The Core

Want to spend the better part of 2 DAYS identifying all the flora & fauna clinging to your local network?  This will help;

Resolving unknown devices ^{(You're likely to have more than a few.)}

Advanced IP Scanner. Install the program and click in the Green Play button Scan to start the network scan. This will return a list with all active network devices.  It will also show the manufacturer.  You'd think that knowing the manufacturer will always ID the device ....but NOoooo, the brand you know it by is likely missing.  For instance, instead of Samsung, you might get Murata Technology, Inc.

https://www.advanced-ip-scanner.com/

"You're confusing me with someone who wants to f### with IP numbers."
  -- rcjordan, circa 2017

Yeah, that's why I titled the thread as such. A hat-tip to the old me.

The smarthome stuff is really driving most of my interest in this. Not so much for the device installation ...though I did have to figure out DHCP to reserve IPs.  But failed or non-existent IOT security issues are almost flooding my news feeds. On hubitat, we use devices that were once phoning home to China but are now *supposedly* converted to local-only.  I'd like to verify that myself.

And then there's Louise's phone. With 50 apps installed. Makes me shudder.

The above PRTG ain't what I'm looking for, btw.

>>the old me.

:-)

That's what keeps me from getting further into home automation. It's like back when you had to get in and muck with serial port settings to get a printer to run or something. Of course, after initial success getting my printer to work on the network, it then stopped doing so and now has to be cabled in directly to print. At least that works without complication. Usually.

We use prtg to monitor servers. Great at that job if you need to monitor anything. Maybe once you identify what you want to watch (or block), point a sensor at it?

My Netgear R7800 is on the "needs replacing" list as it doesn't quite cover the far reaches of the house.  I want to go mesh.

In a Hubitat thread about routers, the Synology RT2600ac / MR2200ac combo was recommended ...mostly for its software.  In the screenshot, the UI showed a "Threat Prevention" panel with tracking of "malicious events."  So I went down the rabbit-hole and found this old review.

Synology RT2600ac Wi-Fi router review: for when too much nudity is never enough
https://www.afr.com/technology/synology-rt2600ac-wifi-router-review-for-when-too-much-nudity-is-never-enough-20170113-gtqqr6

In the review, the router flags a device on the network that apparently phones home.

For a mesh, the price is on the low end of average.