News D-Link refuses to patch yet another security flaw, suggests users just buy new routers — D-Link told users to replace NAS last week

[I]

You started your post with question marks which implies questioning.

Going to have to agree to disagree on that one. Buying very outdated consumer hardware is a waste of money for general use.

... and I 105%, completely disagree.
The idea of "outdated" is absurd to begin with, do you still use the same washing machine, car, etc, or do you get panic attacks if they aren't replaced every 6 months?

Staying behind the tech curve is the absolute best way possible to get value for dollar spent. Early adopters are pretty much ignorant and wasteful. Let the hardware and support mature, and spend pennies on the dollar for it.

Are you not factoring in that legacy hardware is MUCH less expensive?

Keeping something going/replacing firmware is a great option but that doesn't make a device worth getting now.

Meh, disagree. I got a Nighthawk R6700 for $15 in 2021, and ironically I wasn't even looking to buy another router, just turned out that during my search for a 2A or better 12VDC adapter for something else which had a failed adapter, I realized I could spend $5 more and get a major brand AC/DC adapter with a pretty decent router thrown in, that can run DD-WRT no less.

There are plenty of hardware upgrades that happen along the way with the SoCs driving devices. Wi-Fi 6 has been fairly standard in phones for 3+ years and computers 4+ so chances are relatively high of having devices or soon to have.

Agreed, but at that point we're talking specific usage which is a minority use case.

Chances of having "some" devices that support Wifi6 is fair. Changes of having replaced all your devices is not so likely for the average person, and chances of having concurrent access for all of them to benefit much from Wifi6 is very low except for those who have a set of newer wifi cams.

Besides cams there is a practical limit where # of users determines bandwidth needed, unless doing something like running a p2p box on wifi (why?) while simultaneously streaming video to wifi TVs (again why?) and simultaneously surfing the web on a phone or tablet (one, at least more legitimate use of wifi since these are portable devices).

If you like to pretend that your life is improved by spending a lot more money, and replacing things that work fine just to see a higher # on some benchmark that never pans out in real world use, I suppose it's worthwhile if it helps you sleep at night but it is a delusion, and a waste, of money, hardware, and things getting tossed into landfills, associated pollution and energy wasted to manufacture more widgets for those who have common sense.

You can pretend all day long that I'm somehow suffering by saving a ton of money and not bothering to be on the constant upgrade wagon, but it just isn't the case. Like many other technologies, there came a point where it was just silly to keep longing for more as if that makes your life complete.

Also lastly, you are simply wrong in pretending that wifi6 was standard in phones and computers for 3+ years. You must mean only if you waste a lot of money, and time, being the early adopter, someone who keeps wasting money buying slightly newer tech again and again, with no purpose, just a zombie who fell victim to marketing.

Even if the latest greatest tech were provided free to me, with no manufacturing or pollution penalty, I don't want to waste the time switching over. It ruins productivity because the hardware is no longer the bottleneck.

I've been in that game a very long time. I wised up, recognized what a fool's errand it is to keep chasing the latest tech then not actually getting as much benefit out of it as loss doing so. If it's just a hobby that is different, but don't argue a hobby as if it is important to someone else, because I'm doing just fine without all this silly wasted time and money.

This is a strange day, that I bothered writing this much when the whole point was to not be burdened with nonsense.

 

[I]

I suspect you never have actually looked at the source code for third party firmware or attempted to make any changes yourself.

I suspect that you are a control freak. 😉 I get that, I am in some other areas of life, but in a more practical, real world sense, I don't care.

My wifi is reliable and I've had routers for many years, even back when I built one out of an old OEM box with a Cyrix processor to do dial-up internet. Not been hacked a single time in the decades that followed, so it's a bit like you are crying wolf, when there is no wolf in this neck of the woods.

I often see this, people who pretend that something they know, is important to consider instead of some obscure thing that isn't, really.

If you are a high value target for Chinese hackers, then it is possible you need extra security, and then, pretending that merely running the latest greatest router with the latest firmware, is probably just going to screw you because it's coming from China. 😉

I always issue the same challenge to people who pretend to know what is important with security. Show me examples of people who were exploited with the same home setup I have, who were not targeted for *reasons*. Otherwise, I'm far more likely to get killed by a lightning strike.

There is no such thing as absolute security. If you are a high value target, they'll just come into the premises and gain access any way necessary. That is another angle to security, that if you are doing things that aggravate someone, don't leave a trail that leads back to you.

