13 replies to this topic

[JSmith7784]

Hello all,
I recently replaced my router with an ASUS RT-AC68u. So far it has been working great. My wireless coverage has improved and I haven't had to reset it once.
I play MWO using a wire connection and usually my ping is stable. With my old router I noticed hit detection never seemed consistant. Haven't had this router long enough to compare. Looking at the settings I had a few questions:
1) should I enable the router firewall or use my norton firewall instead? Use 1 or both?
2) should I enable IPv6 or keep it with the default IPv4 setting? Will changing this help?

Thanks,
JSmith7784

Edited by JSmith7784, 31 January 2016 - 06:27 PM.

[Tarl Cabot]

1. Reset your password so that someone else with a wireless connection can not log in and change your settings. Also setup WAP+ on wireless.
2. The router software firewall is more of a SPI (stateful packet inspection). If issues turn it off, as it does not disable NAT. Always use the firewall on your computer.
3. Only useful if ISP has it enabled, then if any sites you visit are IPv6 only.
4. Make sure to blow out the router/modem every few months. Dust build up can generate heat-causing issues.

[Golrar]

What Tarl said. Definitely change your password and definitely enable WAP. But I am sure you had this on your old router?

Just leave your default firewall settings alone on the router. Unless you need some kind of port forwarding or a specific port opened, the default should be fine. And if you need a port opened or forwarding, I am thinking you wouldn't be asking in the first place.

Always use a firewall on your PC. Although I don't personally care for Norton anything, it is better than nothing. If you didn't have the Norton, your Windows firewall setup would be fine as long as it is updated.

[Flapdrol]

Default settings are usually fine, just make sure you change the wireless password, many are generated by a cracked algorithm.

[JSmith7784]

Thanks for the replies. I always change my router name, login and password as soon as I set it up. My old router was a Dlink DIR-615 and was getting very unreliable. It was randomly losing speed, resetting and my packet loss was horrible. I figured it was time for a new router.

I turned on the router firewall and all seems ok. I don't use port forwarding and usually the stock setting seem to work ok for me.

I also left the router with the IPv4 setting. I've researched the IPv6 and it seems Time Warner is using it on their network. From what I read in their forums it just doesn't seem to be something that would show improvement for me. Do you think it would improve anything by switching over?

I'm just wanting to make sure my settings will allow the best possible experience gaming online and especially for MWO.

Thanks.

[Golrar]

I don't think you would notice a difference between IPv4 vs IPv6 with anything right now. Although IPv6 will bring about some options that will likely speed up connections ( Flow prioritization, efficient smart routing, etc.) it will only make a noticeable difference when every aspect of the route is using it. It is all well and good if TWC is using it, but if the backbone outside TWC isn't using it yet then you won't get a bitter ping because it will revert to IPv4. You won't see the big benefits of IPv6 until IPv4 is fully retired, and to do that there has to be over 4 billion IP addresses in use.

But even were you to turn IPv6 on, it is fully compatible with IPv4 and will downgrade itself to that protocol if needed.

[JSmith7784]

Thanks for the reply. I turned on IPv6, rebooted the router and everything seems to be running good here. I guess I will leave it on for now and can always turn it off if needed.

Is there any benefit to leaving it turned off and running in IPv4 mode only?

Thanks,
Jeremy

[Golrar]

Not really. Like I said IPv6 is full backward compatible with IPv4. Shouldn't cause any issues. That being said, if you do notice any irregularities, such as packet loss or high ping, that would be the first thing I would check.

[Kshat]

Nope. IPv4 is as of today only a fallback solution if your ISP can't handle IPv6.

And get rid of Norton. A fully updated Windows 10 is all you need. To be able to do what Norton stuff promises you to do, it needs elevated rights. Given the badly engineered code it has, stuff like these are a major security issue because they're more or less a backdoor to your system. And as such, they've been cracked in the past - and will be cracked in the future.
Don't skimp on the rights management and updates of Windows, every malware you catch is to 99% based on social engineering ("click here and get free stuff") or badly coded third party software like Norton, Java, Flash etc....

[Golrar]

Kshat, on 02 February 2016 - 06:46 PM, said:

A fully updated Windows 10 is all you need.

I agree Norton is trash, and I have no experience with Windows 10. Is it that much better than the Windows 7 firewall and security?

Edit: By that I mean I don't fully trust Windows 7 to handle my security. Are you saying if I upgrade to Windows 10 I am magically in the happy place?

Edited by Golrar, 02 February 2016 - 08:59 PM.

[xWiredx]

Kshat, on 02 February 2016 - 06:46 PM, said:

Nope. IPv4 is as of today only a fallback solution if your ISP can't handle IPv6.

And get rid of Norton. A fully updated Windows 10 is all you need. To be able to do what Norton stuff promises you to do, it needs elevated rights. Given the badly engineered code it has, stuff like these are a major security issue because they're more or less a backdoor to your system. And as such, they've been cracked in the past - and will be cracked in the future.
Don't skimp on the rights management and updates of Windows, every malware you catch is to 99% based on social engineering ("click here and get free stuff") or badly coded third party software like Norton, Java, Flash etc....

See this? Ignore it.

99% of malware isn't caught from "social engineering", nor is everything that Microsoft rolled into Windows Defender better than Norton's standard security suite (though, honestly, that should be replaced with something better...), and IPv4 is not "just a fallback".

Javascript and Flash issues are more effective ways to spread malware. Almost anything is better than having Windows Defender only on Windows 10 except disabling that and Windows Firewall, too, to leave the OS completely unprotected. IPv4 is not even utilized by about 35% of the United States, and Canada doesn't even break 50% yet.

Seriously, guy.

[Kshat]

I like people like you, not even knowing what they're talking about...
IPv6 is, even in the US and Canada, rolled out throughout the backbones of every ISP. The only reason you don't know about it is because the ISPs know about their usual customer having no clue about IT, therefore most networks are running in a hybrid mode, emulating IPv4 whilst running on IPv6.

And regarding any software provided by the "anti malware industry":
https://code.google....s/detail?id=714

So what would be your next argument, that the guys at google don't know what they're doing? C'mon...
Microsoft got one of the best security teams of the world, they learned a lot since the "dark age of internet security", namely Win XP.
But yeah, use your third party software, you won't gain anything. It's the same as installing an antivirus solution on an android phone. Either it got not the rights to effectively combat malware, or it is a major intrusion vector.

Oh, I forgot about those security companies getting hacked, their sourcecodes and userdata stolen... that's the most funny thing about these consumer "security" companies.

http://thehackernews...der-hacked.html

[xWiredx]

Kshat, on 03 February 2016 - 01:48 PM, said:

snip

U WOT M8?

Cisco's statistics for IPv6 deployment: http://6lab.cisco.com/stats/
IPv6 Test's IPv6 deployment statistics: http://ipv6-test.com/stats/

Java is only 2nd to Flash for vulnerabilities: https://heimdalsecur...-your-computer/
Flash, Java, and PDF account for 2/3 of vulnerabilities exploited by malware: http://www.computing...rous-file-types
Windows Exploitation in 2015: http://www.welivesec...ion_in_2015.pdf

Very clearly, the data is not in your favor.

[Golrar]

Kshat, on 03 February 2016 - 01:48 PM, said:

Microsoft got one of the best security teams of the world, they learned a lot since the "dark age of internet security", namely Win XP.

And yet WAT in Windows 10 has already been circumvented so that you do not have to own Win 7 or 8 to get a genuine copy of 10. Great security there. MS is more concerned with data mining and ad revenue than security atm.