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TrendMicro alternatives?

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Martin.B

New Around Here
Using a ASUS RT-AC87U, I recently moved from the ASUSwrt
to the ASUSwrt-Merlin. Both use TrendMicro software e.g.
for the "AiProtection", "Adaptive QoS" and "Traffic Analyzer"
Looking at the Trend Micro End User License Agreement

By using the Software, You will also cause certain information (“Forwarded Data”)
to be sent to Trend Micro-owned or -controlled servers[...].
This Forwarded Data may include [...] URLs of websites visited [...] and/or
executable files or content[...].
Forwarded Data may also include email messages [...] that contains personally
identifiable information or other sensitive data stored in files on Your router.


I definitely won't accept a "BigBrother" controlling which
websites I visit and looking through my emails
(and I wonder if all the other users really read this license agreement).
There seems to be no way to uninstall this software, but I hope
that no data will be sent, if I don't accept the license agreement...

In the system protocol section, I don't see a log about the connections
(only a list about the active connections).
So it is even hard to see, what e.g. my "SmartTV" is doing...
(And after all I'm quite disappointed about a router with
a high energy consumption, but limited functionality...)

Is there a way to get some similar functionality of the
Trend Micro stuff mentioned above, keeping the data locally (or on a NAS)?
Is there e.g. Optware or Entware software to fill this gap?

Or is DD-WRT (http://dd-wrt.com/) the better alternative in this case?
However, there seems only a beta to be available for the ASUS RT-AC87U at the moment...
(http://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv...6947/asus-rt-ac87u/asus_rt-ac87u-firmware.trx)

Thank you,
Martin
 
I have the same concerns as you. How does it work? Has anybody snorted the packets between router and modem to see what goes on , on what port? I hope there is open source alternative one day.
 
(I should have titled the post "TrendMicro replacement?")
Thank you for the comments (Cake) and the link (martinr)!

But the questions remain:
How can I get rid of that TrendMicro stuff?
How can I obtain (about) the same functionality (without TrendMicro)?

Thank you

P.S.: DD-WRT is still beta for the ASUS RT-AC87U
(http://download1.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/betas/2015/05-27-2015-r27086/asus-rt-ac87u/asus_rt-ac87u-firmware.trx)
and I'm not aware of any other alternatives
(e.g. http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start#asus doesn't list the AC87U)
 
I have done a guide on how to do ip based filtering on asuswrt-merlin

I also have been testing numerous lists I found on the net.

Here is the problem, the best lists are usually behind paywalls. The free lists either are small and probably dont catch much or have listings that break the web e.g. one such list blocked the google play domain, not good. Also have to be careful to not use lists that are not just for security, e.g. one of the lists in the combined hosts file thread also blocks adult sites which someone may not want.

So the trend micro solution does have a lot of merits.

I do plan to release my guides and the lists I use but they not ready yet. Also alot of filtering should be done by url not just domains, which makes things complicated (and cpu demanding). e.g. If a domain lookup hits a listed url, then the router redirect traffic to something like squid guard which then processes the request and only blocks listed url's instead of the entire domain. this is important for listed domains such as dropbox and googlecode where you dont want to block the entire domain.

I have access to a few private lists as well which I have been using at home, but they are commercially supplied and they denied me permission to share for home use.
 
......
But the questions remain:
How can I get rid of that TrendMicro stuff?
How can I obtain (about) the same functionality (without TrendMicro)......


I might be missing a trick here, but do you need to get rid of it; won't disabling AiProtection (or the bits you don't want) achieve the same result? I'm fairly sure I never saw the licence agreement you mentioned at least until I turned on AiProtection.

Don't be too hasty: AiProtection - or elements of it - is good enough for RMerlin, and that's all I need to know.

I don't use the Infected Device detection. I only use the Vulnerability Protection feature.

[ http://www.snbforums.com/threads/tr...ng-alert-message-vp-victim.23473/#post-173564 ]

And you are not seriously considering reverting to DDWRT after having experienced Asuswrt-Merlin, are you?


The second question is not easy: there are several elements to AiProtection. I guess the one you might have in mind is what's loosely called ad blocking - malicious domain blocking is a better term. For that, I use, in addition to AiProtection, a local Raspberry Pi DNS server running 2 lists that I combine. There is a great deal in this forum's archives on "ad blocking", and various approaches to it. But as I say, that's only one element of AiProtection.

