LINKSYS BEFSR41

[geo]

I'm thinking of buying the LINKSYS BEFSR41 router. I've heard this is a very
good wired router. Will this unit server as a good firwall also? And, with
this router, can you or should you use a software firewall too. I believe
RoadRunner offers something in software firewall. Anyone using this router
and can I have some opinions please.

thanks

 

[DaveW]

It is the best selling wired Router available, and is very good. Yes, it
will work as a hardware firewall. And without going into a lot of detail,
Yes, you should also use a software firewall.

 

[Fitz]

I'm using the 8 port version (BEFSR81) and have been for quite awhile. I
don't have any complaints about it. It does have an NAT Firewall, VPN and
other security features. It comes with a trial version of Zone Alarm and
PC-cillian. I didn't use either...I run AVG antivirus and the Windows XP
software firewall along with the Beta version of Windows Defender (also have
AdAware). Haven't had any problems. You can find the specifics of the router
at the Linksys website under Basic Networking and select the BEFSR41.
Firmware upgrades are easy to do and port forwarding isn't a problem. I'm
happy with it.

Fitz

 

[Tech Zero]

Reality folded in on itself, and somewhere the following words from
"geo" appeared in history:

I'm thinking of buying the LINKSYS BEFSR41 router. I've heard
this is a very good wired router. Will this unit server as a
good firwall also?

Yes...

All NAT routers also act as border firewalls. You may want to turn on
SPI (advanced/filters), but it doesn't really add much. If you have
any issues with P2P or IM clients drop me a line an I'll try to help.

And, with this router, can you or should you use a software
firewall too?

The short answer is no...

Generaly if you practice safe hex, trust your computer is currently
clean, and that other computers on your local network are the same,
then there is no need to for a software firewall. If any of that
isn't true that I'd recomend using the Windows XP Firewall.

Any tird pardy software firewall you use will have to hook fairly
deep into the system to be affective, which can cause problems with
other installed programs. Some security software also make themselves
very dificult to remove later because it's so easy for malicious
software to unistall anything (this will cause future problems).

If you want to monitor the traffic on your router I'd recomend Wall
Watcher, but take everything you see with tons of salt. A NAT Router
tends to amplify the number of droped ports, causing alot of the
extra background radiation you'll see. SPI and Port Triggering helps
a little but it's something you have to get use to.

--
__ __| | __ __| | __ /
| \ -_) | -_) _| \ / -_) _| _ \
_| _| _| \___| _| \___| \__| _| _| ____| \___| _| \___/

Lossing quality sleep to help others online since 1997...

 

[Tech Zero]

Any tird pardy software firewall you use

Err... "Third Party"...
It's just my mind working faster then my fingers again. };8)

--
__ __| | __ __| | __ /
| \ -_) | -_) _| \ / -_) _| _ \
_| _| _| \___| _| \___| \__| _| _| ____| \___| _| \___/

Lossing quality sleep to help others online since 1997...

 

[JAD]

I'm thinking of buying the LINKSYS BEFSR41 router. I've heard this is a very
good wired router. Will this unit server as a good firwall also? And, with
this router, can you or should you use a software firewall too. I believe
RoadRunner offers something in software firewall. Anyone using this router
and can I have some opinions please.

thanks

Very reliable router.
I use a software firewall on top of NAT. Also like to watch OUT going
connections AWA incoming, XP does not do this.

 

[Don Taylor]

Reality folded in on itself, and somewhere the following words from
"geo" appeared in history:

All NAT routers also act as border firewalls. You may want to turn on
SPI (advanced/filters), but it doesn't really add much. If you have
any issues with P2P or IM clients drop me a line an I'll try to help.

I was going to quietly email you with a question but I assume
"(e-mail address removed)" isn't a valid address.

I've been using a very old Version 1 BEFSR41 for maybe 8 months
with good success, with http, https, telnet, ssh, ftp, and some
other necessary services all seeming to work in this configuration.

Qwest DSL only supports ActionTec DSL modems with a custom version
of firmware running NAT to a single computer, anything else and it
"is my problem." It only has a single wired port so I have used the
Linksys, also with NAT, to provide connections to the three computers
here, everything given static ip addresses, and it all worked fine.

When I was trying to figure out why I couldn't get Tivo to work
using this I found it was hanging when trying to set the time. Then
I realized the computers weren't setting the time, and not just
because of an old Microsoft patch that broke this. This specific
problem was tracked down to probably being the ActionTek firewall
policy but I can deal with that later. First there is a problem.

One person said that I should update the Linksys firmware because
it was almost five years old, the new version would fix some security
problems and I would have more options to set firewall rules.

So I went to the Linksys site, went down into the Version 1 firmware
page, downloaded 1.46.02 and successfully installed it in the
Linksys. Initially everything looked ok, ssh continues to work,
http and https work. But now ftp, telnet, and several other services
I need and that have been working for many months now all fail or
hang.

