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Wireless Router

M

Mem

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 1, 2004
78
0
Hi folks:

I'm looking to purchase a wireless router. I have a Windows PC running XP hooked up to a high speed connection and would like to set up a router to create a wireless signal so my Powerbook G4 can access wireless internet. I'm not looking to create a network, file share, or ever share a printer, all I want is a wireless internet signal for my Powerbook.

Can any of you recommend a dependable, secure router that I can set up myself and set so that no one else can tap into it but myself?

Thanks in advance.
 
I've owned several linksys products in the past and have never had a problem with them. I owned one netgear router, and it had problems and eventually gave up the ghost.
 
Linksys make some good routers, as do Netgear. Both of those brands get recommended quite alot on these forums. Any router you buy will have protection available to set up, but i think some are easier to set up than others. I have had no trouble with my Linksys at all! Hope that helps a little.
 
I've had a Linksys WRT54G for the past 5 years that's been a delight. I rarely have any problems with it, and what few problems I have had have been very easily fixable.

You could also buy an Airport Express and use it as a wifi router as well....set it up near a stereo and get a music streaming device and a router. Heckuva deal, IMO.
 
As per my previous post, I would only consider Linux-based Linksys models.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to check a few out on Amazon and in store.
 
Just in case it was not clear, I didn't mean only Linksys.
There's some more interesting stuff out there.
 
I've actually had bad experience with both Linksys routers I've owned, mainly with horrible signal.

My netgear router has excellent signal strength and an easier to use admin interface.

My vote goes to Netgear
 
I recently had to buy a new router as the 4 year old linksys i had died. I bought a new linksys to replace it as I enjoyed using the other one. Well. lets just say that I was not impressed with the new linksys routers. From my experience the new linksys routers (WRT54G and WRT54GS) do not work well with bittorrent stuff. I download some anime episodes from japan and every time i would connect it would start really well, but after a few minutes the whole thing would shut down. I ended up taking the linksys back and got a d-link. I works great and I have been happy with it.
 
I've been using a WRT54G from Linksys since 2004, and its still going strong. It's had some problems during its time, but its worked pretty well overall. Lately, I've started having problems with a dropping connection via both wired and wireless at home, but I honestly haven't been able to troubleshoot it enough to know if it is the router, or simply the horrible service that Comcast tends to provide.

IMO, its biggest drawback is the lack of a way to assign static IP addresses via DHCP. You can get around it, but it tends to slow the connection down.
 
Thanks everyone. I wound up going with the WRT54G per numerous suggestions. I set it up this afternoon and happily ran into absolutely no problems.

One remaining questions: Is there any way to test the security of the new wireless network? I realize this may sound a little paranoid, but I would like to ensure that no outside computers can use it, and even that files aren't being viewed or shared between the base PC and my laptop.

FYI-I set the router up with WAP2 and when my Powerbook G4 picked up the signal after I entered the password it entered it as WAP.
 
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