Router selection? I'm a Computer and Internet/Newsgroup Newbie

[JenniferR]

Hello, Everyone!

I've just subscribed to dsl for the first time. For hardware firewall
protection it was recommended I purchase a "little router". I use
McAfee Security Center for software protection. At moment only own one
computer. With Windows XP
I did hours of research and reading on the terms/specs and the shear
volume of information is mind boggling.

I was told due to "steer away from Netgear brand".

I have the DSL modem ATU-R provided. I have Ethernet 10/100 card
installed in computer but, have never used it.

Which protocols and features are of upmost importance?

I've narrowed down my selection to the following found on
zipzoomfly.com:

Conventional

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252415
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252247

wireless:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252417
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252173
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252111
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252281


Am I on target? Am I overlooking something? Suggestions? Experiences
with reliability? and Speed?

I'm also trying to figure out how to connect it to my APC Back Up
ES/surgeprotector without having to buy an upgraded one immediately.

JenniferR

 

[Paul]

Hello, Everyone!

I've just subscribed to dsl for the first time. For hardware firewall
protection it was recommended I purchase a "little router". I use
McAfee Security Center for software protection. At moment only own one
computer. With Windows XP
I did hours of research and reading on the terms/specs and the shear
volume of information is mind boggling.

I was told due to "steer away from Netgear brand".

I have the DSL modem ATU-R provided. I have Ethernet 10/100 card
installed in computer but, have never used it.

Which protocols and features are of upmost importance?

I've narrowed down my selection to the following found on
zipzoomfly.com:

Conventional

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252415
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252247

wireless:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252417
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252173
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252111
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252281


Am I on target? Am I overlooking something? Suggestions? Experiences
with reliability? and Speed?

I'm also trying to figure out how to connect it to my APC Back Up
ES/surgeprotector without having to buy an upgraded one immediately.

JenniferR

After the feature wars are over, a lot of these compete
on price, and when that happens, quality can slip. You
should read the customer reviews on Newegg, to get some feel
for what problems the product could have.

"D-Link DI-604 10/100Mbps 4-Port Ethernet Broadband Router"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16833127013

I have ADSL, and my ADSL modem speaks "PPPOE". My provider gives
out an installer disk, and to use their service, you are expected
to run their software. The software receives the PPPOE packets
from the ADSL modem, and converts them to ordinary Ethernet info.
PPP is point-to-point protocol, and includes stuff like session
setup and the like (your login sequence for the ADSL is in there).

My router terminates PPPOE for me. I use a web browser, make a
connection to the router, and enter my ADSL account and password
in there. When I switch on the router, the router makes the connection
via PPPOE protocol for me. That means I can remove the crappy software
my provider gave me. My computer doesn't even know it is connected
to ADSL - it simply thinks it is on a LAN of some sort.

I don't run any servers, but the ability to Port Forward would allow
an external request to do FTP, to be forwarded to one computer
of many on your home LAN. This can be handy if you host a game
server that people use to host network gaming. Your terms of service
may define what kinds of servers you can run, or what ports are
open with your provider (like no running your own USENET server).

The router should support DHCP, and then your connected computers
are automatically be given private IP addresses. The public address
207.218.233.67 stays between the router and the ADSL modem. Your
private addresses would be 192.168.x.x type addresses, and the
router will have a setup to define the lowest value, and how many
addresses to support. The private address information generally
stays inside your house - the packets leaving the house will
all be 207.218.233.67, with a translated port number.

I guess I really don't use much of the features of my router, so
as long as it converts the PPPOE to ordinary Ethernet for me,
does NAT (network address translation from private_IPortX to
public_IPortY), I'm pretty happy. Probably a lot of routers
will do that much for you.

When it comes to router design, the bottom of the barrel designs
are simply reference designs copied from the chipset company. The
chipset company may provide one firmware update a year. The
fly-by-night company making the router might never offer anything
other than the original firmware, complete with all bugs. So when
you see a product many dollars cheaper than the competition, with
a name you've never heard of, it pays to read the reviews and
make sure it is not some "cookie cutter" design. Check the
web site of the manufacturer, and see if they have firmware updates
that are offered at regular intervals after a product is
introduced. Routers are complicated enough, that the firmware
will never be completely right on the first try.

Paul

 

[Simon]

Hello, Everyone!

I've just subscribed to dsl for the first time. For hardware firewall
protection it was recommended I purchase a "little router". I use
McAfee Security Center for software protection. At moment only own one
computer. With Windows XP
I did hours of research and reading on the terms/specs and the shear
volume of information is mind boggling.

