Review on SMC7004VWBR Barricade Router 100Mbps 802 11B by Michael Boonme

I put off buying a router for a long time, but after my ISP pissed me off that I was signing up with two simultaneous PPPoE connections through an old hub, I really didn't have a choice. My college offers wireless access on campus and I already bought an 802.11b card, but I didn't think I would need wireless access at home. Actually, I first looked for a wired router until I found the SMC7004VWBR on another site (before Revain started offering it). I have read many reviews of Linksys, D-Link and Netgear products and the SMC was the one with the fewest complaints. I was skeptical at first since I bought it for $98 including the $10 discount and thought maybe I'll end up getting what I paid for. After about 3 weeks I still had nothing to complain about. Router features include Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Denial of Service (DoS) protection, email notifications, parental controls, built-in VPN (Virtual Private Network) pass. through support, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and hacker registry options. Turn on email notifications and you'll receive multiple notifications in your inbox every day. Setup was very easy. I simply plugged my desktop into one of the 4 wired ports, plugged my DSL modem into the WAN port, and accessed the IP address listed in the manual. (The manual is on the included CD and is also available online.) Although the quick start guide suggests that you use the CD to set up the connection, you can access the setup page through a web browser because of the type of operating system you are using and you doesn't matter. You don't need any software downloaded onto your computer. The installation includes both a quick version of EZ (3 clicks and you're done) and a more advanced version. . I went through the quick setup first to make sure everything was working, but then moved on to the advanced setup to set up wireless encryption, firewall settings, NAT, etc. The setup page also includes a nice help file that explains all the terms you use. Unfamiliar with. The performance was exceptionally good. The signal doesn't get attenuated too much when I'm traveling from room to room in my house with my laptop. Perhaps my only complaint is that there's no easy way to wall mount it (although novice engineers like me will find a way). Overall, I think this is one of the best buys I've ever made, and I'd recommend it for people on a budget (read: college students) looking for a feature-rich router with wireless capabilities.