Have a few questions about getting a router

I was recently talking to a friend that suggested I get a router as an "added layer of protection". Currently I have a dell XPS i7 running norton 2012 that is directly connected via ethernet cable to a motorola SB5120 (using comcast high speed).

My question is would adding a router actually add any protection to my PC? Comcast will provide me with a netgear WNR1000v2 wireless router, my friend looked that particular model up and said it has most of the features needed and should do the trick.

Also, when I went down to comcast and looked at the router the person there showed me a feature on it that allowed the user to turn off/disable the wireless. If the wireless feature is turned off/disabled on the wireless router then no wireless signals are being transmitted correct?


Sorry if my questions are a bit dumb, I'm an old fart that does not have much knowledge on this subject.

The Howling Wolves said:

Buz,
Read this...
Router security

as it may help in your decision.
THW

whs said:

Yes, the router gives you an additional firewall. And if you swith the WiFi off, it will just work like a switch. But if you set a good WPA2 passsword, nobody should be able to log-on to it . If you do not need the WiFi, you might just as well switch it off.

With NIS2012 you are pretty well protected. One additional measure you might want to consider is frequent imaging. Then you can always bail yourself out of a tight spot in less than 30 minutes.

Thanks for the link/info (very helpful)!



I went to comcast and picked up the router. When I got back I Reset my modem, plugged everthing in and it seemed to work just fine. I changed the password to a 32 character pass, set it to WPA2-PSK AES and added a 64 character passphrase.

I have one last question. Before I got the router I would go to whatismyip.com and it would show my ip address 174.61.XXX.XX, after installing the router I am seeing 192.168.1.3 on my PC (think it's the default gateway). When I go to whatismyip now with the router installed shouldn't I be seeing the 192.168.1.3 address? It is still showing my actual IP address 174.61.XXX.XX?