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Nooblyish router question...


PoyBoy

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<noobquestion/>

I have heard if people running linux, or the metasploit framework on linksys routers. Isn't a router just a piece of hardware specifically designed to, well, route traffic? Also, how on earth do they manage to change things in the router after soldering cables and crap like that?

</noobquestion>

I appreciate explanations of anything related, not just my questrions, so hikack this thread!!! :D

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I have heard if people running linux, or the metasploit framework on linksys routers.

considering most routes come with a cut down version of linux already installed i dont see what the problem would be with running your own software on it, except you are taken some of the resources away from the actually programs that are need for it to route the traffic proberly

Isn't a router just a piece of hardware specifically designed to, well, route traffic? Also, how on earth do they manage to change things in the router after soldering cables and crap like that?

is your computer just a heap of hardware? as for the soldering cables to a router, iv never seen anyone do this so i dont know, but my guess would be the same way you can access images from ur camera or iPod.

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Most routers are simply a low powered processor with some ram and firmware. The firmware is just the software that the router is running and it will hold all the programs etc. that the router uses, like the http server for accesing the webgui.

Linksys routers are particularly nice because most of them run firmware which is linux based and you can download the source code. This has ment that people have been able to easily modify the firmware because they know what they need to put in. Other manufactures routers don't seem to be as open, i certainly haven't seen any others that offer the source code.

People do solder on extra items depending on what they want to do, there was a thread in the Hacks section about hacking the WRT54g in which some pictures were posted of adding a SD card reader to the router to add more storage.

Most people don't hardware mod their routers, just flash with a new and hopefully improved bios. I think if you are the state of needing to complete large amounts of hardware mods to your router to make it work better then you need to start looking at running a more powerful computer as a router.

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I've flashed my wrt45g with DD-WRT firmware, main reason I modded mine was to get more control over things like QoS settings, and more port forwarding settings. I can also dump the logs to a gui on one machine and have a monitor terminal for the lan (ok then... an old laptop that can't do anything else anymore).

But what I want to do is replace this with a mini-ITX system running smoothwall/monowall.

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Actually wait am I wrong in saying after you put Linux on a Router technically it becomes a gateway?

Yes, what operating system the hardware is running does not determine what it does, whether it is Linux, Unix, a Cisco Firmware. Its the software that decides what the device is.

So if you add gateway functions then it would be a gateway/router. But you have to remember most Linksys network hardware is already running a firmware which is based on Linux.

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