Hello everyone! Returning Slacker here making some pre-flight checks before I get back on slack- seriously, absolutely, zero-takebacks, for good.

Sometime ago I acquired a Verizon jetpack and managed to score the unlimited plan before they phased out the service and grandfathered in the unlimited accounts. lately I've been tethering the device itself to my system. But it needs a battery, even if it's plugged in or not (for fsck's sake).

So the first thing I need is a 4g router/modem that has the following
-Works with Slackware
-Compatible with my US Verizon sim card.
-Features that allows usage with Snort & other Intrusion Detection Systems

These are the ones I'm considering:
-Huawei B310s-518
-KuWFi Outdoor 4G LTE CPE WiFi Router with Sim Card Slot

The second thing is a wifi dongle-thing that I can connect my desktop PC to the router, and thus the internet. I'd like one that...
-Works with Slackware.
-Doesn't suck :P

My only questions about getting a modem like this are the following:
-What other stuff do you guys recommend for making my system more secure?
-What kind of firewall should I look at, and how would I keep intrusive software on a windows VM from poking where it shouldn't look?

hopefully I will be back on slack for real, and have my "windows finally closed for good" so to speak this winter! It's nice to be back!

For one (being a little paranoid here) I would stay away from Huawei.

Alien Bob has a excellent firewall builder here: http://www.slackware.com/~alien/efg/

Slackware should work with any modem and router that meet accepted networking standards and protocols. It has never complained about any router that I've used.

I think the main issue here is making sure the device is compatible with you sim card. Frankly, I'd expect the sim card to work with any device that accepts sim cards, but I have no experience in this area.

alright! Thanks for the advice everyone!

I dunno whether this would fit your idea of 'web-safety', but maybe you might want to consider a router that allows for built-in vpn connection, via dd-wrt.

Basically, some routers come with the ability to install dd-wrt/openwrt on it (instead of the firmware offered by the company), which allows you to use the router as an openvpn client for internet connections, for all connected devices (so not only via a vpn installed on each device). It seems possible for what you are aiming for, but better do your own research further as I only have experience with a ADSL-based router not using sims for connection etc...

For example, a search on "dd-wrt 4g router/modem verizon-sim" led to this: https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=283692 and then this:
https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mifi/

but whether that's huawei or otherwise tainted, i dunno. And you'll need a vpn-subscription (with, say, NORDvpn or PIA) to use such a set-up.

PIA has just been acquired by Kape (or going to be), which has less than stellar history.

https://torrentfreak.com/private-int...uired-by-kape/