Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Recommend a router
- Thread starter pusman83
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
cube said:
Very true. But more importantly, Why would a home user need this? With some 3rd party firmware, you can do this with the Linksys routers too.
mfacey said:
WPA personal is very good. WPA business or enterprise is even better (every user has their own key). 802.1X WEP is also very good. There are even better ones out there, but Macs don't currently support them.
pusman83 said:
check out linksysinfo.org i pulled down the free firmware from there and it works great with the WRT54G. there are a couple of advantages to the 3rd party firmware. 1) you can boost the power output of the wireless signal 2) you can enable protocalls such as WDS that normally arent availible. 3) you can feel more secure because an unknown 3rd party firmware is much harder to hack into than the default firmware that comes out of the box and so many people use. (depends on how much you think someone will actually try to get on your wireless system and cause harm)
WPA is the most secure, but sometimes wont work. I have an airport express I use in WDS mode with my linksys and unfortunatly that combination will not allow for WPA encryption. instead I use 128-bit WEP, which i know isnt as secure, but its the most secure that works with my setup, and honestly ive never had a problem with it, but then again i dont really live in an area that would be riddle with lots of hackers! i generally know most of my neighbors and watch the logs on the router for anything suspicious.
MacFan25863 said:
LOL, I realize that. I was generalizing about computers. I'd love to have an iMac, but they don't have any video out. I want my next machine to have the ability to connect to my big screen.
Well, it seems that one day later and without any tampering my Wifi network has bit the dust. Reasons unknown; everything's connected properly and it was working fine, now no one is getting the signal, even the main comp). I'll try reinstalling it...
pusman83 said:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! If you get it working again I'd leave it alone, lol.
DickArmAndHarT said:
the only thing the thing the airport express won't do with a standard home router is WDS. WDS only works with apple branded and buffalo routers.
staples will let you return the open product for a full refund if your nit happy with it. But I think that router will do you just fine. I have one installed in my attic (office) and get a decent connection on the first floor, hell even outside at the picnic table.
superbovine said:
nope. also works with linksys as long as you have a firmware hack which enables WDS. i have my express working WDS with my WRT54G. apple says it wont work so they wont have to support it with any other router. but assuming youve designed a good router with proper 802.11 compliance then it should work with WDS on any router. and of course apple is good at design so the express works well with most any WDS connection. (though it takes some time to get everything working right) i guess the only thing i was never able to do was to use WAP and WDS at the same time. i am stuck using WEP. oh well, it still works fine.
WDS = Wireless Domain Services . . . its a protocol that lets you esentially extend a network. lets say you have a router, express and computer. with no WDS everything connects to the router to get the internet. so if you go outside of the range of the router you get nothing. with WDS the internet is sent through the express so you may be out of range of the router, but in range of the express and you will still be able to get the internet. i hope that is understandable.