Scammers have AI now, and even the router we build in this video can't stop the scam text that walks straight up to your phone. Bitdefender Scam Radar gives you a heads-up when a scam wave hits your area: https://bitdefend.me/90NetworkChuck
The government just banned your home router. Chinese state hackers were living inside consumer routers, so the FCC banned future foreign-made ones. And honestly? Your router was already slow, insecure, and boring. So in this video we replace my editor Mike's router (and yours) with OPNsense: a free, open source router and firewall running on a cheap mini PC. Whole-house ad blocking, encrypted DNS, a real firewall you control. Then I hand the whole thing to an AI agent (Hermes on a Raspberry Pi) to see if it can manage the router for us. Its first job: block an entire country.
🎓 Want to go DEEPER? VLANs, firewall rules, GeoIP country blocking, Suricata IDS, and the hardened version of the AI agent are all in my OPNsense course on NetworkChuck Academy: https://ntck.co/NCAcademy
RESOURCES / LINKS:
🛠️ Download OPNsense: https://opnsense.org/download/
🛠️ balenaEtcher (flash your USB): https://etcher.balena.io/
📖 The Realtek NIC driver fix (full written tutorial): https://blog.networkchuck.com
🧪 Test your ad blocking: https://d3ward.github.io/toolz/adblock.html
📺 Set up your own AI agent (Hermes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEgIo4Juxg
📺 What is DNS?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiQTs9DbtW4
📺 The original (6 years ago): your home router SUCKS!!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUzSsX4T4WQ
HARDWARE (the recommended devices I promised):
🖥️ Skip the driver headache (Intel i226 NICs): CWWK N100 4-port: https://www.amazon.com/CWWK-PC-4-core-N100-Fanless/dp/B0C1TWLHXK
🖥️ The exact mini PC in this video (Getorli Ryzen 3 5300U, Realtek NICs): https://www.amazon.com/Getorli-Display-Support-Computer-Business/dp/B0GHV7W7F6
🖥️ US-vendor appliance option: Protectli VP2430: https://protectli.com/product/vp2430/
🔀 Managed switch (for VLANs in part 2): MikroTik CRS310: https://www.amazon.com/MikroTik-CRS310-8G-2S-IN-in/dp/B0CH9NHFHS
📡 Wireless access point: UniFi U7 Pro: https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/u7-pro
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - The government banned your router (here's the plan)
1:10 - Why you should build your own router
1:50 - The hardware: what can run OPNsense
4:04 - The Bitdefender Scam Forecast (Sponsor)
6:13 - Double NAT vs bridge mode: how to connect it
7:39 - Installing OPNsense (flash the USB, boot, install)
10:42 - No interfaces?? The Realtek NIC fix
12:40 - First login: your new router is ALIVE
13:22 - The setup wizard + secure DNS (DNSSEC, DNS over TLS)
16:12 - Whole-house ad blocking with DNS blocklists
17:38 - An AI agent takes over my router (Hermes)
20:08 - AI blocks an entire country
20:51 - What's next for Mike's network (part 2)
21:18 - A prayer for you
Starring my editors: Mike (the news anchor) and Austin (your Scam Meteorologist).
**Sponsored by @Bitdefender
SUPPORT NETWORKCHUCK:
☕☕ COFFEE and MERCH: https://ntck.co/coffee
READY TO LEARN??
🔥🔥Join the NetworkChuck Academy!: https://ntck.co/NCAcademy
📚 CCNA Course: https://ntck.co/ccna
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