Martin
 
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I myself would not miss most of the trend-micro stuff, however I do really like the DPI part.
I am uneasy that trend-micro gets a list of every device on my network, and which url's are visited, along with host name, mac and time stamp. (I am assuming)
How to have DPI without closed source Trend-Micro?
I was thinking as a future todo list- to see if pfsense will work on arm box, and putting that between router and modem. I think the cpu requirements are high though and I am not sure if it has been ported to arm.
 
I myself would not miss most of the trend-micro stuff, however I do really like the DPI part.
I am uneasy that trend-micro gets a list of every device on my network, and which url's are visited, along with host name, mac and time stamp. (I am assuming)
How to have DPI without closed source Trend-Micro?
I was thinking as a future todo list- to see if pfsense will work on arm box, and putting that between router and modem. I think the cpu requirements are high though and I am not sure if it has been ported to arm.
You're so paranoid. Is trend-micro any different than IE smartscreen or Mozilla and chrome website filtering? Are you afraid they'll sell that info or something? What use do they have for Mac and time stamp? I doubt they take or keep those info. I don't see the value on those things. I seriously doubt a human will read those thing. You're assuming way too much.
 
yes I am paranoid. :) I don't use mozilla filtering settings that block attack sites, block web forgeries, phishing and I don't use norton, defender type stuff.
Data mining is worth $$$. They line that these companies preached is that it is "for my safety".- b.s.
One time I wondered how does my OS know it has internet? (interesting read) Special packets sent to MS.
 
yes I am paranoid. :) I don't use mozilla filtering settings that block attack sites, block web forgeries, phishing and I don't use norton, defender type stuff.
Data mining is worth $$$. They line that these companies preached is that it is "for my safety".- b.s.
One time I wondered how does my OS know it has internet? (interesting read) Special packets sent to MS.

Accessing a web server provides your IP, your browser and also your OS to that web server. Any peer through which you access that server will also know from where the traffic came, and where it goes. That does not stop you from going on websites all day long.

Your DNS queries are also logged by the nameserver you use to do name lookups (most likely your ISP's).

Your Windows machine accesses Windows Update on a regular basis to look for available updates. Those communications are far more "special" than the ICMP pings Windows uses to determine if you are online...

Let's face it: the Internet is a PUBLIC network. You lose any "privacy" the moment you access it.

There's a big difference between posting your life on Facebook for millions to read, and providing URLs to a security company such as Trend Micro.
 
I think privacy is possible, (imho)
I use https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/random-agent-spoofer/ plus no script and cookie cruncher as well as blocking the referrer. As far as the dns, there are some out there that say they do not log. VPN helps too.
I am not implying that I am up to no good, I just don't think someone else should know my habits and what I like etc...
No meatbag ever analyze the data. Everything is done by computers. The worst thing is they target ADs to your PC. Just use ad blocker and you won't see them. It's problem if they identify you as a person and mail junk to your home.
 
I think privacy is possible, (imho)
I use https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/random-agent-spoofer/ plus no script and cookie cruncher as well as blocking the referrer. As far as the dns, there are some out there that say they do not log.

They still get your IP address.

VPN helps too.

Assuming you have more trust in a random VPN provider that started operating 3-4 years ago, located in some country, than a 20+ years multinational security company such as Trend Micro ;) Also note that the tunnel secure the data between you and the VPN provider. From their exit point to the destination server, it's once again back in the clear, open to sniffing.

Quite frankly, the security benefits brought by these VPN tunnel providers is exaggerated. They do NOT provide the level of security/privacy most people think they do.

I am not implying that I am up to no good, I just don't think someone else should know my habits and what I like etc...

I understand. And I'm not implying either that security/privacy is wrong, a bad idea or futile. Just that people often worry about the wrong things, and what they think is making them secure is actually not making any real difference, beside making their life more difficult.

If Trend Micro were earning some $$$ out of data mining (which I highly doubt they do) in exchange from protecting you for free against fraudulous websites, and increasing your overall security, wouldn't you say that the end result is that you both win? :)
 
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