DU tech gurus: Wireless internet router question

[wyldwolf]

How far is the reach of the better wireless routers on the market? (Lynksis?)

Thinking I may need to go up two floors in a house.

Basement - to main level - to second floor.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[DS1]

1. I'm partial to NetGear equipment and think linksys is junk

but that's just my opinion of course.

[wyldwolf]

2. ok, thanks. But what is the max distance of them?

and how does the speed compare to wired? Is it noticeably slower?

[Cooley Hurd]

4. I agree...

My old Linksys access point's range was about 20 yards, but my Cisco access point reaches 100+ yards (the Cisco access point is very $$$, but the Netgear is reasonably priced)...

[Kellanved]

19. I had very bad experiences with Netgear

But there is little Netgear can do about it; they just put the stuff inside their branded boxes and change the firmware.

Most WLAN companies are just brands with no own know-how.

I can't even recommend another brand ; SMC had worse issues, Asus is further destroying it's reputation, Zyxel is basically the same as Netgear, ...

I have yet to see a good WLAN router in the consumer price range, but from what I have seen US WLAN equipment costs about half as much as European. As WLAN uses other frequencies in Europe, it is entirely possible that many of my issues would not appear stateside.

[FreakinDJ]

3. Wireless too easy to hack into

go hard wire for security

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Not true...

...if you use the WEP security options that are available in most access points.

[FreakinDJ]

10. OK ...............YOU use the wireless

I sit behind a fire walled router with all the excess ports closed

Info at the hacker site is they can circumvent all of that in a wireless router

[Cooley Hurd]

11. Will do...

I install wireless networking for medical offices (for electronic medical records) and I can say, with a great degree of certainty, that our networks are secure, despite what a bunch of bloviating script kiddies say...

[DS1]

12. *smirk*

l33t HaxXX00R5 0\/\/|\| j000!!!!11!! lOLOLOL!!!1!!!

:eyes:

[Kellanved]

20. WEP is a joke

Forget it; it is a matter of seconds to hack it (Edit: Ok, days if the Firmware is up-to-date and uses the improved WEP, then it is a matter of days). Even the "MAC" list that all the better routers feature is no real obstacle.


http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html

[Xithras]

21. Sorry, not BS. WEP is insecure against any reasonably determined cracker

There is a very good reason that WPA has been approved to replace the WEP protocol for 802.11. The problem with WEP is that it uses fixed keys. Anybody monitoring your signal simply needs to look for the regularly repeating string to identify the encrypted keys being thrown around. Once the keys are identified and recorded, it's trivial to run them through a tool like WEPCrack (http://wepcrack.sourceforge.net/). Skript Kiddies have it even easier, with programs like AirSnort (http://airsnort.shmoo.com/) that are capable of recognizing keys and running WEPCrack on their own.

FYI, I've seen AirSnort in action, and it only took two days to crack a simple NetGear 802.11b router with 5 WEP hashes defined (each using a completely random alpha string).

If you're using 802.11B with WEP for medical, you should be aware that you're placing your employer at risk for later HIPAA actions. When WPA is released onto the market, you should be ready to either flash your firmware (if available) or replace all of your hardware outright.

[wyldwolf]

6. Anyone have experience with this product?

http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.php?prodID=167&view=hm

The specs say the speed is comparable to the current wired router I have: Transfers data at speeds up to 14 mbps, faster than 802.11b wireless. Compatible with 10 Mbps or 10/100 Mbps Ethernet products.

Thoughts?

[DS1]

8. I'm shaky on suggesting something I haven't used, like that device

but, that being said, how fast do you really need? An 802/11b router and NIC can easily outrun just about any home internet connection.

If you copy a lot of files between computers I'd go for this:

http://www.netgear.com/products/wireless/80211g.php

but if you're just surfing around and downloading things here and there, this should suit you fine:

http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.php?prodID=151&view=

The cards are cheaper for the 802.11b only option.

[wyldwolf]

9. decisions decisions!

thanks!

[Misunderestimator]

7. I have netgear....

the router is in my study, and I get a good connection from every room in my house. I can't tell you the distance, but I have a 3000 sf house and it works through all the walls and outside the house.

[FreakinDJ]

15. Right ..Through all the walls and outside to the street and

to those punk kids hacking your network from a car parked on the curb.

How long is it going to take people to find out if you transmitt it through the air some one is going to pick it up. Wireless cell phones have been duplicated all over LA for 10 years I know of. They even had to shield the inside of ATM machines to keep criminals from recieving the tiny electronic impulses and hacking their way into those.

They have already cracked into many many wireless webs


you won't be praising the wonders of wireless in 6 months as these hacking techniques spread and it becomes more and more common.

It will more then likely be the identity theft tool of choice very soon

[Misunderestimator]

16. Yep, those would be my worries if I lived in an apartment building.

I use a 32-bit encrypted password for our private network, and I've tested it from the street, and it doesn't work there.... also, I turn it off when I'm away for more than a few hours.

Yeah... there are some risks, but for me the convenience of having access wherever I am (since I work from home most of the time) outweighs the risks.

[Deja Q]

13. Linksys is crap. Also, how far away do you live?

You might be giving your neighbors free broadband...

And the more repeaters you use only increases the possibility.

Stick with wired.

Just my two pennies' worth.

[DS1]

14. No way, wired is obsolete. It really is, it's just taking awhile

to go away.

I'm about to take my laptop outside and get some work done in the shade under a tree, and I don't have to heave a 50 ft cable out the window.

[BigMcLargehuge]

17. depends on the wireless standard

802.11b range is about 500 ft
802.11g range is about 150 ft

[screwfacecapone]

18. here is mine

Not sure what kind of computer you got, or what you want to do with it, but Here is What I'm using: The desktop computer (a gateway win 98) is using a dlink ethernet card. We connect to the internet with a dsl 2wire modem, and I use a microsoft wireless basestation as the router. On my dell inspirion laptop, I use a wireless desktop cardto connect to it. My base station is MN 500, and I can go just about anywhere with it. Also, I have my xbox linked for xbox live using a wireless xbox adapter.