I’ve just moved to a new apartment and just got the ADSL set up. They gave me the standard 4port modem. I think it’s recommended that I use a router between the modem and my PC. At the moment there’s one PC connected, but I’ll set up my old PC at some stage and use it for downloads etc. The two PCs won’t need to be networked together.
At my old place, I had a Taiwanese roommate who had the ADSL modem and router, but he’s not sure exactly how it was set up, or even what it was - he didn’t set it all up, someone else just bought what he needed and set it up for him.
So, firstly, do I need a router?
If so, can anyone recommend a particular brand/model that I can pick up easily at 3C.
And secondly, is setting it up as simple as connection it between the PC and the modem?
I think you should have one. It’s not that hard to set up. Any wired router brand will do. If you don’t, make sure you add a lot of protection onto your PC (robust anti-virus software, software firewall, anti-spyware software, popup-blocker etc).
A lot has been written in the Technology Forum about these tools so you can make an informed decision.
That is an often seen statement, but not quite true. A router too is running software, though it is called “firmware” here and cannot be modified easily. However, if that software is buggy or badly designed, then the router needs new firmware or it might indeed be “hacked”…
And while a router is often mentioned to be a “firewall” as the reason for improving your network security, the most important feature is NAT. With this, attacks from the outside are impossible.
That’s true indeed, though even “professionals” (or better: people being paid to do such work) sometimes tend to “forget” about that.
Well I bought a “Corega” router, mainly because it said on the box that it was configurable in English as well as Chinese. Plugged it all in, and it turns out there’s no English options. So got a Taiwanese friend in last night and he tried to set it up, but no go. It just doesn’t work. I’m going to take it back, get my money back and rely on software firewalls to protect me.
My Zyxel (P-320W, WLAN and four ethernet ports) offers a number of interface languages. (Though I have to pick one each time I log in, which is a bit annoying.) Before that I used an SMC (English) for five years.
Get a router, it’s cheap and definitely worth the money.