I was told due to "steer away from Netgear brand".

I have the DSL modem ATU-R provided. I have Ethernet 10/100 card
installed in computer but, have never used it.

Which protocols and features are of upmost importance?

I've narrowed down my selection to the following found on
zipzoomfly.com:

Conventional

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252415
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252247

wireless:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252417
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252173
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252111
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252281


Am I on target? Am I overlooking something? Suggestions? Experiences
with reliability? and Speed?

I'm also trying to figure out how to connect it to my APC Back Up
ES/surgeprotector without having to buy an upgraded one immediately.

JenniferR

Hi,
Does your dsl modem have an ethernet port on it ?
In the UK the ISPs provide only a USB modem usually so people need to
buy the router with a built in dsl modem, if thats the case where you
are then those you linked to aren't going to help.
simon

 

[JenniferR]

Paul

I subscribed to the standard ADSL service.

Oplink advertises they do not use "PPPoE". (Unlike, SBC Yahoo.)

I believe the network protocal is TCP/IP for the the standard (I looked
at the modem set up instructions).

There is so many security options offered. What do I really Need?

Example: Security: Firewall: DoS Attacks Detection Logging, Dropped
Packet Log, Security Event Log, E-mail Log; VPN Functionality: NAT
traversal (VPN pass-through) for IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP VPNs

Or

Security: SPI Firewall, MAC Address Filtering

or
D-Link DI-808 HV
snipped
Security: Denial of Service (DoS) Protection; Stateful Packet
Inspection (SPI); Activities Logging; NAT; DMZ; Filtering (MAC, IP,
URL, Domain)
Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u,IEEE 802.3x
Temperature: 41o to 131oF (5o to 55oC)
VPN: IPSec (40 IPSec Tunnels) IP Authentication Header (AH) IP
Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) Internet Key Exchange (IKE)
authentication and Key Management Integrity (MD5 / SHA-1) NULL/DES/3DES
Encryption Algorithm Internet Security Association and Key Management
Protocol (ISAKMP) Main and Aggressive mode

Thanks For reminding me about NewEgg's site...I like the customer
comments.
After all this research, I just may become a hobbiest Computer Geek.

JenniferR

 

[Al Dykes]

After the feature wars are over, a lot of these compete
on price, and when that happens, quality can slip. You
should read the customer reviews on Newegg, to get some feel
for what problems the product could have.

yes, I agree that a hardware firewall is essential but if you are *not*
doing WiFi and *not* opening ports to incoming traffic then, IMO, any
SOHO broadband router ever made would be fine. NAT is the essential
feature and any router that has jacks for more than one local PC has
it.

Old non-WiFi routers are nearly dumpster material since several
generations of WiFi routers have come and gone in the 5 years. You can
use an old WiFi router safely if you don't use the wireless side.

If you are allowing incoming connections or WiFi then new is good.

PC Magazine has done some nice reviews of this stuff. These days the
emphasis on WiFi. A simple NAT DSL router is old news, now.

http://www.pcmag.com

 

[Paul]

Paul

I subscribed to the standard ADSL service.

Oplink advertises they do not use "PPPoE". (Unlike, SBC Yahoo.)

I believe the network protocal is TCP/IP for the the standard (I looked
at the modem set up instructions).

There is so many security options offered. What do I really Need?

Example: Security: Firewall: DoS Attacks Detection Logging, Dropped
Packet Log, Security Event Log, E-mail Log; VPN Functionality: NAT
traversal (VPN pass-through) for IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP VPNs

Or

Security: SPI Firewall, MAC Address Filtering

or
D-Link DI-808 HV
snipped
Security: Denial of Service (DoS) Protection; Stateful Packet
Inspection (SPI); Activities Logging; NAT; DMZ; Filtering (MAC, IP,
URL, Domain)
Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u,IEEE 802.3x
Temperature: 41o to 131oF (5o to 55oC)
VPN: IPSec (40 IPSec Tunnels) IP Authentication Header (AH) IP
Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) Internet Key Exchange (IKE)
authentication and Key Management Integrity (MD5 / SHA-1) NULL/DES/3DES
Encryption Algorithm Internet Security Association and Key Management
Protocol (ISAKMP) Main and Aggressive mode

Thanks For reminding me about NewEgg's site...I like the customer
comments.
After all this research, I just may become a hobbiest Computer Geek.

