Netgear Armor Protection for Routers Officially Available

Today, Netgear announced the official availability of its all-new Armor protection for the Orbi RBR50 router, effectively making it available to the entire Orbi ecosystem, including the RBK50 and RBK50V (or Orbi Voice).

Subscription required

Netgear initially announced the Armor feature for Orbi during CES 2019. After that, it was available as a beta last month with a complicated firmware update process to version 2.3.0.32.

Today, there’s a new firmware available, version 2.3.1.44. You can upgrade directly to this version using the Netgear Orbi mobile app—a very straightforward process. Those who have flashed their router with version 2.3.0.32 can also upgrade to this latest version.

Netgear Armor is powered by BitDefender and comes with a 90-day free trial. After that, unlike similar free features in other routers, such as AiProtection of the Asus RT-AC86U, Armor requires a yearly subscription of $69.99. In return, it offers two layers of protection.

Dual-layer protection

The first layer is at the router itself. According to Netgear, as the gateway to the Internet, the RBR50’s Armor feature protects the entire network in real-time against malware and ransomware by keeping them at bay. Users will get instant notifications when threats are detected, including when a device within the network visits a malicious website.

The second layer is Bitdefender Total Security (BTS) software that’s available to an unlimited number of devices—both desktop and mobile—that belong to you and your family members. This means you’re protected even when you’re out and about.

Considering BTS itself costs some $20/device/year, if you have many devices, a Netgear Armor account can be a great deal.

Here to stay

Netgear says the Armor feature will eventually support other Orbi systems that don’t use the RBR50 as the primary router, such as the Orbi CBK40, as well as future Orbi hardware. Armor has been available to a few standalone routers from the networking vendor.