New ASUS router firmware now requires a user to be 16y or older and will restrict features and even security upgrades if you opt out

Technology@lemmy.world – 296 points – 4 months ago

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/22252395

ASUS rolled out an update to its firmware (3.0.0.6.102_34791) that now requires users to be over the age of 16 and to send a slew of metrics and data back to ASUS. If you do not agree or do not check the box to verify you are 16y or older, you cannot use the router. At this time, I’m not sure if ASUS has meant to disable the router for anyone under 16 or if it’s a bug.

You can opt out at any time but lose access to a slew of features:

Please note that users are required to agree to share their information before using DDNS, Remote Connection (ASUS Router APP, Lyra APP. AiCloud, AiDisk), AiProtection, Traffic analyzer, Apps analyzer, Adaptive QoS, Game Boost and Web history. At any time, users can search the contents of the terms at this page or stop sharing their information with other parties by choosing Withdraw.

Moreover, ASUS disables automatic firmware updates and worse, all security upgrades unless you opt into the data sharing. Security upgrades perform the following:

Security upgrade incorporates security measures that continuously update its security file and scans to protect against malware, malicious scripts, and emerging threats in order to secure the router and ensure system stability. Some upgrades addressing important security issues or meeting legal/regulatory requirements will still be downloaded and installed automatically, even if "Security Upgrade" is turned off.

Edit: I have personally contacted their CEO's office, but if others would like to voice their disapproval as well, here is a link: https://www.asus.com/us/support/article/787/

You can opt out at any time but lose access to a slew of features:

Please note that users are required to agree to share their information before using DDNS, Remote Connection (ASUS Router APP, Lyra APP. AiCloud, AiDisk), AiProtection, Traffic analyzer, Apps analyzer, Adaptive QoS, Game Boost and Web history. At any time, users can search the contents of the terms at this page or stop sharing their information with other parties by choosing Withdraw.

This right here makes me NEVER buy an Asus router ever again. Same way I won't buy a Roku.

Between this and the warranty shit, we should all be boycotting Asus products entirely at this point.

Americans should fix their legal system so consumers cannot be abused. There are so much news from the US about warranty issues from literally every manufacturer and yet there are no issues like that in Europe. You can't boycott everything, fix your laws instead.

I know it's unrealistic for most, but this is why I bought a protectli and installed opnsense. Not only do I get a lot of useful features but I don't have to deal with this anti consumer bullshit.

............................I would upvote you, as I assume the things you just said are good ideas, if not expensive.

Thing is though, and don't take this the wrong way.......but I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Based on context, I assume it's like if you had a pihole, and gave it steroids, and its own server, and nuclear missles or some shit.

I could be completely wrong though, as I have zero idea what I'm talking about.

No, that’s basically it.

They bought a mini computer and installed router software onto it.

It’s a hardcore, really solid solution that you will become a network engineer to maintain.

I wouldn't say you need to be a network engineer, it's not like a juniper or Cisco type deal. It's got an intuitive GUI, but yeah you do need to know or be willing to learn a bit. This is why I'm my original post I said it's unrealistic for most.

Oh, yeah. My core problem with OPNSense is that I don’t heed the advice of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

My hand is stuck in a cookie jar of ever increasing technical complexity.

That's why I said it's unrealistic :). And yes that's our unfortunate state. You either stroke the shaft of big tech and get things cheap that are easy to use or you pay to play and learn to secure your privacy.

Protectli is a small fanless computer. Opnsense is an open source firewall operating system that you install on a computer.

https://ca.protectli.com/

https://opnsense.org/

AiCloud AiDisk AiProtection

That's a lot of AI shoved in a router.

To be fair they called a lot of their "intelligent" features AiSomething wayyy before the LLM explosion happened. Their overclocking tool for Z97 motherboards (around 2014) was called AiSuite.

Guess they had some foresight with their buzzwords then.

The problem is that it's not shoved in the router, that's why you have to agree to send them your data. Those features run on someone else's computer instead of in the router itself.

That right there sounds like a bunch of good reasons to opt out.

Asus continues to impress at exactly how good they are at turning into the worst possible tech company!

Dump this shithole manufacturer asap. They're permanently on my blacklist already, this is just a cherry on top.

Ya this is crazy. Between this and the computer hardware shenanigans, I don't think I'll be buying Asus ever again. I've lost all respect for the company.

I like my 3080 TUF, but damn ASUS makes it a tough sell to get any of their products in the future. Crazy how they fell off.

Here's what I think is going on.

ASUS made a deal with someone to send them data for money, so they snuck something in the EULA that said "Yeah, you're gonna give us your data, or you get to have a brick."

Somebody said, "Hey, what if it's a junior high student who can't legally agree to the EULA? That's gonna make it so we could get sued."

Dumb Execs said, "Make it so that you have to say you're 16 first. Kids will just lie and say they are ,so that still protects us from lawsuits."

Developers: face palm

If you are running proprietary router firmware, look up openwrt

There other options too. You don't have to be treated like this. It ain't right.

Merlin is the go-to custom firmware for Asus routers.

Go MikroTik for a home router.

Only buy routers that have OpenWRT support, problem solved. Why trust your entire network and all of the data transferred over it to proprietary garbage?

There's one alternative: Mikrotik. Availability of OpenWRT images is spotty not because the devices would have locked bootloaders or something, or they wouldn't provide kernel sources, but because Mikrotik's software is ISP-grade so very few people want to run anything else on it. Want your AP to talk BGP? No problem.

Yup, that's what I use. Mikrotik router and Ubiquiti AP. Ubiquiti APs are kind of a pain, but they work well once configured, and I honestly haven't had many problems with Mikrotik.

The nice thing about this setup is I can replace one thing without replacing the rest. If I want to upgrade to 10 gigabit ethernet, I don't need to mess with the wifi, I just need to upgrade the router. Or if the wifi isn't strong enough, I can just get another AP. If I want to do something fancy, I can probably do it with the software on the router.

Any suggestions for current gen routers?

I'm using an R86S.

I am using Asuswrt-merlin on my router that does not support openwrt

Not sure this will fly in Europe. Is it a US thing?