Actiontec (GT704WGV) Wireless Router

One of the worst router interfaces ever!.
Each time when you access LAN or WAN settings gives you a warning and asks if you really want to do it. Also can't change settings (reply or don't reply to ping from WAN side), does not lists open/closed ports, can't do LAN MAC filtering, opens ports at random, can't stealth closed ports. Also it has settings on it that you can't see/access/change. (http:/192.168.1.1/restricted/verizon it has an On/Off button).What are the settings there? What they do? Total mistery! For I router that I own, paid with my own money I would expect to be able to configure it at least to a decent level of security (see update below).
Tech "support" ? What a joke! Outsourced overseas, poor English, read the script and nothing else. Can't answer questions and when they do have no idea what they are talking about for example they say the router does MAC filtering when in fact it does so ONLY for wireless. There is no setting/configuration menu to do MAC filtering on the LAN side.

Verizon uses dynamic DHCP on west coast - just plug in any modem (ADSL2+ compatible that is) and call Verizon to register the MAC with them. Get a decent router somewhere else and spend some time configuring it - get a basic security configuration up at least.
Check your configuration with Shieldsup test on grc.com and check all the first 1056 ports to see if you have open/closed/stealth ports. For a safe and secure configuration you should have ONLY stealth ports (if your router is configured correctly). But not this router because it is opening and closing ports at random - and despite your settings.
Bottom line: this router doesn't provide a decent security. It will get returned.

Update: Router in configuration "No firewall" does NAT so all ports are stealth but it answers to ping from WAN side. That is bad because it will respond to a port scanner from a hacker. Same for "Low" setting of the firewall. In "Medium" and "High" settings of the firewall it will not respond to ping from WAN, which is great, but you will have problems with the ports. In "High" setting ports are closed but not stealth and they are not consistent. Example: port 80 http In and out enables shows stealth but 53 (DNS) for the same setting shows closed not stealth. If you disable "In' and "out" other ports will be opened. The work around that I found was: leave "In" disabled and "Out" enabled for all the ports in "High" setting (except for 80 which is both "In" and "Out"). This is what I mean when I say this router is not consistent with the settings. Same setting does different things.

About the Ping issue:My question to tech support: "Firewall in OFF and LOW security setting is NOT blocking ping from Internet(ICMP Echo request). Where is the setting or how can I write the rule to block ICMP Echo requests?....If I try to use the Firewall in Medium or High setting it blocks the pings but..."
Answer from tech support: "The unit programming is controlled by VERIZON. .....All current Verizon firmwares do NOT allow for disabling ICMP echo at the request of Verizon."
As I said before and as anyone can test, firewall in settings "High" and "Medium" blocks the ICMP echo! See the result from grc.com: "Not a single packet — solicited or otherwise — was received from your system as a result of our security probing tests. Your system ignored and refused to reply to repeated Pings (ICMP Echo Requests). From the standpoint of the passing probes of any hacker, this machine does not exist on the Internet."
My settings: Firwall=Medium, all ports "Out" enabled, "In" enabled for 80, 500, esp.
Still it is a lousy solution because it requires the user to configure ports/rules one by one. Much easier would be Firewall=Off (still does NAT so it is OK) and block ICMP echo..except that setting is: 1) doesn't exist according the manufacturers tech support 2) it exists - according to my test on grc.com - but it can't be accessed. BIG configuration problem in my book.
I can't stress this enough. Even if you are connected to the Internet and everything works just fine spend the time and check your security settings to be sure that you are protected and you are not opened to attack. All the ports should be stealth and ping answer form WAN side should be disabled.