What Is the Best Custom Firmware to Install on Your Router
I oft get requests via Electronic mail, sadly I can’t reply them all but I effort to pick some interesting stuff which I can explain here in detail. In general, if you’re looking for a good and solid VPN router, you tin can’t get wrong with Asus because they offering a keen lineup of VPN-fix routers – from inexpensive to very high-end prices.
First things first – why VPN on your Router?
I exercise believe and have
some testify
that most (if not all) Isp’southward are selling your data which includes Browser history (visited page) and more, they usually run into your DNS traffic and can come to a decision which pages you like and visit often. Such information are interesting for Amazon & Co. Besides you harden your security setup upwards to 90% while using a VPN, considering
MITM attacks aren’t possible.
The basic example shows in a nutshell why yous e’er should employ a VPN (no matter what) while you’re connected to the Internet.
Choosing the correct Router
There are many projects which selling pre-configured Routers, like
FlashRouters orSabai Applied science if you#re also lazy to do it yourself, nonetheless, I’m not actually a fan of such projects because you lot pay actress for something yous can practise yourself and this as well guarantees that no has tampered your Router or it’s firmware. It’due south more a trust affair, I haven’t heard something bad near FlashRouters or Sabai in my years of Router security firmware enquiry.
For VPN enabled routers thatnatively (within the official firmware) support OpenVPN, you have three main choices:
- Asus Routers –Asus is my favourite pick because they offer a big lineup of VPN enabled routers. Non all Asus routers are VPN enabled – meet the Asus section beneath for a complete list of routers and specifications.
- Buffalo Routers –Buffalo offers a small selection of DD-WRT routers. Unfortunately, the highest powered router is the Buffalo N600, which is somewhat underpowered for VPN use at but 680 MHz CPU. But for basic web browsing, it may exist fine.
-
Synology Routers –Synology currently offers two routers that can be quickly configured with OpenVPN with piffling time and effort (no flashing): TheRT1900AC and theRT2600AC
coming already with the correct firmware.
Asus is here the ameliorate pick in my stance considering they offer more than products which are OpenVPN prepare. I’chiliad as well non really a Buffalo and Synology fan considering they often have serious leaks in their hardware or software solutions.
The key here is to choose a powerful router which has decent hardware, OpenVPN requires a good processor otherwise it might throttle your speed down and y’all wonder why your VPN provider might not evangelize the speed yous expect.
Asus
Asus is rolling out new routers with powerful processors that can do exceptionally well with VPN encryption. Based on test reports I’ve seen in forums, the new
Asus RT-AC86U can hit speeds over 150 Mbps with OpenVPN. There also more expensive routers from Asus merely it’s up too you lot if you really similar to spent 300 Dollars for a router.
Firmware
The AsusWRT stock firmware natively supports
OpenVPN,
L2TP, and
PPTP
encryption protocols. Setup is easy which takes around 20 minutes or less and you tin can load numerous VPN configurations onto your router – which is something you lot tin can’t practise with DD-WRT due to its electric current limitations. However, OpenWRT (merged with LEDGE) might solve this (if compatible).
VPN University was and then kind to provide a video how you can setup your Router with OpenVPN. Information technology’s very easy.
Here are the Asus routers that are VPN enabled and can be set up with minimal endeavor (with the corresponding CPU):
-
Asus RT-N66U
(600 MHz) -
Asus AC1750 (RT-AC66U)
(600 MHz) -
Asus AC1900 (RT-AC68U)
(800 MHz, dual core) -
Asus RT-AC87U
(1,000 MHz – dual cadre) -
Asus RT-AC3200
(ane,000 MHz – dual cadre) -
Asus RT-AC3100
(ane,400 MHz – dual core) -
Asus RT-AC88U
(ane,400 Mhz – dual core) -
Asus RT-AC5300
(1,400 MHz – dual core) -
Asus RT-AC86U
(1,800 MHz –dual core with AES-NI) -
Asus GT-AC5300
(1,800 MHz –quad core with AES-NI) - All newer models also including OpenVPN back up!