JenniferR

Like "Al" suggested, NAT is probably the biggest feature. It does
not have to include Stateful Packet Inspection, and if you aren't
running any servers, the port remapping feature of NAT is all you
need. If you don't do any port forwarding with the router, you
can scan yourself with one of the Internet port scanners, and
see if you are "visible" on the net.

VPN features are good if you work at home, and your employer insists
on a secure (encrypted) link between home and work. In a case
like that, you ask the IT staff at work first, what to buy, so
you get the right feature set. In some cases, the employer might
include some compatible networking equipment.

I won't use wireless at home, and then I don't lose any sleep
over what security features of wireless work and what ones
don't work. I guess I'll always be satisfied by a $29.95
router

DMZ (demilitarized zone) basically is like port forwarding
all public port numbers, to one selected computer on your
LAN. That allows easy setup of game servers or other server
types, but then you lose the hiding features of NAT. It should
not take too long before someone figures out a way to hack
into the machine sitting in the DMZ. I have only used DMZ
for a few minutes, for debugging networking problems, and
this is not a feature I would use for too long, unless the
target machine had a read-only file system (like booting
a Knoppix boot CD).

Just about anything is going to meet the requirements. I'm sure
the marketing people at the routing box companies are gritting
their teeth right now

I'd recommend the product I bought, but I see it is up to its
fourth hardware revision, and the reviews for the product
now suggest it sucks. So the comments on Newegg are very much
the right way to go to get recent feedback.

Paul

 

[JenniferR]

snipped> >
Hi,
Does your dsl modem have an ethernet port on it ?
In the UK the ISPs provide only a USB modem usually so people need to
buy the router with a built in dsl modem, if thats the case where you
are then those you linked to aren't going to help.
simon

DSL modem has USB and Ethernet port on it.

Thanks.

JenniferR

 

[Dave]

Hello, Everyone!

I've just subscribed to dsl for the first time. For hardware firewall
protection it was recommended I purchase a "little router". I use
McAfee Security Center for software protection. At moment only own one
computer. With Windows XP
I did hours of research and reading on the terms/specs and the shear
volume of information is mind boggling.

I was told due to "steer away from Netgear brand".
(snip)



JenniferR

OK, you should automatically cross off any router from the list that is not
wireless. If you are worried that wireless will be a security risk, be
aware that the 'radio' of wireless routers can be shut off until needed. So
until you need that function (and you WILL need it eventually, even if you
think you won't), you can leave the wireless turned off.

For future reference, do not seek any computer-related advice from the moron
who told you to steer away from Netgear brand. I don't know what their
problem is (maybe they were the one in a million who was unlucky enough to
get a bad Netgear something or other?), but Netgear is by far the best brand
in consumer-grade network equipment. Best as in, most popular, because
their routers just WORK. Other good brands are Linksys, Belkin, D-Link and
Zyxel (Zyxel makes many of the Netgear labelled routers).

One of the routers you listed looked like a pretty good deal, the Belkin
brand wireless one. Unfortunately, when I clicked on it, it was out of
stock. So lots of people agreed with me that it was the best of the ones
you listed.

I would highly recommend this one:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=251778
I use three of them, all on a daily basis. I connect to them both locally
and wirelessly, using other networking equipment by netgear, belkin and
linksys. This particular Netgear wireless router just 'plays nice' with
everything. It's particularly friendly with DSL (and cable, too) modems.
Just carefully type in your DSL user name/password in the router setup menu
(which pops up automatically on first use, btw, but is easy to access later,
if needed), turn off the 'radio' (wireless) feature if you don't intend to
use it, and forget about it. You'll likely never have to touch the router
again until your friend drops in to visit with her Wireless 'G' enabled
notebook. That's the beauty of Netgear routers, they are easy to set up
and just WORK. They are so reliable, you often forget that they are there,
and that is JUST what you need them to be. -Dave

 

[JenniferR]

snipped good stuff

Nope, Not using the DSL for work. Just simple stuff now. One baby step
out of the cave at a time. THe Light OMG the Light is Blinding me
Hehehe!

Referring to "Dumpster material"... I just took a closer look at my NIC
card and the driver. NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking adapter. The most
recent driver is dated 9/23/02 and there wasn't any newer versions
available.

Forgive me for not knowing the correct terminology because I don't
understand this concept thoroughly but, Is the IEEE 802 standard
backward compatible because mine says 802.1x authorization and most of
the firewall/router specs are IEEE 802.2 and up.

