mini-review: Linksys BEFSX41 Router
I recently tried to install the Linksys BEFSX41 wired firewall router. Here is a brief review of my experience…
This router, theoretically is a better firewall than the BEFSR41 as it adds statefull packet inspection. I would have though this would have been an easy upgrade since I already had a the SR model. But for some reason, the SX model was unstable, while the SR remains steady as a rock. The SX model would repeatedly disconnect and reconnect to the internal network every few seconds.
While it does this, XP responds by reporting the network connection disconnecting, and then a few seconds later it reconnects…. Needless to say, this makes the Internet connection pretty much worthless.
I tried everything I could thing of including consulting Linksys support by phone a couple of times. They had a few questions and suggestions. These had no effect on the problem. And I had already tried quite a number of diagnostic procedures, all to no avail. Linksys decided that the unit must be defective and told me to return it.
I traded it for another one. But it did the same thing. So I returned it and went back to the BEFSR41.
By the way, I highly recommend that everyone with a broadband connection use both router type firewall* and a software firewall like Zone Alarm. Although I hesitate to call a basic NAT router a firewall. If all it does is network translation, that isn’t much of a firewall. Much better than nothing, but not really a firewall.
