Glad it's all working.

If you have a local backup, yes. If you do not have a local backup, try to get connected to the GUI to use Diagnostics > Backup/Restore, or even scp/ssh on the current system and see if you can download /conf/config.xml from the box

Bill,
They have updated the other thread that they are aware and working on a fix. Probably monitor that thread for updates.

@magrw2066:

The checksums are the 1st thing faked.

How? Checksums on our website?

That's another possibility, thanks.

The link in the first reply contains a link to the blog post which is our official response to the dnsmasq CVE:
https://www.netgate.com/blog/no-plan-survives-contact-with-the-internet.html

That link contains information on how to upgrade the dnsmasq version in place on 2.3.4-p1 without needing a full firmware upgrade.

As for your console, that looks like a faulty cable or connection in some way. Without knowing anything about the hardware or how you are connecting to the console, we can't give you any solid suggestions other than to try a new cable.

If you purchased that device from Netgate, contact our support team at https://customercare.netgate.com/ and someone can lead you in the right direction for the console access issue.

For factory reset, it has never been intended to be a complete reset in the way you describe. The only way to accomplish that is with a complete reinstall from an installation disk or other installation media.

You can't add a USB serial adapter as a console, at least not that I've ever seen work. The USB device is not present early enough for it to be viable as a console for debugging purposes. It's a path that only leads to anger, heartache, and disappointment.

You can turn a cheap rpi or similar into a network/OOB USB serial console mux/server that connects to loads of other USB serial consoles quickly and easily with off the shelf hardware and without modding anything. Just USB hub(s) and such.

Very good point  :)

Glad you fixed it, now maybe you can work on fixing that camera shake  ;D

@stephenw10: great, thanks for your informative answer. My OCD can rest now ;)

Got it.  Good info to have.  I was unaware on several of these items.  Thank you!

Still very valuable, even more so when it comes to schools!

I gave it some airflow assistance with a 4-inch USB fan, and it has been stable now since yesterday. Heat dissipation could indeed be an issue with these units.

It will never have the same performance as SSD. It is a USB device, not SATA.

Very encouraging to hear that.  Thanks for the information!