It's So Easy

The Belkin Pre-N Router has two setup modes: easy and easier. If you are familiar with routers, or have a non-standard broadband connection, you can just go directly to the standard Web-based configuration utility and be all done in ten minutes, including setting up wireless security options and changing passwords, using the LAN and wireless settings pages.

Each of the settings pages has context-sensitive help buttons, just in case you are not sure what something does.

The even easier way, which is best for new users, is to simply follow the printed "Start Here" guide and Windows setup wizard (the Start Here guide says a wizard is available for the Mac as well, but it was not on our CD, nor on the Belkin support site--Mac users should just use the first method above). The wizard tells you exactly where and how to connect cables, gleans settings from your PC, then transfers them to the router. Once you have a successful Internet connection, it moves on to changing passwords and wireless settings like encryption. That's all most users will ever need to do.

Firewall Configuration

Advanced users can perform tasks like setting up MAC address filtering, virtual servers, and security logs in the Web utility. All the setup screens were standard and easy to follow. The Virtual servers screen had a handy list of applications and appropriate ports to open for them.

However, we were both perturbed and relieved to look at the security log and see that the Belkin's firewall blocked dozens of denial-of-service attacks in the space of a few hours.

Turning on Big Brother

The Belkin comes with a free 6-month trial of parental control software from Cerberian, which actively maintains lists of sites to block and can be customized by the user. If you use the Wizard to setup the router, you will be asked if you want to turn on the controls.

There is also an optional reporting feature that tells you exactly where each user spends their time on the Web, which is a little big-brotherish for our taste, but perhaps not for concerned parents.