Linksys WRT1200AC

[dubstir]

About 2 months ago I upgraded my Linksys EA router to the WRT1200AC. My main reason for choosing this router was for a VPN addon. I have yet to do that and I was thinking of using ExpressVPN for its simplicity. Can anyone recommend a fast and possbily cheap VPN for this particular router?

Also, has any users of this router noticed any quirks like dropped packets or overheating?

 

[DelJo63]

"noticed any quirks like dropped packets"

test the net-path from you to google: PATHPING WWW.GOOGLE.COM ; it will take about 3minutes. All links should have zero losses, like " 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0%"

 

[dubstir]

I haven't seen any drop packets with my Internet. I have used several VPNs with it now currently on PureVPN because of their new features like built-in adblocker, app blocker, and network level antivirus/antimalware with IDS/IPS technology so it's pretty much cheap in the same price range and compared to others.

ExpressVPN is a simple setup and blocks all traffic that flows through the router. Does PureVPN work the same way? I looked over their website, but there is nothing definitive. It just says 1 account for 5 devices. Does this VPN reduce speed?

 

[DelJo63]

ExpressVPN is a simple setup and blocks all traffic that flows through the router. Does PureVPN work the same way?

Take a normal ISP connection:

• IPS==modem/router --- lan devices

Each system then has a tcp ROUTING table to get packets from the system to the ISP.

When you add a VPN, the default route to the ISP gets a competetor which routes ALL traffic to the VPN end-point. This preempts normal traffic BY DESIGN. This is a security issue as the remote end could be a bank or a company infrastructure and connections from your PC should not allow other things to access the remote end.

A VPN is by design a point-to-point exclusive connection.

 

[dubstir]

So... would I have to install an "app" on each and every device I own?

 

[DelJo63]

So... would I have to install an "app" on each and every device I own?

You miss the point - - once connected to a remote site with a VPN, you will not be able to navigate or access any other site, regardless if you use a VPN in the router or some app or plug-in via the browser.

 

[dubstir]

So I purchased NordVPN after their 3 day free trial and I am impressed with their speed, abundance of servers, and their customer support. I flashed my router to DD-WRT and the VPN setup was a breeze. I was contemplating using ExpressVPN for their simplistic approach, but NordVPN is half the price, plus I get to tweak my router using DD-WRT.

I can say that I haven't had a noticeable blip in packet loss compared to using Linksys' standard firmware for the past 2 months.