Can WiFi access to Orbi setup be disabled? and Is Anywhere Access same as Remote Management?

[alokeprasad]

I have a RBK50 ver 2.5.2.4.

I prefer to access it's setup through a connected web browser interface.  I have disabled uPnP, and remote management.

In my Nighthawk R9000, I could disable wifi access to the router setup. Can I do that on the RBK50?

I think it is safer that way.  Prevents someone parked outside to access the settings. I know that there are passwords and safeguards .. but the smaller the attack surface, the better. I can handle the Ethernet connected browser interface to the system settings.

PS: Despite turning off Remote Management (in the browser interface), the Orbi iOS app still had "Anywhere Access" enabled. Isn't "Anywhere Access" the same as Remote Management?  I disabled it in the iOS app, but that was unexpected.

Thx.

Aloke

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

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@alokeprasad wrote:

In my Nighthawk R9000, I could disable wifi access to the router setup. Can I do that on the RBK50?

PS: Despite turning off Remote Management (in the browser interface), the Orbi iOS app still had "Anywhere Access" enabled. Isn't "Anywhere Access" the same as Remote Management?  I disabled it in the iOS app, but that was unexpected.

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I am unaware of any method that will disable access to the Orbi web interface for WiFi connected devices. There are a host of differences between the Nighthawk and Orbi products, and this appears to be one of them.

No, Remote Management and Anywhere Access are entirely different.  There are three method to manage an Orbi router remotely:

Remote Management, which opens port 8443 on the Orbi router to the WAN interface (you can pick the port if you don't like 8443).

This is an https connection, secured by the Orbi admin password, so if the password is reasonably secure the connection is as well.

I found that it "works fine", BUT... as soon as any port is opened, internet trolls immediately begin to probe it and the Orbi log file fills up with messages about "Invalid Login Attempt"  There is an option to ignore connections to the web based interface in the log file, which means my own internal connections would no longer be logged.

The Orbi "app" Anywhere Access, which is like all of the "Internet of Things" (IoT) smartphone apps: it uses the Netgear user ID/password to connect to a Netgear "cloud" service which communicates with the Orbi router. ( It's great for very simple tasks and uber convenient.  I have not spent the time to learn which port this uses because the Orbi "app" has so few capabilities that I simply don't use it. )  It's probably as encrypted as any other IoT management system.

OpenVPN.  Activating OpenVPN enables a remote device access to the Orbi LAN, which includes the Orbi router. So, a computer, tablet, etc. can open a VPN link into the Orbi LAN and do anything, such as print, manage servers, connect to PC's, and manage the Orbi.

If you come up with a method to restrict access for WiFi clients, please post it.

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

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@alokeprasad wrote:

In my Nighthawk R9000, I could disable wifi access to the router setup. Can I do that on the RBK50?

PS: Despite turning off Remote Management (in the browser interface), the Orbi iOS app still had "Anywhere Access" enabled. Isn't "Anywhere Access" the same as Remote Management?  I disabled it in the iOS app, but that was unexpected.

---

I am unaware of any method that will disable access to the Orbi web interface for WiFi connected devices. There are a host of differences between the Nighthawk and Orbi products, and this appears to be one of them.

No, Remote Management and Anywhere Access are entirely different.  There are three method to manage an Orbi router remotely:

Remote Management, which opens port 8443 on the Orbi router to the WAN interface (you can pick the port if you don't like 8443).

This is an https connection, secured by the Orbi admin password, so if the password is reasonably secure the connection is as well.

I found that it "works fine", BUT... as soon as any port is opened, internet trolls immediately begin to probe it and the Orbi log file fills up with messages about "Invalid Login Attempt"  There is an option to ignore connections to the web based interface in the log file, which means my own internal connections would no longer be logged.

The Orbi "app" Anywhere Access, which is like all of the "Internet of Things" (IoT) smartphone apps: it uses the Netgear user ID/password to connect to a Netgear "cloud" service which communicates with the Orbi router. ( It's great for very simple tasks and uber convenient.  I have not spent the time to learn which port this uses because the Orbi "app" has so few capabilities that I simply don't use it. )  It's probably as encrypted as any other IoT management system.

OpenVPN.  Activating OpenVPN enables a remote device access to the Orbi LAN, which includes the Orbi router. So, a computer, tablet, etc. can open a VPN link into the Orbi LAN and do anything, such as print, manage servers, connect to PC's, and manage the Orbi.

If you come up with a method to restrict access for WiFi clients, please post it.