No clue what I'm doing. Little help?

VPN
1

Decided I want to take my privacy/security more seriously this month with a new(highly recommended) AV, a (highly recommended) password manager thingy… and a (highly recommended) VPN.
PLEASE DON’T GET MAD FOR THE NAME BRANDS BELOW, I’m asking for help, not advertising or recommending products I know absolutely nothing about😬

My ISP, (fiber if that matters) gave me an Eero(never heard of them) router and modem.(i will picture below) My install guy said I would have to buy another router to do VPN passthrough with the eero. I bought a (used, not recommending) Asus router(I’ll picture) that is supposed to be able to support the VPN service I bought. Now the problem, is that I’ve no clue what I’m doing🤣.

So for “passthrough,” am I supposed to be putting the Asus BETWEEN the two Eero products??? It seems like that would be the only way to protect the Eero router, right?
Or am I supposed to string the Asus AFTER the eeros, and just “forget” the Eero wifi network that’s of course still connected to everything in my house but unsecured?

I’ve tried plugging the Asus it into the Eero router, and then into my pc, but it seems the only “internet” my pc now has is in communicating with “asusrouterdotcom/index.asp” yup, just checked, “No internet access.”

Also, my Asus has WPA3, which all but my laptop can use. It’s there a way to set up a WPA2 network AND a WPA3 network, or is that dumb? And does that “wpa” affect hackers online, or just in my neighborhood?

Please pretend my ex owns my ISP, and has a hacker parked in a van down the street. I know covering yourself completely takes time and money, but Ijust bought my first two RIP5s and I’m planning on using them to replace my Onedrive and G-backup or whatever they heck they call it. I want my own servers and stores of VPNs and all that. Eventually.
For now, I’m just trying to press continue on my movie and see what it looks like through the VPN.
Also, would it be stupid not to have my Xbox running through the VPN? It’s purely a gaming/streaming device, and it would suck not to be able to make use of the awesome internet I just upgraded to.

Thanks all in advance!,
A little lost now, so I can become VERY lost in the future! (:rofl::nerd_face:)

2

Can you provide model numbers of the two eero devices? It will be very difficult for anyone to make a solid recommendation on the proper setup without more details.

You will probably need to use the Asus device in place of one of the eero’s, otherwise you might end up dealing with two devices filter and forwarding traffic.

3

You’re on the right track. The best way to have your entire network behind a VPN is to go from your ISP modem > ASUS AX58U (VPN) > Eero.

The ASUS RT-AX58U should support OpenVPN/WireGuard VPN clients, but make sure to update the firmware first after you plug the ISP modem cable into the ASUS WAN internet port. The default IP is usually 192.168.1.1.

First, grab an OpenVPN or WireGuard config from your provider and add it to the ASUS. Verify that the internet works and that the IP address is your VPN’s. I suggest setting a static DNS to 1.1.1.1 or your VPN’s DNS.

Next, plug a LAN cable into a free LAN port on your ASUS and connect it to the Internet port on the Eero. (The default IP for the Eero router is usually 192.168.4.1, and it’s set up using the Eero app.) Reboot the Eero and verify that the internet IP is indeed using the VPN.

4

Hey Mr. Baggins, I didn’t know if that would be allowed, but yeah, thank you.
Asus RTX-AX58U
Adtran(not eero, sorry) SDX631 modem
Eero R010001 router.

I also have an old Linksys EA6900 wifi router, but I don’t know if I should throw it away, or if it can still securely be made useful.:man_shrugging:

5

Forgot to add, after you update firmware on the ASUS, add your VPN config under the VPN Fusion tab. (WireGuard is supported on firmware versions later than 3.0.0.4.388.23000.) WireGuard client setup instructions for ASUS:

https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1048282/

6

Up and running, Thank you!