Product Description

Netgear Wireless G Router 4Pt

Product Details

• Brand: Netgear
• Model: WGR614
• Platform: Windows
• Format: CD
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 2.75" h x 9.15" w x 11.15" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• 802.11g router offers an easy way to set up a network with wired and wireless connections
• Delivers up to 54 Mbps of wireless throughput
• Four RJ-45 Ethernet ports allow for wired connections to the network
• Enhanced security includes a double firewall, and WPA and 128-bit WEP encryption
• Device measures 6.9 x 1.1 x 4.7 inches (WxHxD)

Amazon.com Product Description

The NETGEAR WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router offers: 802.11g wireless network router for home and office. Four RJ-45 Ethernet ports for wired networking. Configurable network security including double firewall for extra protection.

The NETGEAR WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router lets you easily set up a wireless network in your home so you can share a single internet connection with everyone in your household or office at speeds up to 54 Mbps.

The WGR614 offers speeds up to 54 Mbps with the 802.11g wireless standard. View larger.

Beautiful Design and Easy Setup
The WGR614 is a very attractive unit about the size of a small paperback with a silver exterior and rounded edges. An included plastic stand lets you stand the router on its edge to take up less space.

The WGR614 makes it easy for even a novice to set up a wireless network: just plug the included Ethernet cable from your internet connection into the router and insert the included CD into any computer on the network, which will provide step-by-step instructions. The WGR614 employs a web-based interface for configuration, and the router will automatically do the initial setup by getting your DNS settings and determining your IP address. The firmware is also upgradeable via the web interface so you can be sure your router will always be up-to-date.

Fast and Secure
Supporting the 802.11g standard, the NETGEAR WGR614 offers wireless data speeds of up to 54 Mbps, making it possible to share a broadband internet connection, stream music without hiccups, watch videos with less load time, and videoconference without problems. Downloading files is up to five times faster than it was with 802.11b. If you still have computers that use 802.11b, don't fret as the router is backwards compatible with the older wireless standard and can be set so all your computers can connect to the network and the WGR614 will automatically figure out the connection type and work accordingly.

In addition to wireless access, there are four 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 Ethernet ports in the back for connecting computers to the network via a faster, wired connection.

The WGR614 offers many security options to ensure your data is private. Double firewall protection keeps your network shielded from outside attacks. To ensure the security of your wireless data, both 40/64-bit, 128-bit, and 152-bit (802.11g only) WEP encryption is available, as well as WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). You can also use MAC address authentication to allow only authorized users onto the network.

Keep Tabs on Kids
This router is an especially good choice for parents as it allows settings to log all sites that are visited, lets you block specific sites based on whether it contains specific keywords, and lets you set time schedules for certain computers to work.

The NETGEAR WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router is backed by a 1-year warranty.

What's in the Box
WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router, power adapter, Ethernet cable, setup CD, vertical stand, warranty/support information card.

From the Manufacturer
Up the Speed of Your Wireless Network
NETGEAR's Cable/DSL 54 Mbps Wireless Router lets you experience the blazing-fast network wireless speeds of 54 Mbps ­ up to five times faster than the popular 802.11b wireless network. These higher speeds make it a snap to web surf, download large files, videoconference, stream high-quality digital movies, MP3 music and photos and play online games. This wireless router also works with 802.11b wireless products so you can use it with your existing 802.11b devices and your new 54 Mbps (802.11g*) devices. Auto-sensing chooses the fastest connections possible on your 10/100 Mbps wide area network and four local area network ports. True Firewall (SPI) advanced security provides maximum protection from professional hackers. URL blocking and e-mail alerts provide parents with controls to limit access to inappropriate web sites and monitor children's access. Simple to install, you just follow the cues shown on your PC screen and your router will be up and running in no time. Smart Wizard auto-detects and configures for the best ISP connection, while UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) makes it easy to use your computers, gaming consoles and other client devices--wireless and Ethernet--for gaming, instant messaging, and other applications.

Powerful
High-speeds propel media-rich content across your network in no time. You can conveniently share your cable/DSL connection with many users on your network with or without wires. Delivers 10/100 Mbps (auto-sensing) WAN and LAN connections and interoperability with 54 Mbps (802.11g*) and 11 Mbps (802.11b) devices over a 2.4 GHz band wireless network.

Secure
A true firewall secures your network against hackers: Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Denial of Service (DoS) attack prevention averts potential threats by scanning incoming traffic and Network Address translation (NAT) shields your networked devices from intruders. Powerful WEP encryption (40/64- or 128-bit) on the wireless LAN conceals your information from eavesdroppers. MAC Address Control prevents unauthorized access to your wireless network. VPN pass-through give secure Internet access to your office or corporate network. A free 8-PC license of Freedom Zero-Knowledge Systems prevents applications from sending your personal information over the Internet and blocks ads.

Child Safe
Parents are able to limit web access by blocking offensive content and URL addresses, and the router sends real-time email alerts and logs of all network web activity. Comprehensive anti-virus protection ensures safety for your networked computers.

