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Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

krebsonsecurity.com

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Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#221

Post by Arcanum-XIII »

jonpurdy wrote: post #24

There was a lot of discussion from ex-Ubnt employees in a January 2021 thread※ related to outsourcing and incompetent management. From what I've read, they still show ads for their products in newer Unifi Controller web interfaces and don't have a way of disabling tracking. But now that the Krebs retraction has occurred, my brain doesn't know how bad/incompetent Ubiquiti is these days. Is there an updated-for-2022 so…

I was a bit disappointed with my Dream Machine Pro at the start, but now it's getting there - they now even provide a simple VPN solution that work on top of Wireguard.

What's still missing is more advance routing exposed in the interface (like dnat) and it would be perfect. I have another one deployed in a shop and it's working fine, even with the harsh hardware condition it's put in (lot of dirt/dust from auto mechanics, even if it's protected in a rack high in the room)

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#222

Post by jaclaz »

photochemsyn wrote: post #54

This seems to be the basics of the case: Initial report: https://web.archive.org/web/20211202143043/https://krebsonse... Indictment of source: https://web.archive.org/web/20211202161703/https://krebsonse... In cases like this it's probably better to leave the article up but plaster a big red 'retracted' banner across it, with a link to a complete explanation as to why it was retracted. As far as defamation, isn't the…

>In cases like this it's probably better to leave the article up but plaster a big red 'retracted' banner across it, with a link to a complete explanation as to why it was retracted.

Yes, that would have been IMHO much more appropriate, though there is the Wayback Machine (thanks for providing the link), allowing everyone to see with their own eyes what the matter was.

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#223

Post by nottorp »

strbean wrote: post #210
nottorp wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm I just redownloaded the 'unifi network' thingy. For one I had to go through a screen of threats telling me I shouldn't use a local application that only reminds me of the threats you have to go through when downloading the LGPL version of Qt. For two, the app is incomprehensible, it wanted me to create a "local administrator account" after i opted out of an online account and then it didn't find my old unifi ap t…

> it wanted me to create a "local administrator account" after i opted out of an online account What alternative would you prefer? Anyone on the network can configure it? Just a password with no username? > I still have an old version of their admin app on an old computer and that one just finds the AP and lets me configure it. So if they could do it 10 years ago they could do it now too, should they wish to. The ans…

> What alternative would you prefer? Anyone on the network can configure it? Just a password with no username?

How about having access control tied to the actual AP instead of a particular installation of the controller app, so I can admin it remotely from any machine that is available instead of just one?

Also, you conveniently ignored the spurious threats telling me i'm incompetent and i will get hacked without a unifi cloud account. I had to check 4 checkboxes agreeing to 4 different predictions of doom if i admin locally.

Pray tell, how do you configure a cloud linked device if there is no internet?

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#224

Post by fennecfoxy »

I hate Ubiquiti anyway. After helping with an install in our office a couple of jobs ago, I bought a UDM in 2020 thinking I'd have the same experience as I did back then.

Oh boy was I wrong. Everything is hidden behind layers of nice looking but useless UI, their software is generally pretty unstable and I get the weirdest things happen that I've never had with other routers, stuff like: * Phones will remain connected but say "connected without internet" without any reason why in the logs * Logs constantly spammed with random errors and other crap that UB is clearly being lazy about * 2.4Ghz unbearably slow, even in an area with no other transmitters (I've tested) and seems to be a software problem but I can't quite pin down why * No real support apart from the forums where often the "solution" to problems is to massively downgrade

Sure, they might have "best in class" APs or something but I think I'm gonna go Mikrotik next time I buy. Idc if I get like 70% the speed of UB wifi as long as it's consistent and works properly.

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#225

Post by fennecfoxy »

gonehome wrote: post #156
OJFord wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody competes with them as 'Apple for networking', but MikroTik is if anything a bit cheaper and better on the actual specs etc. - just without the snazzy UI and easy GUI (highly-G) config. There's probably a lot of people who'd love Ubiquiti gear ('gadget nerds', Linus Tech Tips viewers, gamers, etc.) to whom I wouldn't recommend MikroTik, but to anyone who's.. idk, heard of iptables, I would. All the gamer-market…

> "just without the snazzy UI and easy GUI" That UI is really fucking good imo, and good UX around this stuff is massively undervalued. Apple took over the world for a reason. As far as I know nobody comes close to Ubiquiti in this space.

No it isn't lmao, you can't even sort clients by their network activity. Let alone all the other bullshit you can't do with UB.

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#226

Post by fennecfoxy »

Arainach wrote: post #50
msh wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mikrotik is in the same price range but not as polished.

"Not as polished" is an incredibly generous term. Unless something has radically changed, Mikrotik basically requires remoting in with a command line and understanding all the implementation details. It's like trying to run a FreeBSD box as a router. Ubiquiti's tooling for common workflows is generations ahead, not a coat of polish.

If generations ahead means it's impossible to figure out wtf is going wrong with the hardware/software then that's true. Just like Apple, their ethos makes a lot of sense.

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#227

Post by blitzar »

throwaway09223 wrote: post #204
blitzar wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lawsuit was close to being settled ... my guess is this is part of the formal settlement.

Which also explains the delay. You don't post something like this mid-lawsuit unless it's putting issues to rest.

yup, freezing everything in place when the lawsuit lands is the sensible thing to do. deleting posts (that you refused to delete on previous takedown requests) or writing a retraction is going to be effectively an admission of guilt - and also you cant settle it with a retraction ...

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#228

Post by lostlogin »

lazide wrote: post #216
lostlogin wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So like, what do you want? This hasn’t been a particularly prompt retraction. Why the delay?

Because it's been an active court case?

When obviously wrong, failing to acknowledge it is an interesting choice. Maybe acknowledging it has legal repercussions, but so does the path taken.

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#229

Post by itsoktocry »

gonehome wrote: post #77

The HN comments here at the time weren't great either: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30850983 Despite it being clear that Krebs was wrong on this issue for some time, it showed the extent of his influence and the attacker's success in leveraging it to manipulate the public (including HN users). Hopefully his retraction at least helps with that.

>The HN comments here at the time weren't great either

Amazing, people accusing you of "astroturfing" (an HN favourite, doesn't even make sense in this context).

These are the comment threads that cross my mind when people claim this forum is atypically "smart".

Re: Final thoughts on Ubiquiti

#230

Post by yrro »

IMTDb wrote: post #198
Jenk wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a non-answer. What more do you want? What would be "enough"?

Compensation for the damages done to ubiquiti ? He chose to relay false information from un trustworthy source, in a way that damaged the ubiquiti brand, and this took some time and energy from ubiquiti employees to fight those false accusations. Here he is saying "Yeah, here is $0 for your troubles, I'll be doing the bare minimum so you can't drag me in front of a courthouse anymore". He is literally posting a 1 par…

He's being sued by Ubiquity.
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