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Flashed Router to Asuswrt-Merlin to Get my BitTorrent Service Running Again


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2017 Sep 5, 11:56am   3,330 views  6 comments

by NuttBoxer   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

So lately, I've been getting a bunch of notifications from Cox about pirating movies. Their MO now is to turn off the service, make me call them, and swear I'll be a good boy before they turn it back on. My bitTorrent client forces full stream encryption, and I use my vpn's DNS servers, but my vpn kept turning off on my server at seemingly random times. So I turned my sharing service off until I had time to setup split tunneling.

Over the weekend had some time, and finally got sick of not being able to share, so looked into solutions, and ended up finding Asuswrt-Merlin. I like it because it's mainly a performance enhancement of the existing firmware, so changes are minimal. But it does have a few extras like VPN client configuration that allows for routing rules per IP. It also has an option to kill all traffic to the machine if the VPN goes down.

So now my server and laptop are VPN exclusive, while my Blu-ray and smart TV use regular WAN, to avoid being blocked from watching Netflix and Amazon. I can finally resume sticking it to the man!

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1   Patrick   2017 Sep 5, 10:30pm  

NuttBoxer says
ended up finding Asuswrt-Merlin


@NuttBoxer please say more about how this works.

The ability to share information without being stomped by the corporate oligarchs is central to the future of the country.
2   WatermelonUniversity   2017 Sep 5, 11:52pm  

Patrick says
It also has an option to kill all traffic to the machine if the VPN goes down.


"It also has an option to kill all traffic to the machine if the VPN goes down."

why not get a reliable VPN service, like PIA?

or set up your own Linux Router/Gateway/Firewall to do all that and more.
3   bob2356   2017 Sep 6, 6:43am  

BorderPatrol says
why not get a reliable VPN service, like PIA?


PIA is rock solid. I've had zero trouble in the 2 years I've used them.
4   NuttBoxer   2017 Sep 6, 10:33am  

BorderPatrol says
why not get a reliable VPN service, like PIA?


Sorry post wasn't clear. I do use PIA, and their servers are fine. What I was referring to as not working was my OpenVPN service on the Ubuntu server. For some reason the service would stop running after a few days, or a few weeks. Probably a mis-configuration on my end, first time using systemd. Since I just setup Merlin, will take a few weeks to confirm I don't get anymore Cox notifications, but the rules it allows me to set via the UI are akin to the iptables rules I've seen in the past when running the same type of setup from the server. Having it at the router I feel is preferable as I only have to update files at one place, rather than across every machine on my network.
5   NuttBoxer   2017 Sep 6, 10:46am  

Patrick says
@NuttBoxer please say more about how this works.


The asuswrt Merlin project itself is pretty straightforward. Their pitch is minimal changes to existing Asus firmware, with an eye towards performance, and a few additional options over the stock firmware. Asus does offer the option to configure a VPN on the stock firmware, but I don't believe they allow for the split tunneling I wanted to do.

I've noticed a few things with these copyright warnings from Cox. It seems that they specifically target seeding, and skim traffic for infringements in the early morning hours(1-4am). I run Deluge on a headless server, and always seed back 2x what I download, so the service is running all the time. The hours are an approximation based on when my service is disconnected, and when Cox is getting the notices from the RIAA or whoever. A few additional things I had to do to ensure traffic anonymity.

Deluge has an option to only connect to other peers who are encrypting their streams. Also I've switched from Cox DNS to Google's, and now to PIA's. The last step I may take is disabling ipv6 traffic, as I've heard that may be less secure. But I'll wait and see how things go with the current setup.
6   NuttBoxer   2017 Sep 6, 10:47am  

bob2356 says
PIA is rock solid. I've had zero trouble in the 2 years I've used them.


LOVE PIA! See my other post about how well they protect our traffic.

http://patrick.net/post/1309351/this-is-exactly-what-you-want-to-hear-from-your-vpn-provider

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