[_RPM]

One time I was up for like 36 hours, and I had just gotten a new router from Linksys. I started reading the privacy policy and got really freaked out that they were tracking every website I visited through some kind of HTTP/S proxy.

I wouldn't doubt it because in their policy they paint some pretty broad strokes with their words. Their "Smart WiFi" router phones home constantly and the web interface manager doesn't allow you to run it without third party cookies enabled and JavaScript enabled. I'm going to have to burn that open source router onto it because it said it was capable.

[bsamuels]

I tried blocking the only third party cookie on our admin portal and the rest of the site seemed to work fine. What are you using to block the third party cookie?

Also what part of the privacy policy gives you the impression of there being a proxy/something tracking the websites you visit?

[_RPM]

When you login to the smart wifi, open your network panel, and it will phone home on a loop.

I don't recall specifics, It just made me very paranoid. Go ahead and read it for yourself. Who knows how often they phone home? I know I don't. And think about what kind of targeted advertising they could implement if they knew every website you've ever visited. Is it possible? I can't see how thinking about doing this wouldn't have been a thought in meetings with how to monetize.

[bsamuels]

There's basically 4 different kinds of traffic you'll see coming out of the browser when you're viewing the admin portal.

JNAP Calls - These are used to get or set configuration settings on your router. They'll always be aimed at 192.168.1.1 (or wherever your gateway is) If you're managing your router through a cloud interface, the POSTS will be directed towards linksyssmartwifi.com

Internet Connectivity Heartbeats - These are used to figure out if you have an active internet connection. They'll be aimed at connect.linksys.com

Speedtest Requests - These requests are used to provide support for the speed test functionality. They're typically aimed at linksys.ookla.com or linksysconnect.speedtest.net and are only used to download the flash object that performs the speed test

GUI/html Requests - These are GET requests used to build the html page, aimed 192.168.1.1

However if you set up a cloud account and use the remote admin interface to change your router's settings, youll see lots of WAN-side traffic to the Linksys cloud.

[godzillabrennus]

I wish Pfsense hardware was more affordable so more people could afford to run it.

[seanp2k2]

Ubiquiti ERLite runs Vyatta on Debian on MIPS. $100 and it has TCP + VPN offload and 3 real interfaces. It might be possible to run PFSense on it; I've installed PFSense to a CF card on an IDE adapter running in a thin client (you can also find these on eBay, some with PCI-E even...check out the HP T5745 for example). You can find a lot of thin clients on eBay for under $100 if that's what you want, and most are fanless and low-power. The only issue is fitting multiple NICs, but again, PCI-E if you know where to look.

[godzillabrennus]

Vyatta has limited their web gui to their paying subscribers for years now. Probably negates any cost savings from using Pfsense.

[utefan001]

I offer them on ebay for $44 + Shipping. It is not hard to just build your own. 3ghz core 2 duo machines with 4GB and room for a 2nd NIC are the way to go to keep cost down in my opinion.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Quiet-3-0GHz-core-2-duo-pfSense-Fire...

[gonzo]

I don't think you're part of the solution

[utefan001]

I only entered the market by accident. There is not much of a barrier to entry. I bought 50 machines from a recycling company in Maryland for another project. My friend suggested putting pfsense on them and selling them on ebay to help get rid of them. Your lowest cost product is $299. I am sure you know this industry better than I do. Ping me offline if needed.

[_RPM]

Have you made a significant amount of money from this? What is your profit margin? This sounds like a good business.

[utefan001]

No, we only sell ~4 machines per week. Profit margin at this price is thin. Maybe we need a better marketing campaign :) The machines without hard drives cost me $20 each. I got a bulk deal on hard drives and network cards. Once we sell all 50 machines, we don't plan on selling any more.

[forbiddenlake]

So, why isn't selling cheap pfsense devices on eBay part of the solution to avoiding vendor spying? Because you also sell pfSense hardware and it's more expensive?

[gonzo]

because that's the revenue we use to pay the developers.

I'm not sure what you mean by "vendor spying". Perhaps this is a reference to the FCC-required controls for 802.11 devices.

[pyvpx]

pfSense is based on FreeBSD. there is no "pfSense hardware", just x86 machines.

[joshka]

pfSense sell "pfSense hardware" at https://www.pfsense.org/hardware/

[kalleboo]

I wonder what's the cheapest/most low-power hardware that could do that job? A Raspberry Pi is too underpowered (putting Ethernet on USB is also a big problem), but what's the next step up from there?

[gonzo]

We have a dual Ethernet ARM (looks like beaglebone black) in the works.

https://twitter.com/gonzopancho/status/737918774582579200

[ddeck]

Not sure about psSense, but I use this box to run VyOS [1]:

https://world.taobao.com/item/520967318043.htm

1.8GHz dual core celeron, 2GB RAM, 25GB SSD, wireless + gigabit LAN, fanless and in a nice box with power supply for $100 + shipping.

Disclaimer: No idea how difficult it is to purchase from taobao internationally and this vendor/model may not be the exact one I'm using, but it gives you an idea of the economics that are possible.

[1] http://vyos.net/wiki/Main_Page

[ashitlerferad]

Anything that has the right ports should work.

[utefan001]

See my ebay link above.

[gonzo]

You're not part of the solution here

[utefan001]

Hi Jim please see my reply above.

[gonzo]

And ARM. https://twitter.com/gonzopancho/status/737918774582579200