HomeShield Security+ Web Protection working at all?
I am a new user of deco X50 and so far happy with it. But I do wonder if Web Protection is working at all.
I have HomeShield Security+ and have enabled Web Protection. But it did not detect/block a single phishing website, or malware download. And I gave it enough opportunity to do so.
So I wonder if it is just a bad feature or is there something I missed or that I have to consider here?
Does anyone have experiences with Web Protection? Were there any positive finds in your deco?
I am grateful for ideas and suggestions. Thank you!
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Hi, welcome to the community.
Would there be any chance that you could send an email to support.forum@tp-link.com (please add the forum ID#738872) with the example websites you used for Web Protection Testing? Then, I could forward it to the engineers to check whether it is an expected behavior.
Thank you very much and best regards.
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Hello,
Let me guess, you’re using an Apple device?
If so, you need to disable the “Limit IP Address Tracking” and “Private Wi-Fi Address” features from the Wi-Fi settings of the network in iOS. Otherwise, if you don’t disable them, HomeShield Security+ is useless and ineffective, having no impact on Apple devices at all, at least…
For detailed information about this service, see my thread here: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/731532
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Hi Denis,
Thanks for your reply. Your guess is correct, I used a MacBook and an iPhone for my tests.
Both devices had the options you mentioned activated.
I will now test Web Protection with a Windows computer as well as with my Apple devices with “Limit IP Address Tracking” and “Private Wi-Fi Address” features switched off and post the results here.
I assume that what you describe is very likely the reason it dod not work in my case. However, if so, it would be nice if TP-Link would offer a solution or at least an information for Apple users. But let's see. I keep you updated.
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Hello David,
Thank you for the support. I will provide further info to you support email.
But first I'd like to test what @Denis55 described here with regards to “Limit IP Address Tracking” and “Private Wi-Fi Address” features on Apple devices:
https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/731532
I did indeed use Apple devices (MacBook / iPhone) with those features switched on.
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It should have a 100% effect if you disable those privacy features.
Attention!! Based on my tests, for the captive portal (block index) to appear, you need to set the DNS on WAN in the Deco app (IPv4, IPv6, or both) to Auto, and in the DHCP Server advanced settings, leave the DNS field empty.
If you follow these steps, it should definitely work.
Please let me know which websites you're using to test the Security+ feature. Wicar, Eicar?
As a suggestion, you can also try this test site maliciouswebsitetest . c o m
Looking forward to your reply.🤝🏻
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@Patz I don't know guys, I tested Security+ aswell, but als on the IoT devices that are not Apple, I didn't saw anything in the logfiles of Web, Inrusion or IoT. "NO RECORDS YET" it said, for the whole 2 months that I had activated it. With 30+ devices in my network, I shoud expect attacks on devices. But no. Not one incident, or threat that was being withold, or ANY sign of protection activities. Nothing.
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I have tested again on iPhone and MacBook (with Apples privacy features switched all off) as well as using a Windows PC. In all cases I did not get any positive hit or reaction from HomeShield Security+ Website Protection.
I used Wicar, Eicar, Malicous Website Test, and real Phishing sites from Phistank. I got warnings from my browsers (Chrome, Firefox) if warnings were enabled, but HomeShield did not find a single issue.
You mentioned that DNS may be a key factor. My setup is Router with DHCP and pluged in deco in Router mode with DHCP. When I leave DNS auto it uses the Router's IP as DNS (which is correct). But I also tested it using manual DNS and used decos Gateway IP which also worked but didn't change anything in regards to Web Protection.
I guess I have tro write to TP-Link's support and hope for useful answers. Otherwise I tend to think Security+ Subscription and Web Protection may be pretty useless, at least in my case.
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Hello Jan,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'd like to see at least a proof that it works in general. But there is very little information available on how HomeShield works and if I cannot reproduce a case where it works, I have to assume that it is not working, or is at least not appropriate for what its meant for.
I hope that I am facing only a configuration issue and that I find a solution. If not, I will not keep the subscription, of course. I will post updates here. Let's see!
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