157

Guys please in your privacy journey don't forget the routers (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

53 comments fedilink hide all child comments

before buying expensive routers check OpenWRT's table of hardware and buy one that is supported by the current OpenWRT release and has decent specs. There is a detailed installation guide for each supported device in the wiki too so there are no excuses it's dead simple and Free yourself from stupid hardware manufacturers and their planed obsolescence products.

Edit: also here is the new version of the table of hardware with more details They seem to have buyers guide too in the wiki.
Edit2: seems like GL.iNet devices ship with OpenWRT out of the box with their GUI on top and you still have access to openwrt under the hood if you need it which sounds awesome so look into them if you're interested. Thanks you guys who brought them up.
Edit3: there is firewall sulotion called OPNSense which is not limited to commercial routers like OpenWRT and can be run on any x86 hardware of your choice (like N100 mini pcs) so like into it if you're interested. Many thanks to the guys who contributed in the comments
Edit4: Sorry for the multiple edits but some of you guys suggest some fantastic insights that I had to add. Anyways here is a list of good candidate devices for hassle free installation and yet powerful enough hardware from OpenWRT's Forum

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 days ago

It comes down to specs and your needs but these are a must in my opinion:

having atleast 128 mb of storage or some way to expand it.
256 mb of memory or more
suppot WiFi 6 or better 6E or 7
Support for mesh protocols if you need it
Decent multi core chipset if you gonna run intensive tasks on it (like VPNs or DNS filtering) etc.. the list goes on but like I said It really comes down to your needs ( on a side note consider read the details and installation guide page before buying some brands and models are easier than others to tinker with for sure)

[-] ClownsInSpace2@lemm.ee 2 points 4 days ago

This is a helpful starting place, thanks!

[-] aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 days ago

You're welcome. Sorry I didn't named some specific devices but that's because device availability and price changes drastically region to region so something maybe a great deal where I live but that may not be the case for you or the other way around.that said Xiaomi and some Hauwei maybe tp-link devices are the best bang for the buck in my corner of the world look into those maybe that's the case for you too. Also Here is the new version of the table of hardware with more details

this post was submitted on 29 May 2025

157 points (99.4% liked)

Privacy

38116 readers

395 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don't promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
Be nice :)

Related communities

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS