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Are wi-fi hotspots/repeaters a good way to mitigate privacy issues from routers? (thebrainbin.org)

submitted 1 hour ago by Auster@thebrainbin.org to c/privacy@lemmy.world

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Are wi-fi hotspots/repeaters a good way to mitigate privacy issues from routers?

Routers from what I understand have a few way to monitor people around, like radio-based sonar, logging and informing of every device that connects to it, etc.

If wanting to ensure some more #privacy, would it be a good option to keep the router as far as possible from the common areas of the house, so what I can "see" is blurry at best, while using repeaters like old phones on vanilla AOSP and SBC devices?

That's not my area so maybe I'm going way off in my assumptions, but I'd think that these repeaters wouldn't bridge sonar functions, they wouldn't report on devices connected through them, their systems wouldn't be a black box unlike the router itself, data packets sent from devices with VPN would remain encrypted while they go through the repeaters and router's route, and with ethernet cables could allow for an specially long distance.

So... Would it be an interesting option?

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[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 hour ago

I think you may have your terminology confused.

A router routes packets between network endpoints— usually based on MAC ID. They can do passive routing (just broadcast any incoming packets out to all network ports) or active (keep a record of which MAC is assigned to which port, and only send packets to the ID that matches).

ISPs often supply an “all in one” device that is a modem (connects out to the ISP equipment), a router, a firewall, and a WiFi access point. The WiFi it uses these days is often MiMo style where it does mesh networking with a bunch of satellite devices you plug in around your house.

Used in this mode, your ISP and their MiMo provider know exactly which devices are connected to your network (because it’s really their network) and where they’re located in your home.

But those “all in one” devices are required to be switchable into “bridged mode” where all they are is a modem and a pass-through network router. In that mode, all they can do is pass network packets. If you set things up in this way, you then have to provide your own firewall to connect to the device, your own routers and switches to connect to your firewall, and your own WiFi APs to connect to that.

[–] unitedwithme@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago

A repeater is NOT going to add privacy. You're still linked back to the main gateway which controls all settings.

If you're absolutely stuck with ISP equipment, immediately change away from built-in DNS like Comcast's 75.75.75.75, ignore Google DNS cuz it's just as bad. Quad9 is the noisy trustworthy IMO. 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 for secondary. I would also change default login info and default WiFi passwords if you haven't already. Disable WPS connectivity, update firmware, etc. This helps harden and secure.

If you're able to run your own equipment, that'll take you running the ISP device in "bridge mode" which hands off traffic to your gateway/wireless router. You can then look to bump security settings through forums or parts online, but will vary greatly with your own budget and technical prowess..

We need more info:

Can you run other network equipment like a router or different gateway?
How tech savvy are you?
How much privacy are you looking for? DNS? Ad blocking? Full on VPN? (Which, VPNs are work themselves because some people refer to a Wireguard VPN but that connects them back to their own local network where others use Proton or 3rd party VPN service for hiding/encrypting "all" external traffic)
Have you looked into changing some browser settings for added privacy? What do you use currently?