Actiontec Wireless G Router and Network Cards

Reviews: Networking

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Richard Poelling
Brian
Actiontec
Oct. 3, 2005

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Additional Router Features

For most users, getting wireless access and connecting to the internet is considered a finished setup. For most people, that is all the functionality they will need. For some, though, the other advanced features of this router may come into play. I will briefly go over what each of these are and just how well they are implemented.

Services Blocking

This feature is exactly what it says: services blocking. The obvious ones such as web, FTP, newsgroups, e-mail, and IM are listed. Entering in an IP and choosing a service to block is all you need to do. I do like seeing this ability in a router, but its implementation falls a bit short. Although the basics are there, I would have liked to see the ability to add specific ports and port ranges on this screen. The ability to block a specific service by all IP would have been a nice addition too. Obviously this type of functionality could change with a firmware update so there is hope. I may just be asking for more than a device of this type can deliver.

Website Blocking

The router includes a website blocking interface as well. It is a simple one in which you enter the web address you wish to block. If you are trying to control what your kids see on the internet, this functionality isn't for you. Website addresses change and new sites pop up far too quickly to keep up with. Although, if it is only a matter of a few sites you don't want them to visit, this might be of use.

Remote Management

The remote management feature is disabled by default. To enable it you must first enter a new password for the router. This simple check will keep you from exposing your router with a blank password. This functionality enables router management through the WAN address as well as the LAN address. Unless you have an absolute need for this functionality, I would suggest you keep it disabled.

Port Forwarding

The port forwarding functionality is one many people have to come around to use sooner or later. For this execution, Actiontec has a made an effortless interface. Simply by putting in the IP ports to forward as well as the IP address and protocol, you can expose certain services on your local network to the internet. This can become necessary if you want to make a game server visible or allow incoming FTP connections. A more advanced interface is also available which gives you control over the opposite end of the connection. Here you can specify the remote IP address and which ports it allows. This would add a layer of safety if you wanted to be able to connect from your work place using a static IP.

DMZ Hosting

This is pretty self explanatory. If you enable a DMZ host, whatever IP address you put in there will be directly exposed to the internet. At the time of this review the average survival time before infection (virus, Trojan, etc.) as reported by Dshield (www.dshield.org) is 27 minutes for an un-patched, exposed machine. If you use the DMZ feature, PLEASE think first and be familiar with what you are doing!

Firewall

The firewall has 4 settings: Basic, Low, Medium, and High. The basic setting allows for simple NAT functionality. For the most part, this is plenty for the average user. If you really want to secure your connection, bump it up to High. The High setting has the following configuration. The In is the WAN side and the Out is the LAN side. The Medium and Low settings are just gradual relaxations of these settings.

High Security Level
Service	Port	In	Out
http	80	no	yes
dns	53	no	yes
ftp	21	no	no
telnet	23	no	no
smtp	25	yes	yes
pop3	110	yes	yes
nntp	119	no	no
real audio/video	7070	no	no
icmp	n/a	no	yes
H.323	1720	no	no
T.120	1503	no	no
SSH	22	no	no
imap	163	yes	yes
https	443	yes	yes
secure imap	983	yes	yes
secur pop3	885	yes	yes

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Looks
Page 3: Setup
Page 4: Router Features
Page 5: Router Features Continued
Page 6: Testing & Conclusion

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Add Comment

7 User Comments

1 - Posted by blackjet on October 4, 2005 - 10:34 am

what does the 802.11 and the letter following it ie b or g stand for?

2 - Posted by handrail on October 4, 2005 - 12:37 pm

in short....

b = 11Mbps transfer rate

g = 54 Mbps transfer rate

3 - Posted by Rich on October 4, 2005 - 12:41 pm

Check out this article for more info.

http://www.thetechlounge.com/article.php?directory...

4 - Posted by blackjet on October 5, 2005 - 4:21 am

good article, u just cant beat a GB wired connection for gaming with mates tho! when u think wireless will ever get that fast? if ever?

5 - Posted by Rich on October 5, 2005 - 8:18 am

Some of the new "pre-N" routers are much faster, but it is still a wireless link. I personally would rather run the wires, but then again, I have so many wires now whats a few more. The thing I hate the most is that there is so much overhead and other stuff that is involved with the transmission of wireless signals that it may say 54 Mbps but it is really 25 Mbps. The "speed boosted" options that are advertised as 108 Mbps are actually sitting at the 50-60 Mbps range of the previous standard.

6 - Posted by blackjet on October 5, 2005 - 8:59 am

yea i perfer the wires too...

7 - Posted by Rich on October 5, 2005 - 6:13 pm

Wireless is good if you can't run wires, but a Gigabit connection can reach speeds of 300-500Mbps. Show me a wireless that runs that well and then I will think about it.

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