do the newer routers still have need for DDWRT

[sparks]

I am going to buy a new router and always used tomato or dd-wrt in the past.
It seems that the new routers are locked down and can not be flashed any more.
This is what I have read on the dd-wrt site.
I think the main thing I got from it anyway was total usage and a few other things.
Is it really that big of a deal now?

ps I was looking at 1900 ac routers. Linksys, asus and netgear.
linksys is $140 while the asus and netgear are $180 is the higher price the best?

 

[RMerlin]

Is it really that big of a deal now?

Depends on what you need. For the vast majority of users, the OEM firmware works just fine. Some brands ship with more features out of the box than others. So there's not a single "yes" or "no" answer to that.

Globally, there's definitely still a need for third party firmware projects. Whether it's a big deal for you, only you would know.

ps I was looking at 1900 ac routers. Linksys, asus and netgear.
linksys is $140 while the asus and netgear are $180 is the higher price the best?

Personally I would favor either Asus or Netgear here for the 1900AC class. They both have very mature products on the market by now (Asus RT-AC68U or Netgear R7000), and they both actively support their respective product line. And they both have third party firmware support.

 

[pete y testing]

from my perspective its a case that the some manufactures have "stepped up to the base plate" and are now bringing their "A" game to the masses whereas in the past they didnt really see the need or want for such and thats where the likes of dd wrt and the other 3rd party coders came in and gave the masses what they wanted

today we see far more features and flexibility in the stock firmware and as a consequence see less need for the 3rd party firmware's , merlin being the exception as he takes the stock asus firmware and improves on it while respecting the already well coded asus stock fw

yes there are still some fw like gargoyle that have specific features like quota control that we dont see in stock fw but given time we may even see that included , so some manufactures have learnt from the masses and the 3rd party world , others not so much

ps I was looking at 1900 ac routers.

if its features you want you pretty much cant go past the asus and its fw when it comes to value for money

 

[sfx2000]

today we see far more features and flexibility in the stock firmware and as a consequence see less need for the 3rd party firmware's , merlin being the exception as he takes the stock asus firmware and improves on it while respecting the already well coded asus stock fw

The OEM's have been adding features lately - but also consider that many of them - esp. in the Broadcom space, build off the Broadcom SDK - and some of that code is very old, and from a security perspective, very broken... it's an incredibly brittle house of cards that usually falls over fairly easily under a determined attack from a skilled white hat/black hat "researcher" with technical knowledge.

DDWRT does try to keep current on the platforms they support - and I would go as far as to say, OpenWRT (and the LEDE fork) are even more secure.

Now that MS has done a pretty good job with Windows, and OSX and Linux have always been fairly good, the "researchers" are going for the low hanging fruit, and gateways like R7000 and RT-AC68U are targeted frequently due to their popularity - those along with the carrier provided gateways.

And... they get popped fairly often these days - netgear alone has been a frequent victim of some high profile exploits lately, but they're not the only one.

DDWRT/OpenWRT are good solutions - the weak part for them is the proprietary drivers, esp. for wireless, as these do tend to be binary blobs - DDWRT is a bit more relaxed and open about this than OpenWRT, but that's always a concern - but both are good solutions if factory firmware (or supported forks thereof) doesn't meet needs.

 

[RMerlin]

It would be interesting to see researchers devote some time in testing DD-WRT's security. Since DD-WRT is mostly a one-man project (aside from kong's contributions), there's a lot of dark corners in the code that might be in need of testing.

One thing in favor of DD-WRT tho is Brainslayer is usually quite on-the-ball with updating components such as openssl or dnsmasq. That leaves the httpd and rc code in need to be tested.

 

[sparks]

Thanks everyone I noticed one thing that I had a question about. I see the new Asus has monitoring for each user and total usage.
It was stated this was removed from the qos service section.
too bad this is not updatable on the older models like the AC68 versions.
Anyway I just got offered a T-Mobile (AC-1900). He explained how easy it was to convert it to a stock 68U and its only $70.
It is very tempting BUT you have no warranty and no support from asus.

I went with the Asus Ac3100 ....wish me luck

if anyone is interested comcast is selling the netgear R8000 for $203 in their store.

 

[System Error Message]

There will always be a need for DD-WRT but even more so there will always be a need for RMerlin's firmware. His firmware adds really cool things while keeping the stock functionality when it comes to performance. There will always be need for DD-wrt, openwrt and tomato as they offer really good firmwares too and more functionality. It allows manufacturers to focus on basic features while these firmwares can offer more features for the more advanced needs as to install them may not be a simple task.

 

[sfx2000]

There will always be a need for DD-WRT

Mixed feeling here - as DDWRT (and the various other WRT's) basically date back to the Linksys WRT54G GPL drop...

There's a few of us looking to update and replace that (what has become a real security mess) with something better...

One must recognize the contribution there - WRT54G is the broadcom support package for pretty much all their AC and N class stuff...

(as an aside - OptWare/Entware - again - linksys - this one relates back to the SLUG/NSLU2)

 

[sfx2000]

It would be interesting to see researchers devote some time in testing DD-WRT's security. Since DD-WRT is mostly a one-man project (aside from kong's contributions), there's a lot of dark corners in the code that might be in need of testing.

I don't think it would end well, to be honest...

But that's just me being me - and pretty much any BHR's firmware is at risk from someone with technical knowledge and the tools/capabilities to bitch slap it...