I've tried resetting the Linksys to factory defaults and then
re-entering ip addresses, mask, etc. I've tried checking all the
web pages for configuring it and I don't see anything out of line.
I wasn't doing any port forwarding when using the old version.

I don't believe I made any changes to the ActionTec configuration
so I'm guessing that it isn't the problem at this point.

To try to diagnose this, if I enable the outgoing log in the Linksys
and I try to ftp out to a host I've used many times I do get one
line in the Outgoing log table showing FTP. If I try to diagnose
what the ActionTec is doing, all it will show is the NAT table and
the "Web activity log" so I can't really see a logfile the way the
Linksys can, but I do see entries show up in the NAT table when I
try to open an ftp session, so I'm guessing the packet got to the
ActionTec and likely went out.

My guess at this point is that somehow returned packets are getting
dumped, likely by the Linksys because of the new firmware. I found
various posts on the web describing how many different versions of
new firmware for the Linksys broke something for someone.

So, what I'd like to do at this point is forget trying to get time
sync to work and just get back to having ftp and a couple of other
ports work that worked with the old firmware version. I don't think
I have the old firmware version number, and even if I did the ftp
host for Linksys doesn't seem to include Linksys version numbers
along with the firmware version numbers for anything but the latest,
and different router versions use different firmware.

I'd appreciate any assistance.

Thanks
Email address is valid, I've been "dont" since BEFORE there was spam!

 

[Frank]

Be sure to update the firmware to the latest version.

 

[Tech Zero]

Reality folded in on itself, and somewhere the following words from
"Don Taylor" appeared in history:

I was going to quietly email you with a question but I assume
"(e-mail address removed)" isn't a valid address.

It's not munged... I never mung...
It just contains the word "spam" so viruses don't like it.
I've found that it works well for a public email addresses.

One person said that I should update the Linksys firmware because
it was almost five years old, the new version would fix some
security problems and I would have more options to set firewall
rules.

Theres the problem "if it works, don't fix (or break) it...
But I'll try to help out.


Before you do anything try using the connection directly. If everything
works then you know your NAT modem isn't the issue. I'd also double
check to see if you can "disable" the modem's NAT functions and just
let the linksys deal with it (probaly not possable).

Double NAT setups can be troublsome to setup and do cause problems when
either manufature changes things. Send me an email of HOW you have your
network curently setup and I'll see what else you can do.


The time issue first...

I've never had problems updating the time with any version of the
Lynksys bios but you will need a free timeserver to use. I like the
"ntp.org project" because they use a round robin setup, so you're not
linked to any one server. You'll need to open port 123 (it's udp),
which you can use a port trigger for.


FTP...

Linksys used a static FTP rule up untill /I think/ v1.39 of the bios.
Somehow this left the system open to explotation so they broke things
in order to patch it. To get FTP working again you'll need to setup a
port trigger on 21 to open up port 20, but because you're behind two
NATs you're better just using your FTP client in passive mode.


If you can't get it to work there are other possablities...

A roll back your Linksys bios to an earlier version would set things
back the way they where, but it is risky. And you should reset the
router to the default settings before trying it. I can recomend the
v1.40.2 bios, which I MAY have in the archives, but proceed at your
own risk. I have "bricked" 2 routers so far trying to downgrade them.

A second posablility is to use your Linksys as a hub by connecting the
NAT modem to port 1 on the Linksys. Set the router to same 192.168.x.x
address range as the modem and dissable the DHCP if the ActionTec Modem
has one already (similar to what I do here).

You might be able get the BEFSR41 to act as a "router" rather then a
"gateway" (NAT modem connected to the WAN port), but I couldn't get
mine to pass/fetch the DNS server IPs from my WRG54GS it the living
room (where my cable modem is)... Hope you have better luck.

--
__ __| | __ __| | __ /
| \ -_) | -_) _| \ / -_) _| _ \
_| _| _| \___| _| \___| \__| _| _| ____| \___| _| \___/

Lossing quality sleep to help others online since 1997...

 

[John Weiss]

I'm thinking of buying the LINKSYS BEFSR41 router. I've heard this is a very
good wired router. Will this unit server as a good firwall also? And, with
this router, can you or should you use a software firewall too. I believe
RoadRunner offers something in software firewall. Anyone using this router
and can I have some opinions please.

The BEFSR41 was arguably the best router for the price in its day. Its
successor is the WRT54G, which is essentially the same router with the addition
of a 802.1G Wireless Access Point in the same box. Given the price of the
WRT54G, it makes more sense in most cases to give yourself the wireless option.

 

[Altered_Ego]

I bought a BEFSR41 maybe 4 years ago. It worked great for my ex-wife and I.

Awhile later, we decided to move my computer downstairs, and leave hers
upstairs. We switched to a wireless router because she didn't want me to
run the wires between floors.

I still have that BEFSR41, but unfortunately, my ex-wife lost the power
supply cord.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement power supply/cord? Is it
expensive?

 

[JAD]

I bought a BEFSR41 maybe 4 years ago. It worked great for my ex-wife and I.