I probably should just upgrade the card to minimize incapatibility
issues correct?

Thanks in advance

JenniferR

 

[Dave]

Nope, Not using the DSL for work. Just simple stuff now. One baby step
out of the cave at a time. THe Light OMG the Light is Blinding me
Hehehe!

Referring to "Dumpster material"... I just took a closer look at my NIC
card and the driver. NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking adapter. The most
recent driver is dated 9/23/02 and there wasn't any newer versions
available.

Forgive me for not knowing the correct terminology because I don't
understand this concept thoroughly but, Is the IEEE 802 standard
backward compatible because mine says 802.1x authorization and most of
the firewall/router specs are IEEE 802.2 and up.

I probably should just upgrade the card to minimize incapatibility
issues correct?

Thanks in advance

JenniferR

If by "NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking adapter" you are referring to a network
adapter built into the chipset of your motherboard, any router you buy is
going to work fine with it. Some would say that an older network adapter
that is not 10/100 (or even gigabit) speed should be upgraded. But the
fastest cable modems available download data at about 5% of the max speed of
a '10' Mbps ethernet connection. So your built-in networking adapter will
not be a bottleneck, at all. -Dave

 

[Al Dykes]

Nope, Not using the DSL for work. Just simple stuff now. One baby step
out of the cave at a time. THe Light OMG the Light is Blinding me
Hehehe!

Referring to "Dumpster material"... I just took a closer look at my NIC
card and the driver. NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking adapter. The most
recent driver is dated 9/23/02 and there wasn't any newer versions
available.

Forgive me for not knowing the correct terminology because I don't
understand this concept thoroughly but, Is the IEEE 802 standard
backward compatible because mine says 802.1x authorization and most of
the firewall/router specs are IEEE 802.2 and up.

I probably should just upgrade the card to minimize incapatibility
issues correct?

Thanks in advance

Reading the standards is an art. 812.1x has nothing to do with 802.2
in the sense you think. They cover very different functions. Each
has it's own version issues.

You're obsessing. Getting the latest drivers when doing a fresh
installation is a good idea but after that, just apply the MS Critical
updates on a regular basis and be happy.

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

The cheapest mail order places frequently get you on shipping.

If you get a price from an online store you are unfamiliar with, check
their reputation on resellerratings.com

Buy the cheapest router at any BigBox store or online and you'll do
fine.

I'd stay away from USB-connected networking gear but it *does* work
when I've used it.

 

[Agent_C]

Netgear is by far the best brand in consumer-grade network
equipment. Best as in, most popular, because their routers
just WORK.

I think you'd have hard time finding any hard data to support that
statement. Not that I necessarily disagree; but you should frame those
comments as your own personal experience.

According to CNET, Linksys has a "51 percent share of the consumer,
small-office and home-office retail market in North America" while
Netgear on the other had has only 12.5%.

That would reflect my personal observations as well. Most wireless
routers I observe in the home are Linksys WRT54G's.

I've used Netgear routers in the past and they've been no more or less
reliable than my current Linksys. They tend to be aggressively
discounted as well.

Sources:
http://tinyurl.com/ladcr
http://tinyurl.com/nhbjd
(Not as timely as I would prefer [2003], but I can't imagine things
have charges that dramatically since)

A_C

 

[Dave]

I think you'd have hard time finding any hard data to support that
statement. Not that I necessarily disagree; but you should frame those
comments as your own personal experience.

According to CNET, Linksys has a "51 percent share of the consumer,
small-office and home-office retail market in North America" while
Netgear on the other had has only 12.5%.

That's surprising. Last I checked, netgear had a larger market share.
HOWEVER, I have used multiple linksys brand networking components. Like
you, I find that they are on par with Netgear, in terms of quality. You
really can't go wrong buying either netgear or linksys. I was shocked to
read there was someone who recommended avoiding netgear. -Dave

 

[Al Dykes]

That's surprising. Last I checked, netgear had a larger market share.
HOWEVER, I have used multiple linksys brand networking components. Like
you, I find that they are on par with Netgear, in terms of quality. You
really can't go wrong buying either netgear or linksys. I was shocked to
read there was someone who recommended avoiding netgear. -Dave

IME, as long as you stick to the mainstream use of a single router for
just a few lightly used PCs, it's hard to go wrong.

There is *somebody* that's pissed at each and every product out there
and all the millions of happy people don't know what Usenet is, let
alone actually complain.

