NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
mrfranc
Dec 25, 2020Apprentice
Orbi RBR50 Router Firmware Version V2.7.2.102
A new Router Firmware Version V2.7.2.102 installed automatically during the night. So far so good!
CrimpOn
Dec 30, 2020Guru
There are three types of "Remote Administration" for an Orbi system. Each has definite strengths and weaknesses.
- Anywhere Access. The Orbi smartphone "app" can connect to the Orbi remotely by going through the Netgear "Cloud".
I find the Orbi app to be like a ditzy blonde. Pretty, but basically brain dead. (Not like the blonds I know who are smart and articulate.)
The app just doesn't do very much. But, if you want only simple things, it works. It has nothing to do with the other two methods. - The Orbi web interface offers an entirely different Remote Administration on the Advanced Tab, Advanced Setup.
It requires that you set up DDNS using one of three services (so that you "know" which IP the Orbi has without manually tracking it. Would be a bit of a bummer to be away from home and your ISP change the Orbi IP to something you don't know.)
Setting it up (after the DDNS bit) is simple.
This also "works" and allows access to the entire Orbi web interface.
The drawback to Remote Access is that it opens one port to the internet. The default is 8443, but it doesn't matter because internet trolls are constantly scanning every IP address in the world looking for open ports. If you chose 8765 or 5678, they would find it eventually.
What annoyed the heck out of me was that every day or so some (blankety blank dumbell) would try to hack my remote login and fill up the Orbi log with failed attempts. My Orbi password is 30 characters long with lots of goofy characters, so by trying one login per minute it will take about 4 billion years to break in. But I hated having the log fill up with trash.
If you don't care about the Orbi log and have a really good admin password, it works fine. - What I did was set up OpenVPN on the Orbi (also using the same DDNS). For some reason, the log does not fill up with failed VPN connection attempts.
Setting up OpenVPN is not trivial. There is a much steeper learning curve than ordinary Remote Admin.
I have OpenVPN Client software on every laptop, tablet, and smartphone that I own. So I can be anywhere with internet access and open a VPN connection to my Orbi. Once connected, I can access any device on the Orbi LAN, including the Orbi itself.
Works just fine. It even allows me to access the internet from the Orbi. This has the effect of encrypting everything I do remotely inside a VPN tunnel (to the Orbi). Of course, it is "regular" from the Orbi to the internet, but I am more concerned about "sniffing" in random WiFi locations than when connected to my ISP.
So, three methods. They all work. If you never carry a laptop, I'd stick with the Orbi App remote admin. Otherwise, do what you are comfortable with.
alokeprasad
Dec 30, 2020Mentor
Thx for the explanation.
"The Orbi smartphone "app" can connect to the Orbi remotely by going through the Netgear "Cloud".
Thats the reason I want to have nothing to do with it!! Companies get hacked and passwords get leaked or guessed.
For someone like me, who has no need for remote management of anything, it is nice that I can disable remote administration (and not open ports on the NAT), not enable VPN. As for Anywhere Access, it is what it is. But I wish it wasn't.
Ideally, if someone wants to administer my router, switches, they should need to physically connect to my LAN with Ethernet cable. There should be a way to set things up that way.
But it isn't :smileysad: