Netgear - DG632 ADSL Modem Router

Up and running in minutes
I had wanted to get my PS2 online but had a USB broadband modem, I had tried sharing out the internet connection from my PC but spent many fruitless hours fiddling about with various settings. I decided to invest in this router to see if it would be any easier. I simply plugged it into my computer, stepped thru the wizard to set it up, unplugged it from the PC and into the PS2 and was online right away. Far easier than I could have possibly hoped for.
Easy to use, crashes often
The unit was very easy to configure through the web based interface/wizard and is not too badly styled to put on your desk. Overall it is a very nice little box that works well for an individual computer (in most circumstances). It contains a good firewall with no setup required, something that any Internet user should have (along with a good anti-virus program) to keep out the nasties of the Internet.

It would be ideal for most users, but it crashes regularly for me. This is apparently due to having too many connections at any time (1 website/email send or receive/MSN messenger etc. = 1 connection each) for it to handle (Netgear Tech Support recommends no more than 15 - in an email in response to this - and claim to be working on a firmware update for it). For many users, this 15 connection limit is not likely to be an issue. For power users with several computers connected to it or people running file sharing programs (Kazaa, iMesh, Direct Connect etc.) this will be an issue.

I...
Excellent for basic usage but watch that firewall...
I bought this to replace a USB-modem on my desktop and allow me to plug in my work laptop occasionally.

Getting it out installed and working (with Wanadoo) was stunningly easy on the Ethernetted desktop and pretty straightforward on the USB laptop. I don't know if it's a placebo effect but it also feels faster.

My work needs a VPN connection for some things and this was rather tricky to setup - if you use one you will probably need technical support for this, the router has a built in firewall that was blocking my VPN but without any clear logs or easy way to unblock. All you can do is unblock ports, and you are left to guessing what to try.

So 5 stars for the device but minus 1 for having no user level control over the firewall.

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