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Forum Discussion
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Is using the Access List on RBK50 Orbi a good idea or does it cause problems?
I am just setting up a new RBK50 router and satellites. I am going through the specs and I saw the access list page. It sounds like a great layer of security. Then I looked at the Orbi Community p...
Access control by MAC address is a common feature on routers, including WiFi routers. In my (personal) opinion, this is paranoia and overkill. The intent is to keep out a talented hacker who has captured enough packets to defeat the WAP security and learned the WiFi password. Mine is 25 characters lone and would take something like 4 billion years to guess. But, if instructions on the internet can be believed, someone with the skills, equipment, and time could sit outside my house and break into my WiFi network.
What do they get once they are in? Internet access, of course. But surely someone capable of this already has far more internet access than my poor Spectrum account. Hack into my Orbi. Well, there's a different 25 character password on that. Hack into my Windows 10 or Linux machines? They have firewalls that reject connections. Stream TV? What, they have a TV in the car parked outside my house?
All I see, as you do, is the downside. Once Access Control is activated, when the wife invites someone over who wants to show her something on FaceBook and asks, "what's the WiFi password".... oh, dear. Won't connect. When I get home, it will be cold supper for me! As long as I am the only person adding devices, then I can manage Access Control. Change settings, add device, change settings back, etc.
As far as I can determine, Access Control covers both the primary WiFi and the Guest WiFi. "Control" means CONTROL.
Others will probably have more 'balanced' viewpoints.
If you don't really need access controll then don't use it. If you do have some in home users that can't seem to follow your internet usage rules, then maybe access controls can work for controlling those users. It would give no security on traffic and data flow. Just think of it as a internet service ON and OFF switch for devices when needed. My 2 cents.
peggywarner wrote:I am just setting up a new RBK50 router and satellites. I am going through the specs and I saw the access list page. It sounds like a great layer of security. Then I looked at the Orbi Community page and I saw lots of problems. Does the software for the access list work well or am I better off not using it at all? I don't want to be in a position where I buy a new laptop and can't get it on the Orbi network because of balky access list software.
Thank you!
- Thanks for the tip. One way creative teenagers beat usage controls like Disney Circle is randomizing their Mac address. Access Control would block that behavior. (it would also mess up modern devices that randomize Mac's as a security ploy.)