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Linksys BEFSR41 Wired Router

Linksys BEFSR41 Wired Router

List Price: $79.99
Your Price: $49.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy
Review: When I purchased this router I was new to networking. I had NO trouble setting up and getting my network running. In fact it was EASY! I believe this is the best router on the market for price, easy install, and function. I have been using this product for almost one year with no problems what so ever! If you are like me, and want to install a router and forget it, the Linksys BEFSR41 is your answer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good way to share a high speed internet connection
Review: I bought this unit so my wife and I could share our cable modem. We have not had any problems with the unit. An added bonus is that it gets the IP address thereby creating a firewall for incoming hackers (you may still want a firewall to make sure no programs/trojan horses on your PC send info to the internet without you knowing about it).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best in SOHO service
Review: LinkSys provides a solid product and this version (wired) has continued to drop in price as others may either be pursuing wireless and/or routers with additional ports. If you've a desktop or two, laptop, and as others noted a Mac (gulp!) and DSL or Cable modem, getting connected is a snap. Well there's that one gotcha that got me too as did other reviewers such as the review titled "Nice product but DSL users need additional info in manual". That would be the only shortcoming but once connected all is forgiven. DSL - specifically ADSL users must note the specific setup and the PPOE settings. Basically read the setup page (yeah only one page back and front - simple) and put your Id & Password for your DSL/ISP into the router via an HTML page (one time at initial setup). Then you don't need to use the dial up / connection app supplied by your DSL/ISP...just click the your browser or e-mail and your connected...just like an always on network at the office. I use the 4 port version at home and the 8 port version at the office. Excellent value for those of us still "wired".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow! Connecting your computers couldn't be easier!
Review: I don't usually write reviews but I liked the Linksys BEFSR41 Cable/DSL router so much, I had to take the time to share my thoughts.
Many of the online community are going with broadband these days because of the poor performance of modems, the busy signals and relatively high price of modem-based Internet service.
Broadband with the Linksys is as good as it gets. Plug it in, and it works out of the box with no configuration but with some training, you can make the Linksys BEFSR41 do magic!

The incoming cable from the cable company plugs in to the cable modem provided by your Internet service provider. (It actually isn't a modem but that's another story.)
From there you plug the cable into your Linksys cable router and from there you can either plug 4 computers into that router or some hubs to attach even more people to the Internet. (Up to 254 without some special network magic.)
That's the basics.
What many people don't know is actually how your computer gets its address information. All computers, as we know, must have an IP address (Internet Protocol) to talk to another computer.
The Linksys is both a DHCP server AND a DHCP client. (DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. I'll spare you the details but suffice to say, as a DHCP Server, this means that all your internal computers are given IP addresses from the Linksys router. Additionally, the Linksys can act as a DHCP client to your Internet service provider, as is generally required to do unless you have a business account and pay for a fixed IP address. That's fun!)
So anyway, you're plugged in to the cable company and all your computers are happily getting IP addresses from the Linksys. Great. Well, there is a lot more.
The Linksys BEFSR41 allows you to cascade up to 254 other computers to allow for access for 254 people to the Internet. Wow! Considering that a T1 or even a partial T1 line can cost thousands per month, paying 40-60 dollars a month to give access to 254 people is incredible. (The only problem might be if every user would attempt to download MP3s at one time, performance would be pretty bad but if only 20% of your users are web browsing at any given time, this would be ok.)
There are other great features of the Linksys BEFSR41 like port filtering, where you can control the types of traffic that comes and goes through the Linksys. You can for example block all external traffic from getting in. OR, you can put up a web server and route all incoming traffic looking for a web server to that computer only, thus providing a nice security setup.
This evaluation is getting too long so I'll send but suffice to say that the Linksys BEFSR41 is amazing and extremely easy to use. You manage it from a web browser interface and there are free software (Firmware) updates available from linksys This is important because us "hackers" are always finding a way around security devices. Firmware updates provide a way for the folks at Linksys to stay ahead of current "hacker" technology.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy and reliable
Review: I have had this router for over a year and never had a single problem with it. Once you set it up and configure it (pratically does this by itself) you'll never have to bother with it again. I forget that it's even there sometimes. I use it to share my mediaone account with 3 other family members. I paid [price] a little over a year ago but you can find them cheaper these days.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lousy Mac Support
Review: I'm trying to set up my home network - I have a PC and 2 Macs. Somewhere I read that this router supports Macs, but there's no instructions in the manual or on their website (that should tell you something) and Mac software is not provided by Linksys. I've been waiting 3 hours so far for tech support to send me instructions, but haven't heard from them yet. Looks like buying this router to network Macs was a mistake.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It is perfect for the price
Review: It took me 15 minutes to configure the router so it can talk to my DSL provider using PPPOE. I have three computers connected to Internet over the router. One running Linux and the other two running Windows. Everything works just perfectly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Linksys 4 Port Router
Review: To date I've had to connect 3 of these routers. Each on different ISP's and configurations. Reading the instructions is very important when trying to use Verizon DSL. Cable is a snap also Earthlink DSL. It's very important to change your password once you have everything setup. When needed the Linksys Tech Support team was excellent. The key is to make sure that your computers are configured correctly for the connections you are trying to establish. Where time is money (your time, their money), it's just an excellent product with an excellent value. Don't forget a 200va UPS for the modem and the router. It keeps power problems from adding to any spurious entertainment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent for any home network!
Review: I have worked with many Linksys products in the past and I keep recomending their routers to anybody I am working with. I have worked on setting up many home networks, including my own, and I have always turned to Linksys routers for their stability, security, ease of use, and reliability. My router works every day flawlessly and it handles the traffic of multiple computers perfectly. The router set-up was extremely easy, plug it in, type in your internet connection information and then it works. Computers that plug into it are also very easy to configure, most PCs need minimal config information and any Mac that I have used works after being plugged in. These routers are the best home networking product I have dealt with and I would recomend it to anyone trying to build a home network.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It doesn't get any easier...
Review: ... than this one. If you've got broadband and don't want to shell out the extra [money]/month for extra IP addresses, then this is what you need. Easy set-up, one (!) page of (simple) instructions if you haven't done this before, and if your ISP pulls an @Home like mine, then fiddling with the settings to accommodate your new provider should take about 30 seconds. Be not afraid -- it's worth the eighty bucks.


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