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A comment on DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities. Parent comment

Re:DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities by dublinben on Friday October 10, 2014 @06:28PM (#8440372)
No need to compile your own kernel, or get a huge x86 board. You can use an Atheros-based TP-Link router with 100% free software, bootloader and firmware included. There's no reason you can't update this.

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/free-software-wireles...

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Re:DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities by wtallis on Friday October 10, 2014 @06:35PM (#8440394)
> Flash: 4 MB

There's your reason. Good luck getting a modern OS to fit in that. Twice that would still be crowded.

Also, it's 2.4GHz only. There's no justification for ever recommending a WiFi device that can't use the 5GHz band.

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Re:DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities by sitkack on Friday October 10, 2014 @09:06PM (#8440850)
Ok, netboot your router off the network ... ;)
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Re:DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities by wtallis on Friday October 10, 2014 @11:16PM (#8441114)
Now you've doubled your RAM requirements, because all but the newest consumer routers use NOR flash and can directly execute code from the flash without having to copy it to RAM first. If you have to start using RAM to hold code and static data in addition to transient stuff, you're going to need to bump up a size and that's going to ruin the profit margins on all the dirt-cheap low-end routers out there.
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Re:DEFCON Router Hacking Contest Reveals Major Vulnerabilities by sitkack on Sunday October 12, 2014 @08:27PM (#8447048)
Karl Marx has a memo for you, prices are arbitrary and RAM is cheap.

http://www.mouser.com/Semiconductors/Integrated-Circuits-ICs...

$2.50 for a 128 MB, single chip, qty 2500.

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