If you have a wireless router of any stripe, check out http://www.dd-wrt.com. This is an open-source community firmware for most retail routers. It’s solid as a rock, and it opens up the features on your wireless router like you’d never believe!
As an aside, write down a complex password and tape it to the underside of your router. Of all the components in your home network, your router should have the most complex password of all. Learn a few simple configuration tweaks on standard router firmware, and you’ll be secure even without installing the dd-wrt firmware.
Excellent advice. I use dd-wrt on my Linksys router, and it is very solid, with zero issues.
I don’t see any necessity to change the firmware on a home router. All people need to do is change the default encryption layer and password and do as you say, write the password on a piece of tape underneath the router.
Guess I should have read the thread before my last post. :-) I like DD-WRT too. One update to turn a $50 appliance into a thousand dollar router. Gotta love it!