Awhile later, we decided to move my computer downstairs, and leave hers
upstairs. We switched to a wireless router because she didn't want me to
run the wires between floors.

I still have that BEFSR41, but unfortunately, my ex-wife lost the power
supply cord.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement power supply/cord? Is it
expensive?

On the router itself near the power input or on the sticker there will be
the power and polarity requirements. Once you know what voltage you could
try a electronics outlet for an adapter. I looked breifly on the linksys
site and couldn't find an easy link to replacement parts.

 

[Mike T.]

I bought a BEFSR41 maybe 4 years ago. It worked great for my ex-wife and I.

Awhile later, we decided to move my computer downstairs, and leave hers
upstairs. We switched to a wireless router because she didn't want me to
run the wires between floors.

I still have that BEFSR41, but unfortunately, my ex-wife lost the power
supply cord.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement power supply/cord? Is it
expensive?

Check ebay for a used BEFSR41, sometimes stuff like this is sold "as is" or
"for parts" pretty cheaply. You could email the seller of item number
170054342027, for example, to see if the power cord is included. If so, you
can get the whole router for about 13 bucks (I think) delivered. A little
expensive for a power cord, but you get a used router with it, also.
-Dave

 

[Paul]

On the router itself near the power input or on the sticker there will be
the power and polarity requirements. Once you know what voltage you could
try a electronics outlet for an adapter. I looked breifly on the linksys
site and couldn't find an easy link to replacement parts.

I have one of these (retired) and I think mine might be a revision 1.

The label on the adapter reads:

Switching adapter model DSA-0301-05

Input: 100-240VAC 1A 50/60Hz
Output: +5VDC/3.0A
E185168 (A UL number perhaps?)

There is also a diagram, which I presume is a view
looking at the connector end of the adapter.

View of plug end on the adapter
________
/ \
/ O \ <--- G (earth or safety ground?)
(-) ---> | O O | <--- (+)
|__________|

Now, I tested with my ohmmeter, and it looks like
the left contact and the top contact in that end view,
are connected together. There is no continuity from the
third prong (safety ground) of the other end of the adapter,
to the G pin. So the labelling of the adapter is bogus, as
near as I can determine.

If I plug in the adapter, connect Black to (-) and
Red to (+), it read +4.97V. If I plug in the adapter
and connect Black to (G) and Red to (+), it also
reads +4.97V.

Now, if I take my ohmmeter and probe the Linksys
end, the top pin doesn't seem to be connected. I
get the "slow charging" response between the (+)
and (-) pins, that tells me there is a big
capacitor inside the BEFSR41, across those pins.

I'd take the BEFSR41 apart, if I knew for sure where the
screws are hidden. It could be that the rubber feet
have to be pried off or something. But since my
unit is still working, I don't really want to
tear it up.

Looking into the back of the BEFSR41, you would
take the left-right mirror of the above picture.
This would be the pinout looking into the
back of the BEFSR41.

Back of the BEFSR41 (revision 1)
________
/ \
/ O \ <--- ???
(+) ---> | O O | <--- (-)
|__________|

(Where + to - is a regulated 5V 3A source.)

HTH,
Paul

 

[OSbandito]

I bought a BEFSR41 maybe 4 years ago. It worked great for my ex-wife and I.

Awhile later, we decided to move my computer downstairs, and leave hers
upstairs. We switched to a wireless router because she didn't want me to
run the wires between floors.

I still have that BEFSR41, but unfortunately, my ex-wife lost the power
supply cord.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement power supply/cord? Is it
expensive?

Are you missing the pwr. adapter and the separate AC cord?
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/3q00/linksys/befsr41-1.html

 

[Altered_Ego]

Thanks for the replies... I seem to be missing both the power adaptor
and cord. The connection looks like the one pictured in one of the other
responses.

I can't tell you which revision this one is. I estimate we bought it
maybe back in 2001-2002.

I'm not currently using this device.. but I just love to have all my
pieces together.

Is there a way to find out the revision number?

 

[Paul]

Thanks for the replies... I seem to be missing both the power adaptor
and cord. The connection looks like the one pictured in one of the other
responses.

I can't tell you which revision this one is. I estimate we bought it
maybe back in 2001-2002.

I'm not currently using this device.. but I just love to have all my
pieces together.

Is there a way to find out the revision number?

I thought there was a web page with pictures, but I cannot find it.
I expect that revision 1, doesn't have a revision number on the sticker,
while the other revisions would identify whether the device was a
2, 3, or 4.

It is likely you have the same revision as I do, as this adapter on
the newest revision, is quite different looking. I don't think the
connector is the same, on the end of this one.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/33-124-001-19.JPG

Paul

 

[T Shadow]

.. but I just love to have all my
pieces together.

Is there a way to find out the revision number?

Turn it over.

 

[Altered_Ego]

Turn it over.

DOH! I already did!!!

 

[T Shadow]

DOH! I already did!!!

Mine has the version number on the bottom.