hpr1774 :: Router Hacking
A Quick What, Why, and How of Hacking Routers
Hosted by Jon Kulp on 2015-05-21 is flagged as Clean and is released under a CC-BY-SA license.
Networking, Routers, Printer Setup, dd-wrt, tomato, openwrt.
4.
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Duration: 00:19:50
general.
Router Hacking
What
- Flashing a router with alternate firmware
Why
- Provide additional features
- Improve performance
- Privacy (gets rid of unwanted spyware)
- Fun
Where
- The DD-WRT Router Database: https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database
- Tomato Firmware for Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS: https://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
- OpenWRT firmware: https://openwrt.org/
How: Steps for My Latest Hack
- Find used Netgear WNDR3400 router on shelf at local Goodwill store, priced at $3.99.
- Use my smartphone to check the dd-wrt database to see if this router is hackable.
- Grin broadly upon seeing the green "Yes" beside router WNDR3400.
- Double-check that power supply is included, find an AC outlet and plug in to be sure it powers on and my phone sees its ESSID. Yep and yep.
- Take router to cashier and purchase.
- Do hard reset of router to clear any previous configuration.
- Hook a laptop up to router using ethernet patch cable (turning off WiFi adapter on laptop).
- Access router's configuration in web browser at default router address of 192.168.1.1 just to confirm that it works.
- Go back to the dd-wrt router database and find the router again, then download the corresponding "mini" and the "mega" versions of dd-wrt firmware (The mega version has the most features—including USB support, which I wanted—but on many routers, including this one, you have to install the mini version first or else you could brick the router)
- Read over the dd-wrt wiki page for this specific router just to see if there's anything unusual about the hack. There's not.
- Go to the router's stock configuration page again and find the "Firmware upgrade" button.
- Click the button and choose the "mini" version of the dd-wrt firmware, and click upgrade, then wait while crossing fingers until it says firmware successfully upgraded.
- Refresh the configuration page at 192.168.1.1 and see the new dd-wrt configuration interface.
- Pat myself on the back because I have just hacked another router. Hray!
- Find the upgrade firmware area on the new dd-wrt interface, and this time choose the "mega" firmware file and submit, then wait and cross fingers as before. Celebrate when it works.
- Configure newly hacked router as wireless bridge (this is NOT going to be my main router), enable the USB and printer support, hook up our formerly-usb-only printer to the router, and configure household computers to be able to print wirelessly to the newly-networked printer.
- Enjoy kudos from appreciative family.