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TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

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Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#21

Post by skeleton »

ktta wrote: post #9

PSA Anyone with commodity routers, repeaters, etc. please check out LEDE project https://lede-project.org . Check if your device has support here - https://lede-project.org/toh/start LEDE firmware is amazing. You will be able to do a lot more with your router and they have quick security fixes. The recent krack vulnerability was fixed within 2 days after the announcement.

I'm interested in installing a different firmware on my home router, but there are many offerings. Is there any reason you recommend LEDE over the others? (e.g. Tomato)

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#22

Post by Johnny555 »

cthalupa wrote: post #14
jsjohnst wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to say that the convenience, ease of use, and reliability of the product far outweighs any concerns I have over ~715MB over the course of a month. So your convenience trumps the impact you’re causing to global infrastructure? Yes, you’re just one among millions, but still a slippery slope.

>So your convenience trumps the impact you’re causing to global infrastructure Honestly? Yes. Should I want TP-Link to fix it? Maybe. Should pressure be put on TP-Link to fix it? Yes. But not by consumers. It isn't the responsibility of a random consumer that has no idea what an NTP server even is to understand whether or not the TP-Link router is going the "right thing" for all sorts of use cases they've never even…

What's the point of the NTP pool providers making their concerns public when consumers like you, who apparently are aware of the issue and what it means, don't care because TP-Link makes a "good product"?

Your attitude kind of reminds of the people that toss their cigarettes out their car window. When confronted they'll say something like "But my car doesn't have an ashtray, this is easier" or "But I don't want used cigarette butts in my car" or "What am I hurting? It's only one cigarette, and there are volunteers that clean up my cigarette butts from the roadside" or "If it was really a problem, they'd enforce it better, I've never been given a ticket for it"

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#23

Post by snuxoll »

alpb wrote: post #4

My most recent frustration with TP-LINK was they they DO NOT provide their firmware updates over HTTPS. They do not provide checksums for their firmware files either. (When I asked for these things, their support weren't helpful on Twitter.) So you're expected to download some unsigned binary over an untrusted connection and trust that with all your traffic. Definitely not buying TP-LINK next time. Good to know this…

TP-Link does a pretty good job on basic Layer 3 Lite switches and desktop wireless cards, but the junky software on their routers and repeaters is enough to make me not use them. Unfortunately they do the same thing worth firmware upgrades for their switches as well, no signatures, no hashes, no TLS.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#24

Post by gh02t »

Thlom wrote: post #17
xamlhacker wrote: post #2

Well I run a TP-link repeater and now thinking of getting something better. Someone know any routers or repeaters with reputation for good firmware?

The Ubiquity Unifi stuff looks good and not very expensive.

Speaking from experience, it is good. Takes a bit of networking know-how to set it up though, and you still need a router. Their consumer oriented stuff like the AmpliFi is quite excellent too and a bit friendlier.

I use an Edgerouter Lite, a Mikrotik switch and UniFi APs for myself and was so pleased I bought the AmpliFi mesh for my parents.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#25

Post by joering2 »

alpb wrote: post #4

My most recent frustration with TP-LINK was they they DO NOT provide their firmware updates over HTTPS. They do not provide checksums for their firmware files either. (When I asked for these things, their support weren't helpful on Twitter.) So you're expected to download some unsigned binary over an untrusted connection and trust that with all your traffic. Definitely not buying TP-LINK next time. Good to know this…

Given most of your traffic goes via HTTPS pipes, that over-reacting a little, no?

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#26

Post by bubblethink »

skeleton wrote: post #21
ktta wrote: post #9

PSA Anyone with commodity routers, repeaters, etc. please check out LEDE project https://lede-project.org . Check if your device has support here - https://lede-project.org/toh/start LEDE firmware is amazing. You will be able to do a lot more with your router and they have quick security fixes. The recent krack vulnerability was fixed within 2 days after the announcement.

I'm interested in installing a different firmware on my home router, but there are many offerings. Is there any reason you recommend LEDE over the others? (e.g. Tomato)

Maybe the name LEDE is not familiar to you, but LEDE is an openwrt fork, which is essentially going to get named to openwrt again through a merge since that's where most of the openwrt work is happening. From the various open or semi-open firmware, LEDE is the most active and open I think. Various other firmware will still be quite tied to vendor binary drivers.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#27

Post by kercker »

Update: According to ktta (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15912467), there is mistake in my calculation too.

"138KB * 24 * 3600 / 5" should be 2.3287GB per day. And it's 2.3287GB * 30 per month.

Update 2: "For comparison, a 5-minute check would be considered a pretty aggressive checking interval, and would only consume 1,37 MB per month. Instead, TP-Link goes through the same amount of data in just 82 minutes."

This assertion from the article has multiple errors too.

-----------------------------------------------------

The whole argument of the author is built on a flawed calculation by the author and the author exaggerated the number by a factor of 10.

715MB/month in the title and the article should be 71.5MB/month according to other information provided by the author.

According to the author, "TP-Link product is using about 138 KB every 5 seconds — or 23,85 MBs per day — on timekeeping."

23,85 MBs per day is not right, because 138KB * 24*3600/5 is about 2.328 MBs not 23,85 MBs.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#28

Post by ktta »

skeleton wrote: post #21
ktta wrote: post #9

PSA Anyone with commodity routers, repeaters, etc. please check out LEDE project https://lede-project.org . Check if your device has support here - https://lede-project.org/toh/start LEDE firmware is amazing. You will be able to do a lot more with your router and they have quick security fixes. The recent krack vulnerability was fixed within 2 days after the announcement.

I'm interested in installing a different firmware on my home router, but there are many offerings. Is there any reason you recommend LEDE over the others? (e.g. Tomato)

Tomato, DD-WRT, etc. try to be extremely user friendly. Not that LEDE doesn't, but people who have some technical expertise tend to benefit a lot more from LEDE with all their packages. Especially if you can compile an image yourself (it is pretty easy on linux), then you can have all the features tailored to your preference.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#29

Post by bubblethink »

ktta wrote: post #9

PSA Anyone with commodity routers, repeaters, etc. please check out LEDE project https://lede-project.org . Check if your device has support here - https://lede-project.org/toh/start LEDE firmware is amazing. You will be able to do a lot more with your router and they have quick security fixes. The recent krack vulnerability was fixed within 2 days after the announcement.

>You will be able to do a lot more with your router and they have quick security fixes

Just a counter point to this. Lede on its own doesn't have a very smooth in place upgrade system. If you are in the loop, sure you can do upgrades, but most people would never log in to their routers after setting it up. I think something like google wifi is not a bad solution either, with the obvious privacy tradeoff. It runs chromium os, and will update reliably on its own.

Re: TP-Link firmware sends six DNS requests and one NTP query every 5 seconds

#30

Post by dawnerd »

Thlom wrote: post #17
xamlhacker wrote: post #2

Well I run a TP-link repeater and now thinking of getting something better. Someone know any routers or repeaters with reputation for good firmware?

The Ubiquity Unifi stuff looks good and not very expensive.

My entire house uses them exclusively and they’re rock solid (as long as you have latest firmware, adopting old stock can be .... interesting).

Also no need for the cloud controller as you can run t inside a docker and have a fully self hosted solution.

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