HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.

HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data
HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data
2019-12-12 14:54:22
Model: Archer A20  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

OK, I've got a problem with HomeCare and its HISTORY. It is basically next to useless. Why? Two basic reasons:

 

  1. There is NO NOTIFICATION an action was taken, only by checking the HISTORY page and seeing the BOX GREEN do I know there was new 'data'.
  2. No real info other that what device and what caused it to be 'triggered', what it did and 'why'?

 

This is what I CAN see for instance:

 

 

The above is 2 data points from my wife's PC. Both it seems happeded do to a single 'instance'. I just happened to look at the history about 10 minutes later (there was no apparent problem on my wife's PC that made me look here and she didn't complain of anything) and there is little help here coupled with my wife not really cognizant of what she was doing 10 minutes before (though she was checking mail)?

 

So without an instant notification somehow to the offending device (might be hard to do without some sort of an app/program runing?) it is not really of much value?

 

Needed data would be exactly what DID cause this to happen? Of course, I'm not sure that data is captured via a TCP/IP packet? I'm sure the IP Address is known as that is how the NAME appeared. That said, we've got 2 iPad's with different names. Reports of iPad's having triggered actions are however not both using the names of both iPad's. Mine only reports iPad and the wife's is iPad+her name... why mine is only iPad is a mystery.

 

Bottom line, something is missing? Maybe if the whole TCP/IP packet were availble for inspection would help? Maybe an app/program that would be connected to the router Home Care that would then signal back to the device that causes the action, so the user could figure out who/what caused it would be nice/work?

 

Is there anyway now to see more data? Telnet into the router maybe?

 

On top of this, the HISTORY is a mess. You see, I guess it depends on when one looks at it? Instead of putting the date on an entry, it appears to use 'today' (see above and the slider location). Well, that 'today' seems to be 'burned' into the HISTORY... Look what one sees when they SCROLL DOWN looking into the older HISTORY:

 

 

That is actually from October by postings above and below this.

 

Adding Trend Micro is nice if it actually protects ALL the devices. I could give up my Norton Subscription what covers most of my devices (Android phone has McAfee) and rely on HomeCare. However, this is almost useless I feel with this implementation. I'm almost ready to disable it. Worse I guess is that I don't even know which of the 3 possible features of the AntiVirus that could be enabled, but I suspect it is the Malicious Content Filter as that one makes the most sense. Only problem I can't set a whitelist or a way to tell it to ALLOW it even?

 

Maybe I'm being 'picky' but I expect some notice and if need be, a warning I have to take some measure to clean up a device. If this were a 'real' problem, I have expected NORTON 360/Security Suite to have alerted my wife prior to the data even being sent out on a TCP/IP packet for Trend Micro to block?

 

 

  0      
  0      
#1
Options
3 Reply
Re:HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data
2019-12-12 16:05:52

 

So on my 'hunt' to find out the cause, I used a program to scan files on the hard drives for text.

 

Located the 'cause', it was in Thunderbird it seems. Seems my wife gets some e-mails from Trivia Smarts daily. So we started to open some. No hits in HISTORY... The location of the Thunderbird file that matched the timestamp though had the URL with 'logo' after it. That probably meant that the logo was needed in a message.

 

Well, I found it. It was in an e-mail from AARP, which had that site as one you could use to 'sharpen' your mind it seems. One would expect that to be OK, no? However, if I try to even go to that URL it fails now in a Browser:

 

 

So at least if a browser is used and goes to a suspect site one knows why? Not the case when using an e-mail client.

 

At least in this particular case, there probably was NO REASON to block the request? Over protected it seems, unless Trend Micro knows more that Norton on this? Wife had been getting those e-mails LONG BEFORE I installed the A20 and have had Norton for years and Norton never complained?

 

 

  0  
  0  
#2
Options
Re:HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data
2019-12-12 19:51:34

@IrvSp 

 

Thank you for your feedback.

 

With the site filtering that is related to the "Malicious Content Filter", which can be disabled with the antivirus and infected device quarantine enabled.

 

With the alerts I will look into to see what the Antivirus Notifications pertain to exactly.

 

The comment about the history will be forwarded as well.

  0  
  0  
#3
Options
Re:HomeCare, need some meaningful information/data
2019-12-12 20:32:48

 

Tony wrote

@IrvSp 

 

Thank you for your feedback.

 

With the site filtering that is related to the "Malicious Content Filter", which can be disabled with the antivirus and infected device quarantine enabled.

 

With the alerts I will look into to see what the Antivirus Notifications pertain to exactly.

 

The comment about the history will be forwarded as well.

@Tony 

 

Thanks. I figure those were related to the filter too. Disabling any component or feature defeats the purpose of using HomeCare. I really like something that would 100% protect the LAN and even Guests if I had that enabled. Much better to have protection at a central point than on individual devices. No need to worry about settings on each device or if they are up-to-date. However, as it is implemented now, it has some drawbacks. I am not 100% sure but I though other vendors that imbed security in the router also have given the user rights to the device based s/w, but those might be boxes one attaches to the router?

 

It could just be that HomeCare is very limited in what it can report as all it has to go on is the TCP/IP packet? Probably an IP Address match against the Trend Micro list of IP Addresses for each 'category' and it enters that into the log after it takes action. Still, if there was any warning, like when that site is tried to reach via a browser, sent back 'somehow' to the device that wanted access to that IP Address that would help determining possible problem and need to rectify. Finding a History entry hours or days later doesn't cut it. 

  0  
  0  
#4
Options

Information

Helpful: 0

Views: 735

Replies: 3