Router Roulette

[LonelyGhost]

Future Shop has a sale on routers and what i know of them i learned in wood shop (and i still know more than the guys working at Future Shop!) but here goes:

I have a laptop, bluetooth, ADSL and 54g integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN ... which router and what's it going to do for me?

Note: Prices AFTER rebate:

1. SMC 4 port cable/dsl router 10/100 mbps data transfer $4.99

2. Linksys wireless G-router WAP, 4 port switch and router, WEP, WPA encryption $49.99

3. Netgear wireless super G router, 10 times faster than 802.11b, up to 108 mbps data transfer $39.99

4. SMC wireless G router, 4 port ethernet, SPI firewall, 5x faster than wireless B $9.99

any help muchly appreciated.

 

[vancouverman]

For security reasons I would never use a wireless router.

LG.. Depends on the way you want to connect..... wireless??? the small SMC for 4.99 is out of the question then.

I used all three manufacturers, all have their quirks if you want to push them beyond "home use" type of usage. But, they all basicly will fo a good job.

All the "super duper" speeds can be achieved ONLY if you have appropriate wireless card in your laptop as well. So it is more like an advertising junk.

I use mostly Linksys, and Netgear for home and small business.

The choice is yours.

Ps…. Just do not buy extended warranty

 

[LonelyGhost]

LG.. Depends on the way you want to connect..... wireless??? the small SMC for 4.99 is out of the question then.

All the "super duper" speeds can be achieved ONLY if you have appropriate wireless card in your laptop as well. So it is more like an advertising junk.

1. wireless ... basically take the laptop out of the home office and sit in the living room.

2. i have the 54g integrated 802.11 b/g wireless LAN ...

3. security ... ZA firewall ... good enough?

thanks!

 

[shadowfx]

it is only as secure as you make it

I will give you some general advice first ,wireless is ok but will not be as good as wired. First don’t be confused by the standards there wireless A,B, and G, and they are developing a new standard Z, wireless G is the standard now. What is the difference; it is how far you can you can be from the transmitter.
There some question said about security first of any network can be broken in to depending on hard you want to try. Wireless is secure; you just have to set it up right. Use the built in WEP encryption and also use Mac address filtering and you will be more secure then most businesses. The biggest problem is people don’t change the password on their routers leaving them wide open to be hacked; the standard pass word by default is admin.

There are groups of people who go around and find open wireless connection and leave special marks on building and sidewalk indicating a open network. This is called warchalking In Edmonton you can go straight down Jasper Ave getting free wireless. You also asked about SPI, all routers do this. I do not know what level of experience you have. So here is a brief description of SPI State full Packet Inspection all it means is that the router will watch the packets or information sent from computer that are retuned to see that they are not modified. If you are that concerned about security for around $100 dollars you can add a hardware firewall like Alpha Shield (http://www.alphashield.com in front of your network for protection.

My advice to you is look at the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster V2.0WRT54GS V2.0. It has the best signal strength; the speed booster part is that it transmits across multiple frequencies. The only problem with this is it may interfere with some cordless phones. Just change the default channel to 11 and you will be ok.

 

[hargow]

routers

I'm no expert but with a router you can scramble your isp and get as many id's on here as you want .....


LG - just how many people you wanna be today - - - you could be a chick or a duck ... you could be a happy dude and an angry dude .... oh oh the choices !!

I've always used linksys routers and have not had a problem. Oh god here comes the screams of shill! Yes you caught me, I own linksys!

But seriously, wireless connections are always going to be inferior to hardwired ones, as there is just one more "link" in the chain. It can be great, but sometimes, it can conk out on you at inopportune times. The other thing, as you probably know, is that you can hardwire your pc or laptop into a wireless router. A lot of people do that most of the time, and then use it wireless when they are checking the nasdaq while sipping mai tai's on the patio with their pool boy.

Any time things are floating around in the air, people can grab it. Encryption can make it more difficult, but if someone really wants to, they can and will find a way.

Good Luck!

 

[georgebushmoron]

I bought a top of the line D-Link wireless G+, paid $200 for it. I had a Linksys. The D-Link outperforms the Linksys significantly on the wireless throughput. It was harder to set up, had to download drivers, etc, and documentation was difficult. But it was well worth it.

 

[shak]

hehehe, anyone own a automatic load balancing router? I wanted one before, but it was too expensive. Now it seems the price has dropped significantly. With Telus + Shaw, you can have a 10Mbps Downstream line within 80 bucks. Fail safe too, with 2 different provider runnign at the same time.....

 

[Savage]

I'm no expert but with a router you can scramble your isp and get as many id's on here as you want .....

Actually you can't.

LG, if all you're going to use the wireless router for is surfing the net, then you don't need the faster speeds as you won't use them for web surfing. If you have a home network and are going to be transfer files back and forth between computers, then get the faster ones.

 

[LonelyGhost]

Actually you can't.

LG, if all you're going to use the wireless router for is surfing the net, then you don't need the faster speeds as you won't use them for web surfing. If you have a home network and are going to be transfer files back and forth between computers, then get the faster ones.

thanks savage,

all i want to do is take the laptop into the living room and still be able to access the net ...

i also understand that some routers have built in firewalls but the ads don't say anything about it.

 

[cancowboy2001]

You might do some research on the particular routers you are looking at here: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/ - lots of user reviews/rankings.
At least it might help weed out some of the lemons.

 

[LonelyGhost]

You might do some research on the particular routers you are looking at here: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/ - lots of user reviews/rankings.
At least it might help weed out some of the lemons.

thanks ... bought one just moments ago based on what was posted here ... it has all the features mentioned plus the firewall (SPI and NAT) and the security (WEP, Mac etc ...)

and the price was right ...



i will see what the review site says though ... thank you for that resource!

 

[cancowboy2001]

Day late, a dollar short - story of my life

thanks ... bought one just moments ago based on what was posted here ... it has all the features mentioned plus the firewall (SPI and NAT) and the security (WEP, Mac etc ...)

Which one did you end up picking?

 

[LonelyGhost]

Which one did you end up picking?

netgear108 wireless firewall router ...