FCC just handed Netgear a de facto router monopoly in the US

https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/fcc-just-handed-netgear-a-de-facto-router-monopoly-in-the-us-223712324.html?src=rss

399 points · 47 comments · view on lemmy.world

47 Comments

halcyoncmdr@piefed.social · 137 pts · 127d

So you now can be absolutely certain that Netgear is actively and openly giving fascist authoritarians what they want.

At least before you could be fairly certain it was just the secretive three letter guys that roughly knew what they were doing at least. Now it's even the blatant dumb fucks in charge.

stumu415@lemmy.zip · 71 pts · 127d

Definitely will have no backdoor or monitoring installed as default.

floofloof@lemmy.ca · 66 pts · 127d (3 replies)

It's not clear what makes Netgear's currently foreign-made routers safer than, say, an Amazon Eero 7 or a Google Nest WiFi Pro.

This is all evidence that it's not really about safety. It's a clumsy attempt to strongarm tech companies into setting up factories in the USA. It may also be an attempt to create an environment in which it's easier to install US government backdoors on every home router.

EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 126d (1 reply)

It's a clumsy attempt to strongarm tech companies into setting up factories in the USA

Evidently not since Netgear has zero factories in the USA and plans to bring zero factories to the USA in the future.

It may also be an attempt to create an environment in which it's easier to install US government backdoors on every home router.

It’s this one.

MintyFresh@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 126d

As well as a clumsy attempt to thwart foreign back doors. Unless they've paid for them. Or are Israel.

msage@programming.dev · 17 pts · 127d

But how hilarious it is that Google and Amazon, already bending the knee to the emperor, did not get a pass.

VoodooAardvark@lemmy.zip · 56 pts · 127d (1 reply)

Control of the routers

Control of online identity

What could go wrong?

TransNeko@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 127d

It could be worse... we could be living the alternate watchdogs legion timeline... where Albion wins.

Cherry@piefed.social · 41 pts · 127d (6 replies)

And looks like netgear is off my list of trustworthiness. Used them for 20 years. Best get looking for a new one.

Atropos@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 126d

Mikrotik just released a new overkill router with wifi7 and 2.5G Ethernet. Might pick one of those up in order to avoid the inevitable fuckery for the next few years.

mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 126d

You can build your own router fyi

Cherry@piefed.social · 4 pts · 126d

I have an apology to make. I did a knee jerk reaction. I already have an ASUs running. I was using netgear 30 years ago then switched to ASUs 20 years ago…. Been replacing it since. Brain fart yesterday. I have a netgear in the cupboard that the isp sent me. Getting flung.

Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 126d (2 replies)

ASUS is nice

Cherry@piefed.social · 2 pts · 126d

Yeh I also have an ASU’s. Gonna dig it out.

isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 124d

It's french for "she sucks".

Joking aside, I only get ASUS for my residential needs, and Ubiquiti for commercial use.

TingoTenga@lemmy.world · 33 pts · 127d

This seems awfully convenient for everyone, but the consumer.

nbailey@lemmy.ca · 33 pts · 127d (1 reply)

The cool thing is that you can make basically any combination of parts into a router if you install Linux or BSD on it. Not terribly helpful for end user consumers that will get shafted by this, but at the end of the day it’s just a small computer.

Otherwise, smuggle some “foreign routers” in from Mexico or Canada like it’s the prohibition era?

Crozekiel@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 126d

The regulations also only cover consumer routers... I foresee more people getting racks installed in their house soon, lol.

4grams@awful.systems · 26 pts · 126d

boy, I wonder what palantir backdoors they definitely won't have.

just_another_person@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 127d (2 replies)

TrendNet is far superior and based on Torrence anyway. Netgear and Linksys are junk anyway. Get yourself an open hardware platform, or something that can run OpenWRT. Skip the corporate manufacturers who all kind of suck.

Mihies@programming.dev · 11 pts · 127d (1 reply)

MikroTik over here.

village604@adultswim.fan · 1 pts · 126d

I second mikrotik

blargh513@sh.itjust.works · 24 pts · 127d (5 replies)

Do they run openwrt?

superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 12 pts · 127d

I have 2 of them running openwrt, one is my main router. WiFi radio doesnt work though because of broadcom.

deranger@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 127d

Not the ones with Broadcom chips.

seathru@quokk.au · 5 pts · 127d

Every netgear router I own does.

littlewonder@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 126d (1 reply)

I just put OpenWRT on a Google Wi-Fi puck. It's been great so far.

dai@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 126d

I've got three of the old Google wifi pucks, all running openwrt. Bit of a mess around to find a working flash drive but no complaints now.

Only wifi 5 but all honesty that's all we need at home.

CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 126d (2 replies)

Netgear is the one hardware company I have an absolute and complete avoidance for. If someone gave me anything from Netgear for free. It would go straight into the electronics recycling bin at my local dump and I'd go pay full price for a different brand.

isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 124d (1 reply)

Not even a funny OpenWRT flash?

CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 124d

I wouldn't disrespect OpenWRT like that.

sakphul@discuss.tchncs.de · 15 pts · 127d (1 reply)

Still need to wait for more details on what Netgear agreed on with the FCC to get the conditional approval. Otherwise it is hard to evaluate if this is a good or bad thing.

Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 126d

Found the details: $$$

AA5B@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 126d (2 replies)

My NetGear router still has a uselessly incomplete implementation of VLANs after 5+ years of updates, I was ready to replace it out of frustration. Gen 6 wireless is getting old hat anyway

Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 126d

Use a old PC and pfsense or opnsense. Netgate the maintainer of pfsense is US based. OPNsense is a fork of pfsense after they went corporate.

bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 126d

Netgear is trash

adespoton@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 127d (3 replies)

Er, there’s at least 5 consumer router manufacturers that meet the new requirements. Interestingly, one of them is TP-Link.

paraphrand@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 127d (2 replies)

lol, IIRC a government agency said TP-Link is not trustworthy.

felbane@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 127d

Translation: they refused to allow us to inject telemetry into their firmware.

adespoton@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 127d

That’s what makes it interesting 🤔

Rooster326@programming.dev · 12 pts · 126d

Isn't this only for "residential" routers

What defines a commercial router? How much are we talking? In $$$

We don't even need the Access Point - those are still allowed to be sold.

Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz · 12 pts · 127d (1 reply)

Sounds like a non-tariff barrier to trade that other countries should bring up in trade negotiations.

sunbeam60@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 127d

The very same trade negotiations where all other countries have basically taken the stance that “we’ll just grin and bear it and wait for three years until he’s gone”. The EU is currently accepting 15% tariffs on their goods and mandating no tariffs in return.

bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 126d

Netgear is absolute shit. Never had a good product from them. Perfect for the US.

sturmblast@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 126d

Build your own. Fuck these people.

yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 127d

Not surprising . . . . .and this still does nothing to help domestic network device production in the US, since Netgear outsources their manufacturing to Taiwan.

docus@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 126d

Is it illegal yet to run dd-wrt or similar on a USA router?