I have noticed a lot lately that at least a few websites are saying "not secure" or "unsecure". I think it's just been since I got my new router. Any ideas?

I am supposed to be able to get into my router settings at http://tplinkwifi.net to change things or see if there is a firmware update, but it won't load up. I tried Safari and Firefox. I can't get into chat or anything else.

I want to see if I set up the firewall or not on my router. I think I didn't because a long time ago my ISP guy told me not to set up a firewall in the router and the Mac because they can conflict. If it's not set up on my router, I want to set it up on my Mac. Now I don't now what to do. It is off on my computer.

I'm afraid to hook my Mac up to the router via ethernet, because everything is working now, and I don't want to inadvertently screw it up.

Hi, Rita,

From routers I know nothing, but you can check your firewall in System Prefs > Security & Privacy > Firewall.

I've run into the "not secure" thing too, but as long as I "think" I know what I'm doing I just click through.

My network and router passwords are on the bottom of my router.

I think the user is always "admin."

Right. I got into my Security tab and my firewall is off. I still don't know where the router firewall is off or on.

I am in my router settings, but can't make a change. This time I can see the settings, but when I click on something like the wi-fi tab or any other tab nothing happens. It won't ask for a password or anything else and won't load up. I did notice that at the bottom it mentions the name of the router that my neighbor has. She is on the same network. She has the main source for the microwave internet in our neighborhood, and I am on a repeater. I should be able to get into my own info, but so far, no good. I may end up having to contact my ISP and tell them I see her info. Now I know she has an apple watch! If it ever asks for id and pw again, I will try the admin thing.

Thanks.

This is one solution to getting to my router settings, but I dont understand the scanning part.


Solution Three:
Manage with TP-Link Tether

Step One : Scan the QR Code and download TP-Link Tether APP from Google Play and Apple Store.
Step Two : Enable the TP-Link Tether and find the router in the devices list.
Step Three : Click the router, now you can easily manage it.

Anybody?

All considered, I suggest that you turn on the macOS firewall, and if you find things slowing down you can revisit the decision after some more research.

Leaving it off may be leaving you totally unprotected, and that's the worst situation you can be in.

Those instructions are for an iPhone; they can't be followed on your MBP.

OK, I'll try that. That tp-link router settings site is just so iffy. Can't make it load up most of the time. Thanks.

Well, why didn't they say that? I guess there must have been a clue somewhere. Maybe the word "scan".

The "QR Code" is that box with millions of little black & white squares that you see in a lot of print ads. Scanning it with the app for your particular phone (It doesn't have to be an iPhone.) enables you to d/l something.

It's basic phone knowledge. (I see them all over the subway and had to ask too.)

I guess "they" think by now everyone should know this stuff. Now I do. Thanks, Artie.



The "QR Code" is that box with millions of little black & white squares that you see in a lot of print ads. Scanning it with the app for your particular phone (It doesn't have to be an iPhone.) enables you to d/l something.

It's basic phone knowledge. (I see them all over the subway and had to ask too.) [/quote]

Hi Rita,

If your MB Pro has an IP address in the 192.1.1.xxx range then your router is providing you a NAT barrier / firewall for safe separation from the badness out on the internet. You should not need to do anything else....

Rita's MBP's IP address is the same as mine: 192.168.1.1.

Is that the same as the number you posted, and if so, does it negate the need for macOS's firewall?

I've run with both for a few years, and if I've been taking a hit I've never noticed it and would like to fix it.

OK then. Thanks.

NAT stands for "Network Address Translation".....

A NAT Firewall is one where the communication to the internet all passes through a router/modem/gateway device which has an IP address assigned by the ISP which is in a totally different address range than the Local Area Network addresses that are on the other side of that device....in other words, there is no direct connection from the internet to your computer. So if your router is assigned an address of 206.155.74.233 as an example, and it then serves data that comes to it at that address out to all the devices behind the router on the Local Area Network all within the 192.168.1.xxx range ---- those devices are all isolated from the Wide Area Network coming into the router at the 206.xxx.xxx.xxx address.

Artie, this means that your 192.168.1.1 LAN address is totally isolated from Rita's 192.168.1.1 LAN address.......there are a minimum of at least TWO NAT firewalls separating them from each other.

Thanks for the explanation. It took a few reads, but I finally got it.

But I'm not sure that it answers my question, which was if my router is blocking the bad guys do I still need my macOS firewall?

I think it was Rita who posted quite a while back that she was told by her Internet provider that the two were redundant, and the Mac firewall would slow her machine down in the presence of the router's protection. (Is it another firewall?)

The firewall on the Mac is not the same....it watches / processes / filters the data stream, analyzes the content against bad actors, blocks or passes communications based on that analysis, and is user configurable via "rules"....it comes pre-configured with a a set of rules that can be modified or expanded as you desire. With the processing power our computers hold today, the slow-down penalty should not even be noticed.....what may be noticed would be some unintended interference in our normal activities if the firewall intrudes inappropriately.

Working behind a NAT router is already providing the firewall benefit, so enabling the built-in firewall on your Mac may only serve to slow things down or introduce glitches that would otherwise not be in the path of your normal data stream......or......it might be fine, but "belt & suspenders" redundant and serve no actual function at all.

As complicated as computers are, I think networking is far and away more-so!

As I said, I've worked for several years with both the NAT router and macOS firewall without noticing any slowdowns, but I guess I'll turn off the firewall for at least a while and see if there's anything to be seen.

Thanks for explaining this complicated stuff in comprehensible language.

That simply means the site you are accessing is not using https — the secure version of the http protocol. All sites will eventually convert to https but there are those who are dragging their feet in making the transition because the upgrade might cause them to spend some money for upgraded server software. I was under the impression that warning originated in Safari.

Hmmm...that may be. Funny thing is the tp-link website came in as unsecure before. Now it doesn't say that, and it has a lock in front of the address which I think means it's https. That just changed in that last few days.

I did find out that in order to access my router settings, I have to connect my Mac via ethernet to the router. It said if I forgot my password (which I did because I have several and I was confused about which one to use where in this process), I would have to reset the router to factory defaults. I'M NOT TOUCHING IT! As long as things are working, not going there. I don't want that headache again ,and I am sure my ISP guy doesn't want to have to deal with me again on that subject!

******




That simply means the site you are accessing is not using https — the secure version of the http protocol. All sites will eventually convert to https but there are those who are dragging their feet in making the transition because the upgrade might cause them to spend some money for upgraded server software. I was under the impression that warning originated in Safari. [/quote]

The link in your first post in this thread still resolves for me like so...no lock, and neither https nor even http.

Hi Rita,

From my earlier research on your new TP-Link 1750 WiFi router, I think you will find that since you signed up with TP-Link for a Cloud account, the router is waiting for you to use that same userID and password pair when you try to access the router's internal web page.

OK. I know that I still have to hook up via ethernet. But I will check from time to time b/c I want to update my firmware as it becomes available.

Thanks for your help.

Well, it's been 10 days since I turned macOS's firewall off, and I haven't noticed any difference in performance.