Closing external ports on HG659 (i.e. Port 80).

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Closing external ports on HG659 (i.e. Port 80).

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#1248877 1-Mar-2015 15:28

Estx:
joker97:
nakedmolerat:
Jase2985: flash with the spark firmware?

That's right - I downloaded it from here: http://help.spark.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/35558/~/update-modem-firmware---huawei-hg659

I can confirm that all ports are now stealth, vfremote ID is gone, the gateway is now inaccesible from the internet once you disable the remote management (in the vodafone firmware, the gateway is accesible via the net despite disabling remote management).

ok after needing a reboot twice a day, i am going to try a flash. if mine is a hg659, can i flash the firmware for b or must i flash the one without the b on the above page

I flashed the one without the 'b' and have had no issues other than the loss of SSH. But that could have been due to me restoring the config file I backed up from the VF firmware.

I don't think the Spark firmware has SSH enabled, I lost mine also, Not that it's a biggie. It might just be the fact I've done a factory reset but I feel as if the modem has been more stable than it was running the VF firmware

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#1248886 1-Mar-2015 15:47

i will know in a few days whether the internet stalls :D

Nil Einne

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#1249066 1-Mar-2015 22:47

What sort of connection are those of you with problems using? Have to say mine with Vodafone firmware as well as someone else I know with same firmware, both on VDSL (BigPipe, well I recently moved to Spark) have had no problems that I'm aware of. Similar with someone else on ADSL. Perhaps I'm not doing whatever causes problems or something?

Only thing other than VoIP is one of the people had problems with the QOS but not sure of the particulars.

Estx

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#1249101 1-Mar-2015 23:55

Nil Einne: What sort of connection are those of you with problems using? Have to say mine with Vodafone firmware as well as someone else I know with same firmware, both on VDSL (BigPipe, well I recently moved to Spark) have had no problems that I'm aware of. Similar with someone else on ADSL. Perhaps I'm not doing whatever causes problems or something?

Only thing other than VoIP is one of the people had problems with the QOS but not sure of the particulars.

Don't get me wrong, my connection was super stable on the VF firmware. I just did not want some of the supposedly forced services.

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#1249104 2-Mar-2015 00:11

Spark VDSL. Fully configured per instructions on Spark website. Not just dropped the Net, but 2.4GHz wifi sometimes stopps connecting, until you restart WLAN

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#1250875 4-Mar-2015 11:16

So if I flash my V/fone HG659 with the Spark firmware, itll dump the useless V/fone logins and hopefully retain my custom DNS/forwarding settings after a reboot ? The VF firmware is extremely frustrating to do anything with without it losing changes.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1250878 4-Mar-2015 11:17

it won't retain your settings, it will give Spark's default settings. what i did was saved my settings and then restored it after flash ... so far ... not worse. will let you kjnow if it's better. nothing to lose IMO

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#1250879 4-Mar-2015 11:19

ah you mean reboot - my Voda one always retains my settings ... coz i used to reboot every other day!

hmm not sure why yours didn'tr retain DNS settings.

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#1250900 4-Mar-2015 11:36

Im on my second one, Wifi useless, never holds DNS changes and the other night decided to drop all my port forwards. VF also didnt know anything about a security hole in the units that Huawei sent out releases about.... so thats probably still there too :-p

Their firmware needs a serious overhaul - if they dont want people using the features of the unit, dont offer it.

Been back and forward with VF about it all and only thing it got me was the second unit.
With same issues.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1250902 4-Mar-2015 11:38

flash away and let us know. seriously it can't get any worse :D
note we both flashed the NON-b firmware

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#1250920 4-Mar-2015 11:56

xpd: Im on my second one, Wifi useless, never holds DNS changes and the other night decided to drop all my port forwards. VF also didnt know anything about a security hole in the units that Huawei sent out releases about.... so thats probably still there too :-p

Their firmware needs a serious overhaul - if they dont want people using the features of the unit, dont offer it.

Been back and forward with VF about it all and only thing it got me was the second unit.
With same issues.

Confirm the details around supposed security holes, have a chat to a journalist about vodafone supplying vulnerable devices, and then suddenly vodafone might do something about it ;) That is, if its actually a security hole or data leak at all - i havent looked at this.

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#1250922 4-Mar-2015 11:59

Just flash the spark firmware.

Actually i need to correct myself - i don't have any issue with wifi dropping. Since flashing it with Spark firmware, what I notice is the coverage is way way better than before. I am quite surprised about this. Prior to flashing I did set it at 100% strength.

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#1250957 4-Mar-2015 12:42

Not concerned about Wifi anymore, got a Unifi to fix that issue ;)

Will try flashing it tonight if I give myself enough time ;)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1251130 4-Mar-2015 16:30

Just flashed mine. The web interface seems to be way snappier.

Mental note to self: When saving config file for restoring don't save it to the headless Windows Server which then loses it's IP address which then means a server reboot which then means a new ip address which then means finding the new DHCP assigned IP address so I can RDP into to find the config file to restore..... hehehe!

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Nil Einne

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#1251134 4-Mar-2015 16:33

What are the security holes and forced services people are referring to? We've established that the issue that started this thread i.e. port 80 isn't forced on Vodafone firmware. You can also change the Admin user password, and vodafone user password. It doesn't seem you can do anything about the VFremote login, is this what people are concerned about?

In terms of the Misfortune Cookie/ROMPager issues, when I looked in to this, I couldn't actually find any evidence that the device uses the ROMPager web server. When I tested (just now again), other tools suggest it may not be ROMPager. Even if it is vunerable ROMPager, I'm not sure it's a good idea to assume the Spark version is any better without evidence (which would require some demonstration that the Vodafone version has this vunerability and the Spark version doesn't).

I haven't had any wifi problems with the Vodafone firmware, nor loss of port forwards. Since I haven't used the Spark firmware yet, I can't say whether it coverage is better. (I presume people have set the channels if they're comparing wifi coverage though right?) Don't use a different DNS, so can't comment on that.

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