The Asus RT-C86U is most likely the fastest considering it allocates 900 MHz of CPU per core, rather than 450 MHz of CPU per core with the GT-AC5300. I’ve found Asus routers to exist very stable with good performance, while also being easy to set up up. The stock firmware allows you to setup custom DNS and tin can too block IPv6 (if y’all desire or your VPN provider suffers from an IPv6 leakage). Additionally, Asus routers are very versatile and tin be used with lots of other firmware, such as Asus Merlin, DD-WRT, Tomato, AdvancedTomato, OpenWRT and Sabai Os.
My choice – Asus Merlin Firmware
I choose and recommend the
Merlin firmware (open up source) which is arguably more secure –
due to regular updates
– and likewise offers more features. AsusWRT by Merlin is a 3rd-party open source firmware that builds on and improves the AsusWRT firmware. AsusWRT by Merlin is one of the best options if you lot desire a secure, user-friendly firmware with lots of features for use with a VPN.
A Merlin AsusWRT router offers the following benefits:
- Enhanced security – Merlin AsusWRT isregularly updated to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities. You can verify the latest security fixes on thechangelog. The developer is active, dissimilar with another firmware.
- Policy-based and selective routing – This allows you lot to select specific devices or destinations to use the VPN, with everything else going through the regular Internet access provider connection. Merlin’due south convenientpolicy-based routing feature is a distinguishing factor separating it from other VPN routers. Some people need this for bypassing the VPN, such as with Netflix or other websites.
- Impale switch – A kill switch will block all internet traffic if the VPN connection is lost. Setting upward a properly functioning kill switch can be catchy with some VPN routers. With Merlin AsusWRT, this is quite easy. An example how you setup such a switch is given in this video by Moritz FI.
- Multiple VPN clients and servers – Merlin AsusWRT allows you lot to configuretwo VPN servers and up tofive VPN clients. You can likewise use different VPN clients at the same time with different devices (just I would recommend a higher CPU router in this case).
-
Merlin AsusWRT is a reliable,
secure, and
feature-rich
choice for Asus routers. -
Expert support
in the
official forum.
Combining a high-performance Asus router (such as theAsus RT-C86U) with Merlin firmware and a high-quality VPN service is one of the best options for securing your dwelling network.
Wireguard
This is a adept project but it’s unfinished and the reason why I not explicitly mention it (all the same) as alternatives.
WireGuard is not however complete.Y’all should not rely on this code. It has not undergone proper degrees of security auditing and the protocol is withal discipline to change. We’re working toward a stable 1.0 release, simply that time has not yet come.
(Quote fromhttps://www.wireguard.com/)
However, it’s a promising alternative to OpenVPN and I’m really looking forrard to see much more than of this picayune project, I will definitely review it once information technology’s in a improve (final) country.
Notice on Performance
The VPN router’s processor (CPU) is arguably the biggest factor affecting overall speed (bold you are using a adept VPN). Unfortunately, most consumer-grade processors are underpowered when it comes to handling encryption with a VPN. But on a positive notation, this is starting to alter with some of the newest routers on the market (encounter the Asus RT-AC86U for example).
Some other consideration is the number of cores with the processor. OpenVPN is single-threaded and cannot be split up across multiple processor cores. Therefore, with a VPN, a 1.0 GHz dual-cadre router (500 MHz per core) may exist faster than a 1.4 GHz quad-cadre processor (350 MHz per cadre).
And finally, there are besides some processors with
AES-NI, which is an instruction that accelerates VPN encryption speeds. This tin can brand a huge difference in performance. If you need more bandwidth for streaming or torrenting, 800+ MHz or more is a good idea, merely preferably on the higher cease.
Final Words
Personally, I employ two brands Asus and AVM when it comes to routers and they never have let me downwardly. The of import thing is on Asus side that you flash some other firmware which gives you lot more than possibilities, yous besides can do this with Freetz on AVM side. The Merlin aftermarket firmware for Asus is, in my stance, a good replacement for the stock firmware and offers a lot. It has decent back up and a good GitHub page which also explains the missing parts from the official homepage.
TheRT-AC86U is a very good selection the OpenVPN performance is very expert for the price and it offers you a lot of features, in example yous need more ports, go for the RT-AC88U (which has eight ports), yet, the OpenVPN performance in this serial is not as good as in the RT-AC86U.
Keep in mind that the current OpenVPN implementation (two.4.half dozen) allows a maximum of 265 Mbps (on single-cadre CPU)!
