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opinion on wireless router

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:13 pm
by DeusEx
allright. i know nothing about routers. by nothing i mean absolutely nothing ! i want to get a router which would basically allow my computers at home to have a very fast connection taht would allow ofr downloading, gaming. i looked into the "Linksys Wireless-G WAP54G 802.11b/g" router. Is this the item for me ? i have one desktop and im getting one laptop. i need them both plugged in. Thanks for any help you might offer guys !

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:15 pm
by kenc51
that router will do fine!!!

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:44 pm
by killswitch83
hey Deus, check PM if you haven't already, figured I would just do that as an immediate response thingy at the time, lol. :)

okay

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 4:21 pm
by DeusEx
allright let me check it out :)

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 7:35 pm
by pointreyes
WAP54G 802.11b/g - the WAP means Wireless Access Point - it's not a router. It's a device that is used on a wired connection to allow access for wireless devices to connect to your network. I have one to the right of me as I'm replying to this thread. :p

It does provide WPA with 256-bit encryption using AES.

A lot of people do recommend the WRT54G - Wireless Router because you can flash the router with better features. However, I tried one and faced a very serious security vulnerability and immediately returned it. The power briefly went out (I didn't have it on the UPS yet) and the router reset to factory settings! Fortunately for me, I use testing the router as an access point when this happened; otherwise, my network would have be wide open to a black hat hacker's scanner.

This has been a bad year for Netgear devices. I sadly have to advise against them. D-Link and Linksys seem to be ok for routers. I'm more of a 3Com fan. However, I really wish I could afford a SonicWall. :)

Make sure your wireless supports WPA if you are concerned about your information; otherwise, the already hacked WEP can be used. WPA2 is too expensive and would even require an additional NIC on your notebook since most notebook in the US does not have WPA2 supported NICs yet. 256-bit AES encryption using WPA is a good way to go for security.

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:02 pm
by killswitch83
indeed, WEP is just a shaky framework at best.....it might be ok if you're receiving data and have a good firewall, but outbound data can be hacked fairly easily on WEP encryption.

hmm

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 5:43 am
by DeusEx
okay ill lok for more lol

ok

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 11:23 am
by DeusEx
well so farim thinking of getting the WRT54GS
Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster. Is it any better than the regular WRT54G ? Besides i can buy it at staples for a good price lol.

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 11:35 am
by killswitch83
Well, according the specs I'm looking at here at Newegg, It doesn't support WPA, therefore it uses WEP encryption. Just make sure you have a good firewall on your computers, and you shouldn't have a problem in concerns with being hacked. I'm not so sure about outbound data, but incoming you should be fine if you have this.

u sure?

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 2:08 pm
by DeusEx
u sure it doesnt have wpa ? im looking at in on linksys website and its saying smt like that.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellit ... torWrapper

quote :"Wi-Fi Protected Accessâ„¢ (WPA) protects your data and privacy with up to 128-bit industrial-strength encryption and 802.1x authentication and authorization."

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 2:44 pm
by pointreyes
The newer WRT54G routers have WPA but only with 128-bit encryption which is better than WEP. Some of them even have WPA2 but I tried their WPA2 using that router along with their PCMCIA NIC and WPA2 did not work.

BTW: Be very careful with whatever router you get for security features. D-Link has a WPA2 setting but allows you to select the encryption! WPA2's specifications are AES and hence to provide a lessor option is misleading the consumer.

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:36 pm
by kenc51
WPA is all you need for home use! Any brand name router will also do.
If you can get a router which supports WPA using AES encryption, But TKIP enqryption (which is standard) will do fine!

WEP can be cracked easily, no special tools, except what can be freely and legally downloaded!
WPA can also be cracked in a similar way, but is a good bit harder. (AES makes it harder again, but more expensive)


There is no need to go overboard!
Save the money for something better LOL :drinkers:

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:28 pm
by killswitch83
amen to that one ken, now that's money well-spent, lol :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers:

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:15 am
by kenc51
killswitch83 wrote:amen to that one ken, now that's money well-spent, lol :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers:
Well Killswitch you know me.....:)

DeusEx --> you don't have to drink the money saved ;)

hah

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 11:14 am
by DeusEx
ill keep that in mind haha. i just needed a router and good internet connection, i think im going with this model. thanks for all the help ! :evil: