Recommend a wireless Router please

[LiquidLAN]

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Bill at the moment I'm minded to go for the Netgear rangemax, what do you recommend for security if not wep as I assumed that that was sufficient.

Choose the router and then see what the options are available, Bill is right about WEP being crackable, but then all encryption is! If you're router and wireless cards support WPA go for that over WEP, but at least WEP will give you a good basic level of encryption.

Secuirty is important, but don't get hung up about it... not knowing where you live, but if you are in the middle of the countryside somewhere is someone really going to sit all night in the field next to you on the offchance you send a bit of data that could be interesting?? I shouldnt think so

 

[Fanum]

Secuirty is important, but don't get hung up about it... not knowing where you live, but if you are in the middle of the countryside somewhere is someone really going to sit all night in the field next to you on the offchance you send a bit of data that could be interesting?? I shouldnt think so

I'm less worried about the data being intercepted (I use PGP for anything really important anyway) than the 'students over the road' downloading unlimited films and music on the connection that I'm legally responsible for......they (the RIAA etc) have started knocking on doors and if it's not your connection, you're going to be uploading and downloading and not clearing out the files, using known dodgy torrent sources without worry and so on.

WPA is better, and select the highest level of encryption it offers.

 

[current]

Netgear....

 

[LiquidLAN]

I'm less worried about the data being intercepted (I use PGP for anything really important anyway) than the 'students over the road' downloading unlimited films and music on the connection that I'm legally responsible for......they (the RIAA etc) have started knocking on doors and if it's not your connection, you're going to be uploading and downloading and not clearing out the files, using known dodgy torrent sources without worry and so on.

WPA is better, and select the highest level of encryption it offers.

I've not looked at the video clips at all yet, but are they suggesting that restricting the MAC Address access wont help improve the security? I guess if someone can work out what MAC addresses are allowed on your wireless network they can always spoof them when they are not present...

 

[Fanum]

You just clone your own mac adress in .......it was certainly added in the other tutorial clip I saw....

 

[judge]

I've always been a Netgear man until just recently when I went over to Belkin, I did so because the ability to retain a Wireless service over a reasonable distance without significant speed drop-offs (vitally important if you are streaming video or music or moving large amounts of data over it) and the Belkin I have pissed over the lot of them.

It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Draytek or the D-link and if distance wasn't critical I'd go for the Draytek if I needed lots of advanced Firewall features.

It comes down to a perceived need - if its just a bit of casual browsing or email activity then anything will do, even the earliest 802.11a stuff will suffice.

For most home users with low demand use I tend to reccommend Netgear as I can suppport that with my eyes closed.

Belkin provide lifetime support if thats important to you, French last time I called them.

And as Cookie says watch the latest stuff (draft-n or pre-n) the 'n' standardhasn't been adopted and therefore the draft or pre stuff is by no means future proof (though should be backward compatible over 'g' or 'a').

If all that has blown your bulb then go out and get a Netgear DG834G with WG111 USB aerial if you need one and all will be just fine

Oh and as also been said Encrypt it, nearly all come out of the box un-encrypted - WPA is a breeze to set up. WEP 128 is the work of the devil

 

[LiquidLAN]

You just clone your own mac adress in .......it was certainly added in the other tutorial clip I saw....

easy enough as long as the real device isnt connected...

 

[Redboots]

Cant be bothered with wireless... go dlan, try these

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=dlan&doy=19m1&source=15

J

 

[STUBBS]

another for belkin my daughter set it up as she wanted internet connection in her bedroom for "homework"

 

[cookie]

none of that wireless malarkey here, CAT5 all the way

 

[GrinningGSer]

Usually, when I buy stuff, like the 1200GS , I read reviews, knowing that researchers have more knowledge, more experience and more time than I.

However, in a fit of pestered madness, with kids nagging etc etc, I bought two laptops and a router, with a salesman's recommendation, from John Lewis.

Well, the router was the biggest load of carp and repeatedly locked up, requiring rebooting of the router i.e. power down and power up. Researched on the web and loads of people reported the same, so returned it for a refund

Opened PCPro mag and purchased their recommended KCorp KLG 575 .. approx £50 but now nearly 2 yrs old. It is still fantastic and very stable running 1PC and two laptops and wirelessly prints from all PC's to a HP2510. However... I have an 1880 house with VERY thick walls and I needed a directional aerial to access one bedroom... no need for any repeaters.

I know that things have moved on since then, but beware that a lot of people experience a lot of frustration with routers

 

[centaur]

There's a review of the newest WIfi routers in this month's Personal computer world....the 'Buffalo Airstation Nfiniti WZRG300n' gets the editor's choice

These reviews tend to be 'choppy' to say the least, this one's not so good.. http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/hardware/2157647/buffalo-nfiniti-draft-n-router.

I've has a Safecom wifi for a couple of years now, it has the same TI chipset as the Netgear DG834GT and has performed faultlessly. Like the Netgear it's easy to setup too.

Friends have had various faults particularly with the Belkin F5D series.

One tip worth mentioning though is generally NOT to go for the USB wifi adapters, they tend to be more problematical than almost any compatible (811g) PCI card or laptop equivalent PCMCIA.

 

[Dickieboy]

I've just settled for a Netgear DG834GT, the reason being that the Netgear RangeMax does not have a modem and I didn't want to have to depend on a seperate modem and router.
Everything seems to be working okay but I'm not convinced that I've made the right decision yet. When using either laptop upstairs it says that there is a weak signal so a bit later on I'll set the desktop up wirelessly which means I will be able to re-site the router to a more central position in the house. At the moment my desktop is in the built on garage, the router signal has to travel through a single skin brick wall, downstairs it works very good though.

One last question, I've taken both laptops to a mates house and used them wirelessly there to download windows updates and anti-virus, should I go there again will the machines have stored the necessary code to access his network or would have to re-enter them.

 

[centaur]

The laptops should 'see' the wifi signal and connect automatically providing you selected the 'connect to any network' option, and of course, subject to having the requisite password for that network's security, if any !

 

[Zippy]

Zoom X6 anybody?

Been using one for a while and really pleased...have used Zoom kit since 56k modems were around.

ADSL 2+ ready, firewall, 4 port router and wireless access point all in one handy box.

Steve

 

[Gonzo]

Wireless range repeaters / extenders

Evenin' all

Searching for any wisdom on extending the range of my wireless router, I happened upon this thread.

Basically, I have a Netgear DG834 v2 (not the GT or N model ) sited at the front of the house. I don't want to frig around with extra telephone wires and sockets etc but do want to extend the range out into the back garden now that the patio's been done - y'know, for those "working at home" days.

Distance from front to back of house c. 20 metres, garden range required another 30 metres. Is this do-able using any sort of repeater, and who makes them, are they easy to use?

Cheers,

G