Want To Go Wireless. Need Help.

esuhl

iamcornholio wrote: »

A router is a router, it just sits on the network between the computer and the modem (whatever type it is), and does not have to be specific cable or ADSL router.

It depends what you mean by a "router". If you mean literally a device that just routes between networks, then yes - there's no such thing as an ADSL or cable router. The OP would probably want to buy a router, a hardware firewall, a four-port switch, an access point, and a network bridge. I say a "network bridge" because there is no such thing as a modem for digital lines: only analogue sound has to be MOdulated and DEModulated.

If by "router" you mean one of those multi-function devices used by consumers that is actually all of the above things in one handy box, then you DO get ADSL and cable "routers". An ADSL one includes an ADSL "modem" (bridge), but you cannot usually bypass it if you want to connect an external cable "modem". A cable "router" is the same as an ADSL "router" except that it doesn't have an in-built "modem" and you need an external "modem" to connect to the Internet. Normally you would connect an external cable "modem", but you could quite happily connect an external ADSL "modem" if you wished.

If the OP goes into a retail shop and asks for a "cable modem with 802.11n wi-fi", he should expect to get the device he is looking for.

esuhl

Mr_Yoda wrote: »

Thanks for the help. I was thinking about this one:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191548

I've heard Linksys are quite a good make and it's also 'N' thngy as well (so sorry, I do sound really simple).

Wow, that's cheap! My basic 802.11g router cost over £100 (though this was quite a few years ago).

Looking at this review of the WRT120n, (and this shorter review on Maximum PC) it seems that the router doesn't really meet the certification requirements of Wireless-N. To quote the penultimate paragraph in the first review, "WRT120N is only certified to be interoperable at 802.11g speeds, i.e. 54 Mbps maximum link rate, even with Wi-Fi Certified Draft 11n devices". It's a bit of a con to be honest.

So... if you're particularly concerned with getting a router with full 802.11n capabilities (higher speed, better range), it might be worth looking elsewhere, but otherwise I'm sure it will be fine.

JasX

Mr_Yoda wrote: »

I contacted Virgin and they quoted me £40 for a model G router and £50 for a model N because i'm not upgrading the service just changing it.

Be persistent, if you search the forum here you will find MANY examples of virgin giving away free wireless router/modems.

I'd suggest the best approach is to call them up and say your modem is broken and you're not willing to pay for a new one when you can switch to someone else and get one for free, drop in that you've been very happy with virgin and would be happy to stay with them but have no way of accessing their serivce without a working modem, ask about cancelling/switchover to a new ISP they'll quickly change their tune

if it fails hang up and try again with someone else....

Mr_Yoda

Ended up going for this Dynamode router. It's a fairly cheap one and seems to be working fine. I think when I get a new PC I might invest in a better one but for the time-being i'll give this a go.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, it's really appreciated.

esuhl

Mr_Yoda wrote: »

Ended up going for this Dynamode router. It's a fairly cheap one and seems to be working fine. I think when I get a new PC I might invest in a better one but for the time-being i'll give this a go.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, it's really appreciated.

Cool! Looks like you got a bargain there! Glad to hear it's all working...

Mr_Yoda

Just one question really about the security side of it. When my modem was connected directly to my PC all the ShieldsUp tests showed I was fully stealthed. However since using a wireless router the results are showing as closed ports or stealthed. Is this ok? I've included a couple of photos to show what I mean:

Photo 1
Photo 2

esuhl

Mr_Yoda wrote: »

Just one question really about the security side of it. When my modem was connected directly to my PC all the ShieldsUp tests showed I was fully stealthed. However since using a wireless router the results are showing as closed ports or stealthed. Is this ok? I've included a couple of photos to show what I mean:

Photo 1
Photo 2

Ideally you'd want them "stealthed" rather than closed. If a malicous user scans your network, a "closed" port would effectively reply with the message "sorry; this port is closed", indicating that your network does exist. The malicious user can then try to exploit various vulnerabilities to gain access. A port that ShieldsUp shows as "stealthed" did not respond at all, so the malicious user wouldn't even know that your network exists.

Fortunately the ports on the routers I use show as "stealthed" unless I've deliberately opened them, so I haven't really looked into ways to stealth closed ports... I'm not too sure what to suggest.

It's strange that ports appear stealthed when you connect your modem directly to your PC, though. I would have thought the modem would be incapable of stealthing ports... maybe this is something you can configure..? Alternatively, it might be worth having a look at the firewall options in the router.