Effortless Smart Wizard simplifies setup--it automatically detects and configures your router for virtually all ISP connections. Install Assistant, NETGEAR’s interactive tutorial, gives you simple prompts to guide you through each step of your installation. Applications that support UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) may be enabled to automatically interact with users over the Internet.

* This product has been designed and developed to the draft IEEE specification for the 802.11g standard. Final ratification is expected in the second half of 2003. Specification is subject to change without notice.

Customer Reviews

Excellent router with no problems whatsoever
This is an exceptional router and at this price you can't find a better choice. I see a lot of disgruntled people here who can't connect to the router wirelessly after changing settings. I would like to give a couple of tips. First of all, make sure you configure the router when you are hard wired. You have to ensure that you are connected to the router via a LAN cable whenever you are making any changes to the router's configuration. This way when the router restarts etc. you will still be connected to it. If you are carrying out any changes to the router through your wireless card, for example if you have changed the WEP encryption code in the router, then once you submit those changes, the router will not let your wireless card connect until your laptop's card is configured for the same WEP key. So once again, please ensure you carry out changes to the router only when hard wired. The moment you get your router, I suggest you carry out a firmware upgrade (go to netgear's support site and download the latest firmware for your model from there). Once again follow instructions and make sure you are connected through a cable to carry out the same. Now log onto the router and then do a couple of things.

First of all, rename the SSID to anything you want (eg. Joan's Arc). Then go to the wireless settings, then to wireless access, and click on 'Disable SSID broadcast'. This ensures that the SSID is not broadcast to others around you who have a wireless machine. So when their software searches for a wireless access point all they will see is a blank name. To be able to connect to your network they would have to know the name of your SSID (Joan's Arc in this case) and manually type it in their machines (Highly unlikely that they will be able to think of the same name as you do. You can make your name even harder to obtain by simply using numeric characters in it.. for example Joan's Arc2004). Secondly, to make it secure use a 128 bit WEP key (this has to be a 26 digit key consisting of alphanumeric and numeric characters. You can use only certain alphabets in small and large case so you need to check that out. Also remember that you have to feed the same WEP key number in your laptop wireless card software (or the windows wireless settings if you are not using your wireless card's software). Finally you can ensure that only the wireless devices you specify can logon to your router. Go to the Wireless settings, then to wireless access setup and then click on 'enable wireless access'... Thereafter click on 'Setup access list'. Once there add your wireless device by using its mac address (the mac address is a unique number given to a wireless device, very much like a phone number- this enables the router to identify the device trying to connect to it). The mac address will be listed on your wireless device and you can also see all the devices that you can allow to connect to your router in the router's configuration window. (One important note to remember is that if you have already enabled WEP then you will have to first feed in the same key into your wireless device software settings before the router will display it in it's list of devices). Select the device that you want to allow to connect to your router and apply.

Hope this helps to a certain extent to configure your routers. Trust me, this is an amazing router and if you are having connection problems, it most likely is due to the settings in the router- not because the router is faulty.

Major problems, which Netgear has acknowledged - AVOID
Do NOT purchase this router. I have been a happy Netgear customer in the past, and am technical enough to keep both home and small office wireless networks running fine, but this model has a hardware problem that Netgear tech support has finally acknowledged, but for which they are not providing an adequate fix. As others have mentioned, the router will often drop connectivity, and rebooting is the only solution. I bought one, had these problems start (luckily within the 90 day tech support window), and returned the router to Netgear (at my expense) in exchange for another one, which demonstrated the SAME problem less than 24 hours after installation. After yet another long call to India the latest tech support rep acknowledged that lots of these models are having the same problem, and upgrading to the latest firmware (which I did immediately upon installing both of these routers) won't fix it, so her solution was... send this one back (AGAIN at my expense) and they would send me yet another one of the SAME model, which she (for no defensible reason) assures me will work. For more background please see the Netgear tech support forums, where you will see scores of people experiencing the same problem and the same non-solution from Netgear. Save yourself the trouble and buy a different wireless router.

Easy to install. Works great. Looks great!
EASY TO INSTALL... This was my first router installation, but it was easy! The router comes with short, easy-to-follow installation directions. It took me 10-minutes to open the box, read the directions, connect the hardware (it includes a power cord and a network cable), power-up my PC, boot into Windows XP and access the router through Internet Explorer. Netgear's interface is wonderful. Modifying security settings, an optional step, was a breeze. I never even looked at the CD that was included.

WORKS GREAT... As soon as my desktop PC booted into Windows XP, I was connected to the Internet through my Road Runner cable connection (my PC was connected to the router via cable; the router, of course, was connected to the cable modem). Laptop connection was almost as easy. I did download the most recent firmware (1102) from Netgear's web site to make the router 100% compatible with the 802.11g specs and to be able to block broadcast of SSID (the upgrade also fixed some minor problems): http://www.netgear.com/support/support_dnld.asp?prodNum=WGR614

LOOKS GREAT... The picture doesn't do it justice, nor will anything I can say. I have the router sitting vertically in its stand. The side LEDs face me. They are clearly marked, lit (or blinking) icons. Thin and elegant.

I was torn between Linksys and Netgear. I still respect Linksys, but I am glad that I bought Netgear.