largest data storage facilities.

Why is this data stored and for what period of time?
I am sorry for being very sceptical, but you are very vague about direct privacy and safety related concerns.

 

[Cloudcheck Products]

I suggest to let router manufacturers add a clear "Cloudcheck ON - OFF" function in their router GUI to make it more clear and give more control to the end user.


Noted.

Allright, although I doubt if the majority of end users understand what they agree with.

It may be your wording, many of your publications suggest that Cloudcheck can make changes.

Earlier post http://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-n66u-cloudcheck-on-fw-3-0-0-4-378-9313.28101/#post-217156
"Cloudcheck doesn't share information with any third party and doesn't have a capability to allow a third party to change router settings."
Can be read as: a third party (beyond ASSIA) cannot change anything, but Cloudcheck can make changes.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.assia.cloudcheck&hl=nl
"Smartifi monitors and optimizes your network from the cloud to ensure maximal performance on your Wi-Fi network"
How does Smartifi optimize the network if it cannot make changes?

http://www.assia-inc.com/pressrelea...automatically-optimize-internet-connectivity/
"When a consumer finds potential performance improvements, he or she will simply opt into a monthly service, available later this year, called Smartifi that automatically monitors, and continuously improves, Wi-Fi performance across the home network."
How does Smartifi continuously improve without making changes?

Noted.

Why is this data stored and for what period of time?
I am sorry for being very sceptical, but you are very vague about direct privacy and safety related concerns.

wouterv,

">" for your comments/questions:

>"How does Smartifi optimize the network if it cannot make changes?"
and
>Can be read as: a third party (beyond ASSIA) cannot change anything, but Cloudcheck can make changes.

short: current product does NOT make any changes to the router settings.

As I tried to explain in a different post, the main confusion comes from a previous press release about a future product that aimed at optimizing the wifi experience. This product is not yet released, and not part of the current ASUS firmware. We don't yet have firm date for the future optimization feature that may require changes to the router settings. We will definitely explain the changes and get end user consent before activating such service.

We are very sensitive to privacy concerns due to the nature of our service provider customers and strict local laws across the world. Overall, we try to make sure we don't collect any critical personal information and not activate the service without clear end-user consent.
-We intentionally avoid accessing end-user media, personal info, IP traffic content through our software agent and mobile apps. If you do a bit of research most app vendors and technology companies in this domain are not as strict as ASSIA on privacy and end-user consent.
-We also implemented a double consent mechanism where downloading the app doesn't trigger data collection. We ask for a second, explicit consent to activate the service through the app. This is also very rare in the telecommunications/hardware industry.

We learn from your skepticism and try to put together an appropriate FAQ/communication material to be useful for all users in an iterative way based on your feedback. The vagueness is NOT intentional. We are also open to any suggestions for new features and ideas that could help bring extra level of comfort about the security and privacy concerns.

>Why is this data stored and for what period of time?
In order to identify patterns of problems and link to root causes, we need the QoE and QoS history. For example, the historical signal strength or wifi link speed between a device and router help us identify problem patterns across time, geographies and hardware.
Currently we try to keep the data as long as possible. We have not yet received complaints about us keeping a users history of signal strength in our databases for a long time. Also during our focus groups, we see some users would like to see how their WiFi performance change over time.

 

[wouterv]

wouterv,

">" for your comments/questions:

>"How does Smartifi optimize the network if it cannot make changes?"
and
>Can be read as: a third party (beyond ASSIA) cannot change anything, but Cloudcheck can make changes.

short: current product does NOT make any changes to the router settings.

As I tried to explain in a different post, the main confusion comes from a previous press release about a future product that aimed at optimizing the wifi experience. This product is not yet released, and not part of the current ASUS firmware. We don't yet have firm date for the future optimization feature that may require changes to the router settings. We will definitely explain the changes and get end user consent before activating such service.

We are very sensitive to privacy concerns due to the nature of our service provider customers and strict local laws across the world. Overall, we try to make sure we don't collect any critical personal information and not activate the service without clear end-user consent.
-We intentionally avoid accessing end-user media, personal info, IP traffic content through our software agent and mobile apps. If you do a bit of research most app vendors and technology companies in this domain are not as strict as ASSIA on privacy and end-user consent.
-We also implemented a double consent mechanism where downloading the app doesn't trigger data collection. We ask for a second, explicit consent to activate the service through the app. This is also very rare in the telecommunications/hardware industry.

We learn from your skepticism and try to put together an appropriate FAQ/communication material to be useful for all users in an iterative way based on your feedback. The vagueness is NOT intentional. We are also open to any suggestions for new features and ideas that could help bring extra level of comfort about the security and privacy concerns.

>Why is this data stored and for what period of time?
In order to identify patterns of problems and link to root causes, we need the QoE and QoS history. For example, the historical signal strength or wifi link speed between a device and router help us identify problem patterns across time, geographies and hardware.
Currently we try to keep the data as long as possible. We have not yet received complaints about us keeping a users history of signal strength in our databases for a long time. Also during our focus groups, we see some users would like to see how their WiFi performance change over time.

Thanks for the answers.
I really appreciate you feedback and support your idea to setup a clear set of FAQ with a little more technical depth to take away doubts in this time of hacking and Internet crime.
I also see that todays routers (and most, or all, networked equipment) are not user friendly for the average user without the proper technical knowledge, resulting in many routers being far from optimal configured or positioned, are insecure, at default values and not upgraded to keep pace with security fixes. A lot of work to be done in that area.