[support]

@mizarcs Thanks for the update. Version v1.26 is not compatible with previous backups. You need to create a new backup after upgrade.

[support]

@shayco2018 That version is no longer supported. May we ask why you want to roll back?

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@casino The video you linked to only provides info on how to navigate the Steam platform. There’s no mention of how to use it to access an arbitrary web site, i.e., how to enter a URL in the Steam Browser.

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@casino How does it work? Did you try it?

[support]

@mizarcs Let’s start from a clean state.

1. Reset the router: with router powered on, press and hold the Reset button for about 10 seconds then release.
2. After the router reboots, connect a PC to the router and load http://192.168.10.1
3. You’ll be asked to do initial setup.
4. Can you select time zone during initial setup?
5. After initial setup, log in and load the System Settings page. Can you select time zone?

[support]

@abe Glad to hear it’s working now! Please save a backup now and discard previous backups. You should be able to restore from this backup going forward when there’s a need.

[support]

@abe Sorry about your troubles. The MAC address might be the problem. You may try one of the following:

1. Disconnect the pcWRT router from your modem. Reboot the modem. Connect the router, then reboot the router.
2. Call your ISP and tell them that you have a new router and need their help to fix a connectivity problem. They can refresh the MAC address for you.
3. Save a new backup file for your current configuration. Send it to [email protected] along with the MAC address you intend to use. We’ll fix the configuration for you.

[support]

@dadmin To our best knowledge, the pcWRT router is not affected. Per Ars report, there’s no evidence of infection for similar firmware such as Tomato, Merlin and DD-WRT either.

Even though the cause of infection is not clear, the presumption is that it is exploiting known flaws, e.g., unpatched firmware, default passwords, remote admin interface, etc. The pcWRT router does not have a default password, and it doesn’t open a server port on the router for remote admin. If you do enable remote admin for pcWRT, the communication between the router and pcwrt.com is encrypted with TLS. Whereas some major brands does remote admin via plain HTTP.

[support]

@abe This is a one time issue – for this upgrade only. You should be able to restore settings as usual after this.

After reset, you’ll do the initial set up again. At this point, you’ll configure the WiFi. Confirm that you have only one SSID after initial setup.

Then you can restore your backup, but choose “Access Control” only. And that should not change your WiFi configuration. Verify again that there’s only one SSID.

Then manually update Dynamic DNS, Cloud and other settings if needed.

Finally, save a new backup.

[support]

We should be able to address some of these.

For 2), our thinking is not to make a separate UI element for ports. We have a systematic way of processing Allowed and Blocked URLs. Allowing and blocking ports is just a special case of the whole theme. Please refer to our new blog posting to see how it works: https://www.pcwrt.com/2018/06/how-to-allow-or-block-web-sites-on-the-router/.

[support]

@casino The router settings, which apply to all devices, will not make your PC different. Some program and configuration on your PC is making it behave differently. Are you running another parental control program on the PC?

[support]

@casino Yes, we managed to see the same error you saw, once. But our experiences on the XP with an outdated version of Chrome were not the same as yours. To be more specific:

1. What we saw was the expected behavior in such circumstances. I.e., the error was caused by DNS cache on the PC and was corrected after flushing the DNS cache. Closing and restarting the browser would have had corrected the problem too. And that was our initial suggestion on how to correct the problem.
2. We only saw the problem once, and were not able to repeat it for a second time, despite our repeated attempts.
3. What we saw on the XP with Chrome was consistent with the expected behavior on other devices.
4. In your case, the problem does not go away after you clear the DNS cache. It comes back repeatedly, and it only appears on your XP PC.

Even on our XP PC with the same version of Chrome as yours, the problem can be cleared by flushing the DNS cache (as expected). It’s natural to suspect that there’s something special about your PC. Does “ipconfig /displaydns” come back empty after you run “ipconfig /flushdns“, now that you’ve removed the hosts entries? Are you running any other DNS service on the PC?

[support]

@Casino Please understand that this is not a pcWRT bug. We used the same OS and same browser version as yours and cannot reproduce the problem. It’s a problem specific to your PC. And that explains why no one else was complaining.

Can you remove your hosts entries on the PC and see if the problem goes away?

[support]

Ok, we got hold of a Windows XP box with Chrome version same as yours. We managed to repeat your error once. But the error went away immediately after we cleared the DNS cache with “ipconfig /flushdns“. We tried to repeat the error for a second time but were not able to.

One thing we noticed was that after we cleared the DNS cache, Windows XP was no longer caching DNS answers. That helps explain why we weren’t able to repeat the error. And it seems to indicate that Windows XP DNS caching is somewhat unpredictable.

After you do “iptables /flushdns“, can you do “iptables /displaydns” to see if the DNS cache was really cleared?

Also, if this happens again, can you reboot the PC instead the router and see if the problem goes away?

[support]

@casino Sorry we weren’t able to reproduce your problem. What operating system are you using, and what is the command you use to clear the DNS cache?

[Author]

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