 

[DustWolf]

From my experiences I would say most routers that you can find that
aren't too expensive will work fine, as long as you don't have a very
new model.

Routers have a built-in program called "Firmware" and if you buy a new
model, this Firmware is new and not yet properly tested and corrected,
which can mean trouble. If you buy a router that has been around for a
while, but is not too old, it may be thurraly criticized, but know that
the manufacturer probably used all the critic to correct the Firmware
on it and thus the routers are actually now quite reliable.

I have tried various brands myself, I find that some companies work
AOL-style: They don't care if something doesn't work and one such
company would be LevelOne. Linksys (Cisco) and Belkin routers I find
bad from the security perspective (they can be hacked into). DLink
produces nice routers but they're cheap in the quality sense and you
may find them hard to configure. A NetGear I brought last and have not
yet found a reason to criticize it myself, it is straightforward to
configure... maybe a bit too straightforward as all you have to do is
click Next twice on a wizzard screen and it works very reliably.

 

[q_q_anonymous]

Hello, Everyone!

I've just subscribed to dsl for the first time. For hardware firewall
protection it was recommended I purchase a "little router".

if you want to get into this stuff, you'll be having 2 or 3 computers.

You could buy a router with one port, and then get a "switch" or
"network switch", with 4 ports, so you can pug up to 4 computers in.
Or, you could get a router with 4 sockets/ports in it. It actually
works by having a "switch" in it.

I use
McAfee Security Center for software protection. At moment only own one
computer.

I don't suggest McAfee.

For Virus protection, use a free virus checker. McAfee costs, and
takes up lots of memory. THe free ones are usually considered better.
AVG, Avast <-- 2 free ones
NOD32 <-- I see that reocmmended sometimes. it's not free.
Nobody would use mcafee, it's often consdiered even worse than norton.
Greedy(for memory) really, and not free.

With Windows XP
I did hours of research and reading on the terms/specs and the shear
volume of information is mind boggling.

it is
I suggest "computer networking first steps" by wendell odom. If you
have an interest and are new to this stuff. It's not so well written
but it covers a lot. It's nto that practical.
It's not that rlevant to home networking though. Companies don't
expect people to research. They expect people to buy a box and plug the
computers in.

This site is often recmomended, and a bit practical
http://www.homenethelp.com

but it is mindboggling.

Rule number 1 is get it set up. I don't really know abotu half the
features listed there. The VPN stuff - well, I haven't set one up, but
you can do it in windows. Or in lnux, I don't think you need a router
to do for you. It's often done at the operating system level.

If you're really into computers you could run linux on one of your
computers. Otherwise you may never really get deep into this. I use
windows but wil get into linux once i get some more machines.

I was told due to "steer away from Netgear brand".

The 2 most recmomended makes are linksys and netgear. I'm skeptical, I
find that they all seem to break. I think one reason is that they get
hot, and they don't have fans in them.
So for example - in the case of my linksys, it had little feet, and
it's important not to put it on some papers 'cos that'd retrict that
tiny space it has for the air to come out.
I have another one "speedtouch", the holes are at the bottom, so I run
it upside down (hot air rises!) Anyhow, i'ts under warranty, and from
my isp.

I suggest getting 2. Ensure that at least the main one you use has a
warranty, get it replaced when it breaks. And use the other one as a
spare. The spare should last for a long time 'cos it'll rarely get
used. 'cos as soon as you get the broken one replaced the spare goes
aside.

I have the DSL modem ATU-R provided. I have Ethernet 10/100 card
installed in computer but, have never used it.

Which protocols and features are of upmost importance?

The Ethernet protocol, but don't worry. The Ethernet card will deal
with that. It's 802.3 something. Probably 802.3X .

I've narrowed down my selection to the following found on
zipzoomfly.com:

Conventional

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252415
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252247

wireless:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252417
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252173
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252111
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=252281


Am I on target? Am I overlooking something? Suggestions? Experiences
with reliability? and Speed?

yeah, when looking for a Router. product specifications are garbage.
You have to look at the product manual and other information from the
manufacturer.
So
For example the DLink DI 604 (look at the manual on dlink.com )

These look like good Routers. An they appear like quality ones.
It's important to note, these are not Router/Modems, they are plain
Routers. They don't have a telehpone socket adn telephone cable with
them. There is no modem in there. These ones are often very
configurable routers. You have to connect it up to a Cable or DSL Modem
- "little router/modem" .. There may be plain little dsl modems (that
aren't routers), I don't know, btu it doesn't matter so much. There
is a lot of marketting confusion.

