Rating: 
Summary: SMC7004VBR four port router
Review: Before I bought this particular router I gave a fair consideration to equivalent products from other manufacturers. My objectives were as follows: a 4-port router with flexible parental controls and reliable firewall at a reasonable price. SMC7004VBR turned out to be a clear winner. Setup can be done in manual (advanced) or assisted (wizard) mode, via a browser interface. I used the advanced option but also verified the wizard afterwards, for completeness of this review. Worth noting is that the router reboots almost every time you click the "apply" button. This results in a temporary loss of communication (~30 sec) between the router and the computer, which may look a little disturbing. Additional note: if you decide to change the router's LAN address, it will reboot with the new IP so the browser needs to follow. All settings are fairly standard except for one: SMC decided to set firewall to OFF by default. So remember to go to the firewall settings and turn it ON manually (and click "apply"). A somewhat debatable approach, especially that there is no word about it in the User Guide. The parental controls are very good. This router is capable of blocking up to 30 user-defined web sites based either on the URL or a phrase included in the URL. A very important tool if you have young children at home. When one of them attempts to connect to a banned URL the router just hangs with no other indication so it looks like the remote site is simply not responding. Other routers that I am familiar with send a message back stating that the URL was blocked. I prefer SMC's gentle implementation. There are also settings for defining the Internet access time and day per computer. Other setting like port triggering, forwarding, DMZ etc are there. These are standard on all routers these days. The security features make this router really stand out. Unlike other models in this class, SMC7004VBR can identify several types of hacker attacks and send alerts to a predefined email address. SMC did an excellent job implementing full POP3 account settings. Other vendors provide only basic configuration (i.e. only SMTP server name, no password), which may cause alerts to get lost under certain circumstances (dynamic IP). I was a little disappointed to see that SMC does not give options for other email alerts (i.e. triggered by the URL filter) but hopefully they will consider it in future firmware releases. Software upgrade functionality works flowlessly. I upgraded my router after visiting SMC web site and realizing there was a newer version available. The support via their web site is sufficient, I really did not have any reasons to call them on the phone. In my configuration, this product functions not only as a firewall but it provides high-speed network connectivity between my home computers. A remote (near the ceiling) Wireless Access Point is connected to one of the ports. The bottom line: two thumbs up!
Rating: 
Summary: Easy set up, lackluster performance
Review: I bought this router after purchasing not one, but two Linksys routers. Had this baby up and running in minutes with 3 computers with all different operating systems and it works like a charm and it is so small it will fit anywhere. Do yourself a favor and buy this one from the start. Lifetime warranty and 24/7 customer service if you ever need it.
Rating:
Summary: Beats the Hec out of Linksys!!
Review: I bought this router after purchasing not one, but two Linksys routers. Had this baby up and running in minutes with 3 computers with all different operating systems and it works like a charm and it is so small it will fit anywhere. Do yourself a favor and buy this one from the start. Lifetime warranty and 24/7 customer service if you ever need it.
Rating:
Summary: Solid and easy to install
Review: I bought this router at a local store, mainly because they didn't carry the D-Link I was looking for.Turns out to be a great piece of work! My small network consists of a Win98SE machine, and a brand new WinXP Pro machine. I've had very little experience with networking, but this was very easy to get up and running. James :)
Rating:
Summary: EZ as Pie
Review: I got this router afte I had read both the good and bad reviews. It seemed to have more positives and be easier to set up than others I was looking at.
It was certainly easy. As promised, 3-click installation. It got my second computer, which wasn't configured for internet connection at all, on the net in next to no time.
I'm glad I read about the firewall defaulting to "Off". Although I do have a software firewall, I figure more protection is a good thing. I too got confused over the directions. But once I got to the website, I relized I only needed to get to advanced configuration, set the firewall, save the setting and I was done.
After re-booting, the connection is as reliable and fast as ever. I have no need for parental controls or blocking websites, so maybe that is what has caused some of the complaints.
For me, it was easy, quick and painless.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Router, but Don't be fooled by Warranty
Review: I have an older SMC router which was really great, and had great support, for several years. Then it "became inactive" and now they will do nothing for me. So, the "limited lifetime warranty" is for the lifetime of the product, which was less than 3 years in my case. Here is the qoute from the web site:
The Limited Lifetime warranty covers a product during the Life of that Product, which is defined as the period of time during which the product is an 'Active' SMC product. A product is considered to be 'Active' while it is listed on the current SMC price list. As new technologies emerge, older technologies become obsolete and SMC will, at its discretion, replace an older product in its product line with one that incorporates these newer technologies. At that point, the obsolete product is discontinued and is no longer an 'Active' SMC product.
Rating:
Summary: Great Router, but Don't be fooled by Warranty
Review: I have an older SMC router which was really great, and had great support, for several years. Then it "became inactive" and now they will do nothing for me. So, the "limited lifetime warranty" is for the lifetime of the product, which was less than 3 years in my case. Here is the qoute from the web site:
The Limited Lifetime warranty covers a product during the Life of that Product, which is defined as the period of time during which the product is an 'Active' SMC product. A product is considered to be 'Active' while it is listed on the current SMC price list. As new technologies emerge, older technologies become obsolete and SMC will, at its discretion, replace an older product in its product line with one that incorporates these newer technologies. At that point, the obsolete product is discontinued and is no longer an 'Active' SMC product.
Rating:
Summary: plugged it in set it up and it worked the first time
Review: I hooked it all up and ran the quickstart software it came with and it worked the first time.i havn't had a problem yet so i can't comment on their custommer service. it has a great set of features for a small price. filtering options to keep your kids of bad sites,firewall and mutch more.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for novices
Review: I immediately encountered the following problems: (1) the documented default password to log into the router via http did not work. (2) To reset the default password to its factory setting, you're supposed to find a paper clip and stick it inside a hole in the back of the router and press a button. While doing that, your supposed to look at the lights on the other side of the router to see if they are blinking. There is no tactile feedback to tell you when you are pressing the button. As far as I can tell, my router may have been missing the button. (3) When trying to push on the button, the piece of plastic in the hole broke off and is now rattling around inside my box. (4) The wizard used to configure the router in an automated fashion, can't be used if you haven't gotten your DSL all set up. Customer support is kinda cool in that they have 24 hour telephone support, but they're about as well trained as your typical customer support person -- they don't really grasp the concept of a piece of hardware having been built without a reset button, or a customer who can't figure out how to push on the reset button, or that they might want to log an enhancement request that customers might prefer an easier to use reset button. Or, better yet, that the documented password work.
Rating:
Summary: Not for novices
Review: I immediately encountered the following problems: (1) the documented default password to log into the router via http did not work. (2) To reset the default password to its factory setting, you're supposed to find a paper clip and stick it inside a hole in the back of the router and press a button. While doing that, your supposed to look at the lights on the other side of the router to see if they are blinking. There is no tactile feedback to tell you when you are pressing the button. As far as I can tell, my router may have been missing the button. (3) When trying to push on the button, the piece of plastic in the hole broke off and is now rattling around inside my box. (4) The wizard used to configure the router in an automated fashion, can't be used if you haven't gotten your DSL all set up. Customer support is kinda cool in that they have 24 hour telephone support, but they're about as well trained as your typical customer support person -- they don't really grasp the concept of a piece of hardware having been built without a reset button, or a customer who can't figure out how to push on the reset button, or that they might want to log an enhancement request that customers might prefer an easier to use reset button. Or, better yet, that the documented password work.
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