long time reader, first time poster

[reverendmarc]

It’s time for a new router and I am looking for some suggestions:

I am looking to upgrade to a gigabit wireless router. I would like to get something with a decent firewall but would prefer not to have it be subscription based service. I have read through several of the recent posts asking similar questions but I am really interested peoples firewall experiences/tips/caveats for products in this price range. I like to be able to access my sinology server from the road. I am willing to spend $150.00 or so. I have read a lot of the reviews on this site but I am hopping you guys will share some experiences that may make the decision easier.

The components involved:

2 Hardwired computers
2 Laptops both just have b/g cards
1 PDA (b/g)
1 Phone (b/g)
1 Synology NAS
1 Wii (b/g)

 

[thiggins]

What do you mean "firewall"? What functions/features are you looking for?

What is your current router and why are you upgrading?

 

[reverendmarc]

What do you mean "firewall"? What functions/features are you looking for?

What is your current router and why are you upgrading?

Currently I am using a WRT54G.

There are two reasons I want to upgrade. 1: The router is not fast enough to transfer large files 2: Security. This is an old version, I believe I purchased it sometime in 2002. I know that most routers have had significant increases in their security features.

When I am gone (once a month or so) I like to back up photos and videos that I take while on the road. When I returned from my last trip I went to disable the FTP service on my Synology box found hundreds of blocked IP addresses and failed attempts to the administrator account. I then went to check the log on the Linksys and found that it had been reset to factory options. I have never had an issue like this, but I figure it is time for an upgrade.

So as far as what I meant by firewall I guess I mean the best intrusion protection I can get for the $100-$200 range. As far as other features I need to be able to run the occasional ftp server and I would hope for a stable router that has given few problems, e.g. over heating, sporadic reset etc.

Thanks!

 

[thiggins]

Currently I am using a WRT54G.

There are two reasons I want to upgrade. 1: The router is not fast enough to transfer large files

Not fast enough to transfer files on the LAN? If that is the case, then all you need to do is buy a gigabit switch and plug it into one of the WRT54G LAN ports and plug your computers with gigabit Ethernet NICs into the gigabit switch.

If the transfer from the Internet is too slow, then you might need a new router. How fast is your Internet download speed?

2: Security. This is an old version, I believe I purchased it sometime in 2002. I know that most routers have had significant increases in their security features.

That's not really true. Consumer routers all use NAT to share the connection, which blocks all inbound traffic by default. Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) has been added to most routers, but it really doesn't provide much benefit.

When I am gone (once a month or so) I like to back up photos and videos that I take while on the road. When I returned from my last trip I went to disable the FTP service on my Synology box found hundreds of blocked IP addresses and failed attempts to the administrator account. I then went to check the log on the Linksys and found that it had been reset to factory options. I have never had an issue like this, but I figure it is time for an upgrade.

Any FTP or HTTP port open to the Internet is within seconds going to get hammered. The only thing you can do is to try to use a non-standard port, but even then, you'll probably still get probed.

Synology NASes support secure FTP and I strongly suggest you use it. But the safest thing you can do is not run an FTP server and instead use an online storage service to save your photos while you travel. You can then download them to your NAS when you return, with no open ports required.

 

[reverendmarc]

Tim,

Thank you for the information. I was under the impression that most newer units included more security features. My router does not have SPI and I was under the impression that this offered some fairly significant increases in security.

In the past had considered purchasing a switch or possibly a router and just continue to use the Linksys as an access point, however with the performance of the router and it's recent unreliability I think I want to upgrade at this point.

 

[thiggins]

That's fine. Just trying to make sure you have the facts before you buy something and are disappointed.

By the way, since you don't have any draft 11n wireless clients, don't expect any wireless improvement if you go with a draft 11n router.