Advice on Choosing Your Next Wireless Router

 Advice on Choosing Your Next Wireless Router

Wireless router just packed up? uninterested in endless wireless router reviews? Maybe you only got faster Internet access and need a beefier device for all those must have movies, new tracks and everything else. Relax - during this article I'm getting to offer you some tips about trying to find the proper piece of kit at the proper price.

Did you recognize the simplest wireless router isn't necessarily the cheapest? I'll show you the quickest and most economical thanks to achieve those lightning quick movie streaming and faster iPod downloads with none hassle.

So where can we start? what's a wireless router and why do i want it? it isn't rocket science - a wireless router allows you to access the web via your broadband Internet connection and your (yours, your partners, your family / flat-mates etc), laptop, PC, Mac, iPod, PS3, Wii, iPad or whatever you would like to attach .

Making that happen quickly, hassle-free and reliably is our goal however I'm sure you will not want just anyone ready to grab your connection, maybe impersonate you, nab your mastercard details, personal details or whatever you hold most dear on your computer so we'd like to make sure that up-to-date security may be a must have. Questions I won't be answering during this article are those from a technical perspective like "how do I configure routers?" - there are many articles thereon if you actually want it.

So what's the primary step? Well good quality reviews from the coal-face are a requirement also as some tips that could the simplest products and where to urge them. It's hard to imagine a world without wireless routers and networking now but not goodbye ago it had been the things of fantasy and therefore the technology continues to develop quickly - it doesn't means its easy to select the proper one.

There are many various sorts of router on the marketplace for different needs - we'll concentrate for now on the house / small office market. like most things in life there's a variety of costs counting on requirements - everything from "get going quickly" to models which will copy your data and doubtless wash your car... for a price.

In order to remain above the wave of hype we will start by watching your usage. Are you only eager to surf within the front room or on the deck? does one want easy found out or are you ready to wade in? Are you a gamer or run a business? Features like traffic prioritisation, virtual servers or VPN support will appeal more but may have a better tag (not always though!).

A basic yardstick though is that the more features a router has the costlier it'll be to shop for . At rock bottom end if you've got older laptops with maybe 802.11b or g wireless cards (more than 3 years old likely) you're likely to probably only need a basic router. E.g. Tenda Wireless-N150 might be a fast option with just b or g connectivity turned on.

A slight little bit of technical knowledge - don't be concerned its painless and should prevent a couple of pennies! Older 802.11b and 802.11g devices use the two .4GHz wireless bandwidth while newer 802.11n can use 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands - the latter band is best for throughput-intensive networking like gaming or movie streaming. End of technical bit.

Your basic laptop won't enjoy a flashy new router but can escape with one band 2.43Ghz N router - it's backwards compatible - I'll show you a fast thanks to set it all up during a later article - something just like the Cisco E1000 may fill this niche. However if you've got a replacement laptops then watching one that handles both bands may be a better bet (don't worry the DLink DIR-825 can do all this for you!).

If you've got a Mac, iPad etc though watching an Apple router could also be an honest bet.

Security

Next I will be watching security and a couple of other features you would like and a few you don't! As we saw previously it's not too hard to urge up and running with a wireless router but what about the bad guys bent hack our mastercard s and infect our PCs? How can we stop them? Do i actually want to let my neighbour leech all my bandwidth? What if my credit card details go missing? How do I stop it before it happens?

Well it certainly can happen - I secured the wireless network for a lover - shortly afterward his neighbour said "looks like we'd better get our own broadband connection now...". a touch can take you an extended way - security needn't be a hassle by following these simple tips: -

Ensure you set a password for your wireless network - the router setup on your device should prompt you for a password - make sure you enter something only you'd know and always follow good security password advice - Google "good passwords" for more information.

Don't connect your router to the web until you've got set the password!

If you would like to line access control for your children make sure you buy a router with access controls - for instance DLink DIR-825. Access controls could restrict what sites certain users can check out also as what times of day they will use the web (stopping bleary eyed teens staying up for an all-nighter on Call of Duty!)

Guest access may be a great feature for home and little business users - you'll give access to the web (but not your files ) to visitors.

All this will be undone if you fail to follow basic guidelines on connected wireless devices, e.g. regular anti-virus updates, maintaining so far with security patches (e.g. for Windows machines using Windows Update) and never writing down your password on a post-it on the laptop!

So to summarize in those immortal words - "Don't Panic" but don't close your eyes and you ought to be fine.

Range

Want to surf in your garden? Get iTunes within the kitchen? Watch films within the bath? Well maybe you are doing want to stream movies within the bath?

What do you have to check out when selecting a router to satisfy this criteria? Routers can only work as far as they will project their wireless signals - this is often major issue if you select the a router with poor performance during this area (unless you reside during a small flat of course!). If access in your favourite location for surging (garden, potting shed etc) is out because you scrimped on features then it might be money down the drain.

Look at range as a key feature if you've got thick walls or a few of floors between you and your favoured surf spot - key to range is that the router aerials (antennas to US readers) these are either external (sticks poking out of the rear of the trouter) or internal - external usually is far better but internal looks better and is improving all the time. for instance , Sitecom WL-341 has no external aerials whereas the DLink DIR-655 has 4.

Since you will not - probably - be displaying the router on your mantelpiece choose the router with the simplest performance instead of on looks. What use a photograph frame if you cannot get reliable access? If you've got alittle residence with plasterboard walls then an indoor antenna could be sufficient - key's to form sure of your vendors return policy if trouble develops - sites like Amazon and JohnLewis.com excel during this score. Is it really worth saving a touch if they will not provides a refund or exchange?

Whilst external aerials mounted on a wall are often used they're going to be expensive compared to your router - a far better option could also be to seem at wireless devices using your home electric network (or powerline networking) e.g. Netgear WGXB102 (many other similar brands available) - just hook a cable from your router into this and plug it into the wall - plug another device into your required area and - voila - you've got wireless access.

Features

Look at any wireless router review and you'll see new features touted as if they're going to cause you to better looking and re-grow hair - if only you only spend that extra 30 ($50)! You tell yourself that feature X or widget Y will really make things easier - but how often is that basically the case?

As I discussed earlier you'll see many features listed - the key's knowing when to spend and when to mention "that gizmo looks really cool but I'll use it once"

• Do you actually need a digital photo frame built into your router? The one sitting behind the printer or behind the sofa? Well if like getting a crick in your neck watching images of little Johhny then maybe...

• What about fallback connectivity if your DSL or cable goes down? Would a 3G slot for your USB 3G card help?

• Ask yourself what do i actually do on a daily basis - for instance avid gamers could enjoy features like port forwarding to permit online gaming without that annoying delay,

• A inbuilt BitTorrent file-sharing client might be an excellent feature to schedule those video downloads and avoid leaving your laptop on all night

• Access control and VPN features could allow your employees to securely work from customer locations, on the move or maybe allow you upload holiday shots from Orlando back to home when the memory card nears capacity e.g. Billion BiPAC 7402GX.

• Newer features like the power to attach auxiliary storage to your router could be an excellent idea if you cannot to stay all of your music or those downloaded movies during a central location fro replay from to your PS3 within the front room , laptop within the garden or simply within the bath.

At the top of the day it isn't feature creep if you value it and use it - just be on top of things . For more information use wireless router reviews as an enquiry in Google. Final word - "Don't Panic!"