Spark Huawei hg630b custom firmware?

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Kol12

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#199243 9-Aug-2016 20:47

Hi,

Are there any custom firmware's available for the Spark hg630b? I'm looking to beef my security up and I've heard about 3rd party firmware's. I've looked at dd-wrt.com but there's nothing supported there for Huwei. Am I better off looking for a different modem? I've heard that the hg630b is pretty low end, is that because of it's firmware? Can any modem recommendations be made? $100-$150 or cheaper?

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#1607260 9-Aug-2016 20:52

its just low end full stop, its only 10/100 ethernet

Kol12

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#1607261 9-Aug-2016 20:54

Is that it's throughput?

Jase2985

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#1607270 9-Aug-2016 21:01

thats its local area network throughput, and also its max WAN throughput

well you will actually only see 93mbps on a speedtest

sbiddle

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#1607276 9-Aug-2016 21:26

What problem(s) are you actually trying to solve? A new router or DD-WRT won't necessarily make a network more secure.

Kol12

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#1607278 9-Aug-2016 21:29

Where did you get the specs for it? I can't find them anywhere. Is this a Huwei model that Spark just happened to decide to make their "package deal modem?"

Kol12

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#1607283 9-Aug-2016 21:35

sbiddle:

What problem(s) are you actually trying to solve? A new router or DD-WRT won't necessarily make a network more secure.

I wanted to make sure my router is secure so I read a few web pages. They mentioned that firmware's from the like's of DD-WRT can add further security as the firmware's are updated more often. I've also read that the hg630b is pretty low in terms of specs (although I can't find official specs...) and firmware security. Can anyone back that up?

BarTender

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#1607284 9-Aug-2016 21:40

It's never going to happen. Huawei haven't Open Sourced the process to build and sign images. There is *ZERO* chance unless you want to spend A LOT of time via the JTAG interface flashing on custom firmware.

Get a device that is supported by OpenWRT rather than trying to mess with one that will never be supported.

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Kol12

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#1607291 9-Aug-2016 22:17

BarTender:

It's never going to happen. Huawei haven't Open Sourced the process to build and sign images. There is *ZERO* chance unless you want to spend A LOT of time via the JTAG interface flashing on custom firmware.

Get a device that is supported by OpenWRT rather than trying to mess with one that will never be supported.

Ok, that's that answered. Is the firmware on the hg630b not really the greatest security wise? It is quite a basic router isn't it? Does anyone know what the latest firmware is for it? Should router firmware's be updated regularly? I'm interested to see the specs as well if if anyone know's where to find them?

Jase2985

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#1607333 10-Aug-2016 05:30

Kol12:

Where did you get the specs for it? I can't find them anywhere. Is this a Huwei model that Spark just happened to decide to make their "package deal modem?"

have you looked at the spark website for the spces?

try here: https://www.spark.co.nz/help/internet-data/equipment/huawei/hg630b-gateway/

you can find firmware updates there too.

sbiddle

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#1607369 10-Aug-2016 07:17

Kol12:

BarTender:

It's never going to happen. Huawei haven't Open Sourced the process to build and sign images. There is *ZERO* chance unless you want to spend A LOT of time via the JTAG interface flashing on custom firmware.

Get a device that is supported by OpenWRT rather than trying to mess with one that will never be supported.

Ok, that's that answered. Is the firmware on the hg630b not really the greatest security wise? It is quite a basic router isn't it? Does anyone know what the latest firmware is for it? Should router firmware's be updated regularly? I'm interested to see the specs as well if if anyone know's where to find them?

You really need to explain what you mean by "security". A $20 or $2000 router can be as secure or insecure as you want to make it.

There is nothing "insecure" about the HG630b, and likewise a new router isn't going to offer any more "security".

What exactly do you want to achieve with custom firmware?

Kol12

370 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1607521 10-Aug-2016 11:56

BarTender:

It's never going to happen. Huawei haven't Open Sourced the process to build and sign images. There is *ZERO* chance unless you want to spend A LOT of time via the JTAG interface flashing on custom firmware.

Get a device that is supported by OpenWRT rather than trying to mess with one that will never be supported.

Ok, so my Oklaa speed test is about 9.6 Mb/s download speed. What have you got that I don't?

Kol12

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#1607523 10-Aug-2016 12:01

sbiddle:

Kol12:

BarTender:

It's never going to happen. Huawei haven't Open Sourced the process to build and sign images. There is *ZERO* chance unless you want to spend A LOT of time via the JTAG interface flashing on custom firmware.

Get a device that is supported by OpenWRT rather than trying to mess with one that will never be supported.

Ok, that's that answered. Is the firmware on the hg630b not really the greatest security wise? It is quite a basic router isn't it? Does anyone know what the latest firmware is for it? Should router firmware's be updated regularly? I'm interested to see the specs as well if if anyone know's where to find them?

You really need to explain what you mean by "security". A $20 or $2000 router can be as secure or insecure as you want to make it.

There is nothing "insecure" about the HG630b, and likewise a new router isn't going to offer any more "security".

What exactly do you want to achieve with custom firmware?

Probably because of this, I quote from howtogeek.com:

"Consumer routers are shaping up to be a perfect storm of security problems — they’re not automatically updated with new security patches, they’re connected directly to the Internet, manufacturers quickly stop supporting them, and many consumer routers seem to be full of bad code that leads to UPnP exploits and easy-to-exploit backdoors. It’s smart to take some basic precautions."

jonb

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#1608528 10-Aug-2016 13:03

To be honest I wouldn't worry about it. If you want you can change the admin password to access the router settings, which is recommended. Unless you are doing advanced things, like opening specific ports, or changing default firewall settings on your PC, it is secure enough.

A custom firmware on a router is actually more likely to be a security problem if you don't know what you are doing with it (I wouldn't know how to configure it securely myself). As a fairly IT security consious person, I am happy with the huawei 630b, and now 659.

Much more likely to get nasties by downloading rogue applications yourself than anything through the router.

9.6Mbp/s is your standard ADSL internet connection. That will only improve when you get UFB fibre, or maybe VDSL if your property is able to get it.

Kol12

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#1608535 10-Aug-2016 13:12

jonb:

To be honest I wouldn't worry about it. If you want you can change the admin password to access the router settings, which is recommended. Unless you are doing advanced things, like opening specific ports, or changing default firewall settings on your PC, it is secure enough.

A custom firmware on a router is actually more likely to be a security problem if you don't know what you are doing with it (I wouldn't know how to configure it securely myself). As a fairly IT security consious person, I am happy with the huawei 630b, and now 659.

Much more likely to get nasties by downloading rogue applications yourself than anything through the router.

9.6Mbp/s is your standard ADSL internet connection. That will only improve when you get UFB fibre, or maybe VDSL if your property is able to get it.

Yeah I've changed the admin password and disabled WPS. What about the Huawei 630b on specs? The above poster claims their not glowing... I still can't find any official specs...

I'm gonna ring Spark and see what other connection options I have.

sbiddle

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#1608585 10-Aug-2016 13:44

Firmware aspects are one of the reasons so many ISP's remotely provision their CPE these days. That means firmware updates can be pushed out automatically.

None of this however stops people who know better from doing things such as disabling their firewall which may then allow things such as DNS amplification attacks.

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