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Re: Router Suggestions
oldskoolboarder #212493 06/21/08 07:21 PM
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shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
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Reviews I've read have pegged the Airport Extreme as one of the best for 802.11n. I got one for the office and have had no problems with it, either on Macs or PCs.


I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
Re: Router Suggestions
oldskoolboarder #212502 06/21/08 11:11 PM
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connoisseur
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I also use a Linksys WRT54G and it works great.


-David
Re: Router Suggestions
oldskoolboarder #212537 06/22/08 06:31 AM
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fredk Offline OP
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OK, so it seems most people like linksys. I'm going to avoid wireless. I live in a concrete construciton apartment, so there will be lots of metal in the walls, ceilings etc.

My delima is what to do long term. I want a little more firewall than routers offer.

Mark. If I wanted a thread to stay relevant and on topic the whole time, this is the last place I would post. ;\)


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Router Suggestions
fredk #212556 06/22/08 04:22 PM
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A router offers a very good hardware firewall. I'm also running Zone Alarm as a software firewall. The combination creates a pretty secure and virtually invisible network. Unless you're protecting government secrets or a major financial institution, this should be more than adequate.

Last edited by Joe_in_Ct; 06/22/08 04:22 PM.

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Re: Router Suggestions
Joe_in_SC #212572 06/22/08 07:31 PM
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fredk Offline OP
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 Originally Posted By: Joe_in_Ct
A router offers a very good hardware firewall.

Thats what I'm trying to figure out now. As for invisibility, I'm not a big fan of security by obscurity. Having worked for a firewall company in the past, I am reasonably aware of the shortcomings of certain types of security. I was suitably impressed by the abilities of the hacking community as my employer had in its hire some very tallented individuals.

A firewall on your client PC is not a good idea. Way to many exploitable services running.

I also want the flexibility of being able both isolate computers in my home from each other and to be able to expose specific ports to the internet should I need to. I see some routers now allow you to designate one port as a DMZ, but from the very limited info available I would guess that the router opens up everything (ie: not configurable).

Noise was the biggest issue with my current firewall. There are three possible options for me:
1. add a notebook dirve or a larger quiet desktop drive.
Unfortunately, this pc will probably only recognize a 20gig drive at the largest, and I hate the idea of 'wasting' unused drive space.

2. buy a purpose built firewall appliance.

There are a couple of consumer solutions out there for around $300, but thats more than I wanted to spend. The one solution that looks most promising would also need mods to replace fans with something quieter. You would think the folks who designed this for consumer use would think about noise as a potential issue.

3. try to set up my firewall to boot from CD and use a usb stick for writing out log files.

I don't know if it is possible to put a firewall on a cd/dvd.

Right now the most expedient solution seems to be #1.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: Router Suggestions
fredk #212631 06/23/08 06:20 AM
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OK sounds like you need more than your average router.

Maybe take a look at Sonicwall's line. I've worked w/ them in the past and they seem to have a good following. I would also say look at Juniper Networks lower end line (used to be Netscreen) but they might be pricey.

You may also want to go the hacker route and try one of the Linux-based routers (like Linksys) and run specialized firmware on one of those.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1934574,00.asp

Re: Router Suggestions
oldskoolboarder #212632 06/23/08 06:31 AM
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fredk Offline OP
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Well, I took another look at hd prices and reviewed my notes on quiet drives. I skipped the router (this system is hosed anyway so whats another virus or two) and will pick up an 80gb wd drive tomorrow for not much more than the cost of a router.

The 500gb wd drive in my main computer is all but silent.

Playing with a commercial grade router is tempting, but a little pricey for me.

Thanks for the help though.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
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