The new TWG8700UG Thomson Modem has a built in Wireless router. WPA/WEP key stamped on the bottom of the router .
I needed the admin password to change the key... and also to browse around the router and tweak it etc. Given that my WNDR3700 from Netgear is far superior, also wanted to disable the Wireless functionality.
Access is wide open, they have shipped it with the default username (blank) and default password ("admin")...
If you have this, you need to really tighten up the security on it.
BTW, technically speaking, it's a very funky router. Highly configurable, dual band , firewall etc. You can also config the VOIP settings. A lot to look over... I will do some performance tests to see if it can replace the Netgear WNDR3700, which is best of breed.
? they do that very often, where's the issue?
Can you imagine how many calls they would receive if they would "disable the wireless" by default .
Unless you meant that because they wrote the "wireless WEP/WPA" key it was "set and secure" already?
Yeah quite misleading...
Ship it enabled. Print the WEP key on the customer letter and force a change at first logon...Having it stamped on the bottom is not really good enough.
Also, remote admin is on by default, how secure is that ?
Same for the router admin password, BT/Virgin shipped their routers with the name of the admin account changed and the password set to a portion of the MAC address plus a generic prefix. Enough to keep nosy parkers away.
It's really about knowing the risks. Users can choose for themselves what they want to do.
Again, the router is wide open, it needs to be locked down. That is the purpose of this thread.
ha ok, did not get the remote admin part, etc...
Well email them then, goodluck
You usually end up on the customer service who won't care and who won't understand you anyway
great. I switched my internet plan and now they sent me the Thomson thing - although I told them that I don't want / need it. Do you think I can just send it back instead of my old fiber-power modem, which has been working perfectly?
the modem / router is sitting in the basement in a rack box, so the WiFi functionality is for nought anyway
Not really for the Internet plan, my old one worked fine. But if you went for the FP100 Combi with free International calls, you will need the new Thomson as the free calls are actually VOIP based , and need the Thomson.
Call me wrong - but as far as I know, all Cablecom phone lines are VoIP based, and always have been. We have two CC phone lines (and have had them for about 2 years already) and they work just fine my old modem. Apart from that: I don't have the FP100 Combi - I switched my subscription to the FP50 combo
Peter
I was thinking about that.
I'm wondering if that's not simply that they have done "hard reset" on the device prior to ship it to you. For example if they have refurbished it from someone else, did the nice packaging again and hop...
Perhaps they have changed the VOIP operating settings. My old modem was just a black box with no VOIP options. I have assumed , seeing that there are now VOIP options on the new box that this is a change. I may have assumed incorrectly.
You may have a VOIP handset ? Mine are just POTS handsets.
The old modems have two POTS connectors and the internal circetry takes care of the POTS to VOIP stuffs. Does the new modem not have standard POTS ports (RJ11)?
As a router I found it's pretty limited and I have to keep my existing netgear working. I couldn't find a way to fix an IP address on the LAN (for a printer), and there's no way to change the default DNS server (say to opendns). Let me know if anyone has figured out how to w/ either of the above with the Thompson.
Yes it does, just that you can access it (undocumented) via the Web. On the admin page is a whole set of VOIP configs. Something new to me only ever having the old one for a relatively short while.
I am still not convinced the old system was entirely VOIP from the client , we have heard a noticeable change in call accoustics, something not too far from Skype on a good day.
Have you tried the USB port ? Maybe it does not support printers. Maybe just hard disks, I have yet to examine it , as there are no menu options for it. Otherwise , doesn't the printer broadcast as a printer via uPNP or TCP/IP over Netbios , do you really need to reserve an address for it ?
You can always tell the client to use OpenDNS rather than the router..
Failing that , you can always plug the Netgear into the Thomson, and disable wireless on the Thomson, this is what I have done..
That difference could be down to the codec used. But I may be talking BS too.
That depends...were your lips moving ?
Ah, you seem to have learned my "tell."
I'd like to switch to the new "Power Combi" subscription but is this new modem the only alternative ?
I don't want to do all my routing with the cablecom modem...
Can it be configured in bridged mode and disable all it's routing/dhcp server/wifi and only use the modem function as the old cablecom modems ?
Yes. Disable the Wifi antennae. Plug your existing routers WAN port into the Thomson's hub ports. You wouldn't want to disable it's routing functions, if you have specific routing requirements/routes they can still be enforced by your old router. Let the Thomson assign the address for your router, and your router can DHCP for it's attached clients, which will be NAT addressed.
Thanks for your reply.
So this new cablecom device is not a modem, it's a modem/router who does routing, it has it's own IP address and gives IP adresses via a internal DHCP server ? I mean you can connect to it via a web interface ?
I liked the way the old modems were only gateway "bridge" and i could use my pfsense embedded gateway for routing/vpn/dhcp...
It's a modem / router with built in WLAN.
It has a 192.168.0.1 address on startup, easily changed. It can serve DHCP requests. There is no documentation for the web interface, but it was easy getting in. A hardwired laptop will reveal the routers address, and the username / password are easily found on the net. PM me if you can't find it. The wireless key is printed on the bottom of the router, as is the SID.
You can still user it as a blind pass-through router, and use your own router for what you want it to do (VPN etc) (Mine has a USB port and acts as a NAS). There is a USB port on the Thomson, I will investigate this later.
To make the picture clearer in your mind, imagine the router sitting at the Cablecom HQ. Out of sight out of mind, just acting as the FLR in a distant sense. Imagine plugging your router into the modem is the same as plugging it into the old modem. You need to avoid addressing conflicts, and your old router may well change it's LAN interface IP to avoid conflicts with the Thomson. That should not affect DHCP clients unless you have hard-coded the old router address in somewhere (Web pages , Advanced DHCP config in Windows etc)
First time installers, should follow the advice and let the system boot for 30 minutes before attempting to add other routers/phones etc.
There is a lot of updating going on.
HTH
The brochure can be found here .
The manual can be found here
At a glance...