router

LAS VEGAS - While most networking vendors intend to introduce the latest and greatest at CES, EnGenius this year focuses on something that as old as wireless networking itself: range.

Yet that might be the most important aspect of a wireless router. The company announced today at CES 2012 a new family, called Engenius XtraRange, of routers designed to offer significantly longer range and better coverage than competing products.

EnGenius says that on top of the extra range, its new routers will also provide top performance for the existing 802.11n standard, making them a good fit for "bandwidth-intensive … Read more

LAS VEGAS--There's now another true 450Mbps dual-band router on the block.

Belkin announced today at CES 2012 the Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router, model F9K1104. This is the company's top-tier wireless router, similar to the already released Linksys E4200 v2 from Cisco or the WNDR4500 of Netgear.

The router offers the new 450Mbps wireless data rate on both the 2.4Ghz and 5Gh bands. Belkin says it also support its exclusive MultiBeam Technology designed to deliver "a high-powered signal that allows for higher and more-consistent network speeds and minimizes the number of wireless dead spots.&… Read more

Wi-Fi passwords help maintain a level of browsing privacy and keep strangers or neighbors from stealing your bandwidth.

If you aren't in charge of your network, or rarely add new devices to it, you might forget what security key you picked. Retrieving this can be easy if you can access the admin panel of the router, but this isn't always an option-- like when you aren't in charge of the network, or you forgot that password too. Fortunately there's an easy-to-use program that can retrieve the security information for networks saved on your computer. Just follow … Read more

The wireless router is arguably the most important piece of the networking setup at your home or your office.

It's the central gateway that connects to the Internet, then shares that connection with all of the devices connected to it, via a network cable or Wi-Fi signal. Other services depend on the router, as well, such as file sharing, voice over IP, remote access, and VPN.

A router generally has to be on and functioning 24-7. There are thousands, if not millions, of data packages going through it every day, and you expect it to work without any hiccups. Ironically, it's also the device that most people pay the least attention to. In fact, the only time it's noticed at all is when it's not working right.

That said, it's very important to pick a router that's not just fast and feature-rich, but also reliable. Following is the list of the top five wireless routers I've reviewed this year that fit that description.… Read more

D-Link's latest Amplifi Whole Home Router 1000 (model DIR-645) almost makes an excellent router.

For one, living up to the Whole Home notion, the router offers great Wi-Fi range, possibly the longest I've seen in a long time. Secondly, it provides a great set of features, including Gigabit Ethernet (great for a fast wired network), guest networking, parental control, QoS, support for IPv6, and a very easy-to-use yet comprehensive Web interface. And finally it won't break your bank, either, with a street price of just around $90.

Unfortunately, it also comes with one major shortcoming, according to my trials.… Read more

A dropped Wi-Fi connection in OS X is one of the long-standing frustrations that some Mac users have had to deal with. In some instances a system that works well on one Wi-Fi network will not maintain a connection with another one, and in other instances two seemingly identical Macs (same model and OS version) will result in one connecting to a network and the other not.

These frustrations can be tricky to deal with, and generally the troubleshooting steps revolve around checking the router for any special services, using the older 2.4GHz frequency (802.11 "b" … Read more

It's the holiday season, and it's the time of year it's most obvious to us that we just can't be with all of our loved ones and good friends at the same time.

Fortunately, there are other ways to be connected.

Thanks to the Internet, you now can video conference in real time, even when you're driving on the road (make sure you use hands-free devices). Mobile Internet devices, for example, offer you a broadband-like connection as long as you're within the cellular coverage of the provider. And when you're at home, a … Read more

I'm usually pretty good at making decisions. Chocolate or vanilla? Easy: chocolate. Red wine or white? Easy: red. Coach or first class? Hey, this is the Cheapskate you're talking to, remember?

Today, however, I simply couldn't make up my mind. So many good deals, so little time. In no particular order:

1. Mwave has the Zonet ZNS8030 for $25.99 shipped. This little gizmo lets you attach a USB hard drive to your router, effectively turning it into network-attached storage. It's kind of like the Pogoplug, only smaller and cheaper.

2. Speaking of Pogoplug, last week … Read more

The Cyberoam NetGenie Home Wireless Router (NG11EH) is no genie in a bottle. It most definitely comes with a very hefty price tag, however: about $200.

With great, that is, large, price comes great expectations. I hoped that the router would blow me away in one way or another. In the end, the only surprise was the price itself. The NG11EH is basically one of the most expensive routers I've ever reviewed while offering the worst performance I've ever seen.

Right out of the box, the router has something other routers don't: a very comprehensive Web-filtering feature, … Read more