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What's the story with NETGEAR FVS328?

I have been using the NETGEAR FVS328 for about 6 months now. It connects a small and simple home network (a few Windows based PCs) to the Internet.

I updated its firmware as soon as a stable version was released (first

1.0_09 and now I have 1.0_14).

Yeah, we have no problem connecting to the internet, but the question is... is it safe enough? Does it really do the job of firewalling by being hack-proof or is it as reliable as Microsoft Windows itself... ?

Points in question:

  • Every once in a while, the logs email ceases to function - until I reboot the unit. I don't mind rebooting every 6 months, but rebooting once a week is really annoying. Previously I used to have a Linux RedHat 6.2 based firewall (ipchains) and I rarely had to reboot it.
  • The DNS lookup function using the web interface simply doesn't work.
  • Every once in a while (frequency not yet determined) I get an "Administrator Interface Connecting" message logged, despite the fact that no one in my home as attempted to connect to this router via the web interface.

There are a few more problems that leave a lot to be desired (comparing to my old Linux RedHat 6.2 based firewall), but the most troubling problem is the feeling that my NETGEAR FVS328 has been compromised/hacked by some external hacker, but I have no way of knowing that since the logs of this thing are useless... (first, some of them never being emailed, but even if I received all of them, the logs are simply filled with irrelevant data witouth any way to filter out unnecessary entries). I never had this problem with my no-cost Linux RedHat 6.2 based firewall.

So, the obvious question is: did I buy a lemon?

If not, then how do I verify that this thing is not used to attack my LAN from inside?

BTW, I contacted NETGEAR tech support back then when I first learned about the scary "Administrator Interface Connecting" messages, but it was completely useless as the only thing they were able to suggest was upgrade my firmware from 1.0_09 to 1.0_13 BETA.

Any thoughts? Ideas? Similar experience?

Thanks, Lynn

P.S. For those who are curious why I bought this firewall/router if my Linux-based firewall was so good: I was simply trying to get rid of the noise (HDD and other fans) and wasteful power consumption.

Reply to
linuxlover992000
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have you changed the default password ? do this first

- stop response to pings on WAN side

- turn off remote management

Reply to
Terence Smith

Terence, thank you so much for answering my posting. Yes, of course I changed the default password. I even changed the firewall rules from the default configuration of "ALLOW all traffic except for the explicitly listed services" to "BLOCK all traffic except for the explicitly listed services". Thus, ping is blocked as well (except for the very few PCs inside my home LAN).

I also turned off remote management from day one.

I also tested the "stealthness" of my connection through

formatting link
- which returns with: "Your system has achieved a perfect TruStealth rating."

However, the intermittent behavior of this product (NETGEAR FVS328), along with those unexplained "Administrator Interface Connecting" messages (which even NETGEAR tech support could not explain!) make me feel a bit nervous... Is it possible that I traded my zero-cost, primitive, power-hungry and noisy linux based (ipchain) homebuilt firewall with an inferior product (that cost me almost $200) ?

Thanks, Lynn

Reply to
linuxlover992000

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