I sleep well with none of these concerns.

 

[thestryker]

The idea of "outdated" is absurd to begin with, do you still use the same washing machine, car, etc, or do you get panic attacks if they aren't replaced every 6 months?

Outdated is quite literally reality and at no point did I suggest replacing something that was already working fine.

Staying behind the tech curve is the absolute best way possible to get value for dollar spent. Early adopters are pretty much ignorant and wasteful. Let the hardware and support mature, and spend pennies on the dollar for it.

Your concept of early adopters must not match any rational definition then. When there have been multiple generations worth of hardware it's safe to say there is no early adoption anymore. I'm also not sure why you insist upon using all of the insulting language but it's juvenile.

Are you not factoring in that legacy hardware is MUCH less expensive?

Unless you're buying used it's really not in this space. There have been WiFi 6 routers available for right around $100 USD since 2021 (likely also cheaper ones, but I only remember the ones I was looking at).

Meh, disagree. I got a Nighthawk R6700 for $15 in 2021, and ironically I wasn't even looking to buy another router, just turned out that during my search for a 2A or better 12VDC adapter for something else which had a failed adapter, I realized I could spend $5 more and get a major brand AC/DC adapter with a pretty decent router thrown in, that can run DD-WRT no less.

So you got a good deal on a piece of used hardware that works. This is hardly a guaranteed occurance.

Chances of having "some" devices that support Wifi6 is fair. Changes of having replaced all your devices is not so likely for the average person, and chances of having concurrent access for all of them to benefit much from Wifi6 is very low except for those who have a set of newer wifi cams.

Since when does it matter if every device can use the latest technology? Over time as devices get replaced more and more will. The advantages in the WiFi space always go beyond simple bandwidth improvements and affect things like latency, signal strength and spectrum usage. It makes more sense to get the most affordable, supported, current technology than it does something legacy and unsupported when it comes to general usage. That does not mean that someone has to pay premium prices for bleeding edge technology.

If you like to pretend that your life is improved by spending a lot more money, and replacing things that work fine just to see a higher # on some benchmark that never pans out in real world use, I suppose it's worthwhile if it helps you sleep at night but it is a delusion, and a waste, of money, hardware, and things getting tossed into landfills, associated pollution and energy wasted to manufacture more widgets for those who have common sense.

Once again with the childish insults followed by assumptions. You're clearly heavily biased and are either incapable of understanding why someone makes choices that don't match yours or you're choosing not to.

You can pretend all day long that I'm somehow suffering by saving a ton of money and not bothering to be on the constant upgrade wagon, but it just isn't the case. Like many other technologies, there came a point where it was just silly to keep longing for more as if that makes your life complete.

When did I suggest someone should constantly upgrade? Perhaps you should put your personal bias aside and spend more time reading what's actually being said.

Also lastly, you are simply wrong in pretending that wifi6 was standard in phones and computers for 3+ years. You must mean only if you waste a lot of money, and time, being the early adopter, someone who keeps wasting money buying slightly newer tech again and again, with no purpose, just a zombie who fell victim to marketing.

Pretending? No. I'm simply capable of understanding how dates work and what hardware was available. WiFi 6 was hardly limited to only premium products in 2021.

Once again you're being insulting rather than using actual knowledge.

Even if the latest greatest tech were provided free to me, with no manufacturing or pollution penalty, I don't want to waste the time switching over. It ruins productivity because the hardware is no longer the bottleneck.

If what you have works that's great, and I'm a firm believer in not replacing hardware until it stops working (either literally or use case). That does not mean other people don't have very real issues which can be resolved with better hardware.

I've been in that game a very long time. I wised up, recognized what a fool's errand it is to keep chasing the latest tech then not actually getting as much benefit out of it as loss doing so. If it's just a hobby that is different, but don't argue a hobby as if it is important to someone else, because I'm doing just fine without all this silly wasted time and money.

Good for you? I don't chase the latest and greatest just because either. There's a big difference between making an arbitrary decision and an informed one. You seem to believe that your opinion is the only right one which is arrogant at best.

This is a strange day, that I bothered writing this much when the whole point was to not be burdened with nonsense.

What's sad is that you spent so much time and wrote so much without bothering to understand. I debated whether or not to respond, but you insisted upon being endlessly insulting and making assumptions not based in reality so there wasn't another choice.