I'm not sure about these "little router/modems". I think Westell make
some. I had trouble finding them - me being in the UK. There is an
issue too, with NAT.
You don't want to use NAT on Both. So you want to be able to disable
NAT on at least one of them. I'm not sure which you'd want to enable
NAT on. Maybe the little one..

What make of "little one" are you thinking of getting? it's the modem
aspect that you're buying it for. I guess it might be a router too. But
it better have a modem in it!!

I'm also trying to figure out how to connect it to my APC Back Up
ES/surgeprotector without having to buy an upgraded one immediately.

no idea

 

[q_q_anonymous]

Dave wrote:

For future reference, do not seek any computer-related advice from the moron
who told you to steer away from Netgear brand. I don't know what their
problem is (maybe they were the one in a million who was unlucky enough to
get a bad Netgear something or other?), but Netgear is by far the best brand
in consumer-grade network equipment. Best as in, most popular, because
their routers just WORK. Other good brands are Linksys, Belkin, D-Link and
Zyxel (Zyxel makes many of the Netgear labelled routers).

it's likely that DLink are in a good season. I have heard bad reports
in the past about DLink. Netgear and Linksys are typically
recommended.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever, reocmmends Belkin!!!

it's as moronic to dismiss netgear as it is to recommend Belkin

The only good thing about belkin is this woman called samantha on the
uk sales line that can send you any belkin product If a company doesn't
have it, she knows who the best retailer is, and sends it to them, so
they can send it to you. That is the only good thing about Belkin.
Customer services is quite good too. But they need good customer
services!!

I personally, have had terrible problems with Linksys. My DLink router
lasted about a year and a half. Now I just expect the route to break
and make sure it has a warranty. and keep a spare




<snip>

 

[job]

Dump McAfee!!Biggest POS ever.Norton not far behind.You won't need a
software forewall if you set up the hardware firewall correctly.

 

[JenniferR]

If by "NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking adapter" you are referring to a network
adapter built into the chipset of your motherboard, any router you buy is
going to work fine with it. Some would say that an older network adapter
that is not 10/100 (or even gigabit) speed should be upgraded. But the
fastest cable modems available download data at about 5% of the max speed of
a '10' Mbps ethernet connection. So your built-in networking adapter will
not be a bottleneck, at all. -Dave

Thanks Dave

JenniferR

 

[Simon]

OK, you should automatically cross off any router from the list that is not
wireless. If you are worried that wireless will be a security risk, be
aware that the 'radio' of wireless routers can be shut off until needed. So
until you need that function (and you WILL need it eventually, even if you
think you won't), you can leave the wireless turned off.

For future reference, do not seek any computer-related advice from the moron
who told you to steer away from Netgear brand. I don't know what their
problem is (maybe they were the one in a million who was unlucky enough to
get a bad Netgear something or other?), but Netgear is by far the best brand
in consumer-grade network equipment. Best as in, most popular, because
their routers just WORK. Other good brands are Linksys, Belkin, D-Link and
Zyxel (Zyxel makes many of the Netgear labelled routers).

One of the routers you listed looked like a pretty good deal, the Belkin
brand wireless one. Unfortunately, when I clicked on it, it was out of
stock. So lots of people agreed with me that it was the best of the ones
you listed.

I would highly recommend this one:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=251778
I use three of them, all on a daily basis. I connect to them both locally
and wirelessly, using other networking equipment by netgear, belkin and
linksys. This particular Netgear wireless router just 'plays nice' with
everything. It's particularly friendly with DSL (and cable, too) modems.
Just carefully type in your DSL user name/password in the router setup menu
(which pops up automatically on first use, btw, but is easy to access later,
if needed), turn off the 'radio' (wireless) feature if you don't intend to
use it, and forget about it. You'll likely never have to touch the router
again until your friend drops in to visit with her Wireless 'G' enabled
notebook. That's the beauty of Netgear routers, they are easy to set up
and just WORK. They are so reliable, you often forget that they are there,
and that is JUST what you need them to be. -Dave

With you Dave,
I install this stuff for a living and where possible use netgear, then
dlink, linksys and belkin I can take or leave. The latest linksys router
here in the UK is crap for wireless range and the belkins....
But as someone else pointed out, it only takes a few bad encounters with
a certain make to change opinion.
simon