Wireless Routers

[limegreennutter]

I've just signed up with Talk Talk for our broadband, only thing is I need to get a wirless modem/router thingy, any got any suggestions for a reasonable cheap one?

I don't download movies or music so absolute speed is not THAT important.

Is this sort of thing any good?

www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-ProductDisplay?ITEMID0=NyHyMyfSLWcEe_x2U&PRODDISPLAYPAGE=4&ISSELECTED=SEARCH

Edited by limegreennutter on Tuesday 27th February 08:34

[SS2.]

Linksys at PCWorld - not ordinarily my first choice but I picked up one of these for my parents about 6 weeks ago. Easy to configure and hasn't missed a beat since (just as well since I am their principal tech. support !).

With a PCMCIA wireless card in the bundle, its difficult to beat at the price..

[limegreennutter]

look good, do you have to use the supplied card with it or will it worj with an already installed card that is in my DELL laptop?

[roadsweeper]

The 'super fast' 802.11g routers achieve roughly twice the standard speed by being paired with a proprietary wireless card - this applies to all the different manufacturers. However, they will achieve standard 802.11g speed with any normal wireless card (all modern cards support the 'g' standard).

Ideally you want your router to support WPA encryption as WEP, which most people use, is not great. If your house is big or has thick walls then consider a MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) router. MIMO just means it has more than one aerial and so can bounce the signal around the house more effectively.

[SS2.]

limegreennutter said:

look good, do you have to use the supplied card with it or will it worj with an already installed card that is in my DELL laptop?

The Linksys router will work fine with any 802.11g card / PC

[puggit]

Are these new Linksys routers hackable?

I've got an old blue style one, which I was able to change the firmware on and create a wireless bridge

[roadsweeper]

puggit said:

Are these new Linksys routers hackable?

I've got an old blue style one, which I was able to change the firmware on and create a wireless bridge

Anything is hackable! WEP can be beaten in a few minutes but you need real knowledge to do that. WPA or WPA2 are much more difficult to crack and I really can't imagine needing more security for home use than they offer. It is always worth switching off your wireless network when you're not using it though.

[RoadRailer]

roadsweeper said:

puggit said:

Are these new Linksys routers hackable?

I've got an old blue style one, which I was able to change the firmware on and create a wireless bridge

Anything is hackable! WEP can be beaten in a few minutes but you need real knowledge to do that. WPA or WPA2 are much more difficult to crack and I really can't imagine needing more security for home use than they offer. It is always worth switching off your wireless network when you're not using it though.

I've got a Linksys WRT54G v2.2 running a custom firmware, HyperWRT + Thibor - I can use the wrt as a wireless bridge, AP or WDS repeater, plus you can wind up the transmit power for the radios to 84mw or so.

Handy bits of kit.

More On the WIKI

Some of the new ones wrt5gL (for linux apparently) are 3rd party firmware capable.

[wainy]

We have a Belkin G+ MIMO one with built in Modem, not cheap ~£80 irrc but good range and not a single problem so far. Also secure!