LAN & WAN Reviews

QuickView: Hawking HBB1 Broadband Booster

Hawking's Broadband Booster promises to solve problems using time-sensitive applications on home and SOHO broadband connections. Tim Higgins finds it works well for what it does, but isn't a cure for all bandwidth-management problems.

LAN & WAN Reviews

ZyXEL HomeSafe Parental Control Gateway

The ability of most routers to control the who, what and when of Internet access leaves much to be desired. Micah LaCombe found that ZyXEL's HomeSafe Parental Control Gateway is an exception to this status quo and doesn't command a premium price either.

LAN & WAN Reviews

SmoothWall Express 2.0

Next in our series of reviews of Open Source based router / firewalls is SmoothWall Express 2.0. Jim Hubbard takes a look at this free, user-friendly distro, that's speedy enough for pretty much any connection you can throw at it.

LAN & WAN Reviews

ClarkConnect Gateway / Server

Linux is definitely becoming more of a real option for desktop users, with many distributions available that anyone comfortable with Windows can install and use. Point Clark Networks' ClarkConnect has taken the same user-friendly approach and converts any Pentium-class box into a dedicated Linux-based Gateway / Server that can be installed and configured by mere mortals and puts many commercial products to shame. And did we mention that it's free? Jim Hubbard puts ClarkConnect through its paces.

LAN & WAN Reviews

QuickView: AlphaShield Hardware Firewall

The product pitch for AlphaShield's Hardware Firewall makes it sound like it provides some pretty heavy-duty Internet security. But while it does perform as advertised, we found there's little to recommend it over less-expensive SOHO routers.

LAN & WAN Reviews

m0n0wall Firewall V1.0 – Part 1

You might think that installing and configuring an Open Source-based firewall / router requires skills far beyond those possessed by ordinary (wo)men... but you'd be wrong. The m0n0wall firewall may be based on FreeBSD, and have a name that's tricky to type, but our reviewer David Cook shows how getting it installed and running is well within the reach of most of us mere mortals...

LAN & WAN Reviews

m0n0wall Firewall V1.0 – Part 2

You might think that installing and configuring an Open Source-based firewall / router requires skills far beyond those possessed by ordinary (wo)men... but you'd be wrong. The m0n0wall firewall may be based on FreeBSD, and have a name that's tricky to type, but our reviewer David Cook shows how getting it installed and running is well within the reach of most of us mere mortals...

LAN & WAN Reviews

Linux Embedded Appliance Firewall Review

Sure off-the-shelf router / firewalls are cheap and easy to set up, but sometimes they just don't get the job done, especially for more sophisticated requirements. And "big iron" products will put too big a dent in most small business budgets. Fortunately there are Open Source alternatives. Jim Hubbard takes a detailed look at one that can do just about anything you'd want it to do, while leaving your wallet alone.