Contrary to what some of you may think, I am not much of a hacker. I tend to play it pretty straight-and-narrow when it comes to technology but I came across this 'hack', well actually its a third-party, open-source firmware called DD-WRT. This firmware overwrites the factory firmware (which in turn, voids all warranties on the product) and allows you to turn your normal, consumer-based router into a router with alot more features, typically found in your high-end business type routers such as ones from Cisco Systems.
I saw this Lifehacker.com article some time back (maybe a year or two ago) which boasts "turning your $60 router into a $600 router". Well, I'm sure there is room for debate there but the $600 figure comes from a comparison if you were to get one of those high-end routers from Cisco. Before I go on, I must say that I've never had any issues with my router, just the occasional reboot which was more than likely caused by the cable/DSL model, but the features of this router got the best of me. I'm always looking to learn something new and found alot of positive feedback on this Open Source firmware.
I took on this project last week and only took me a whopping 15 minutes or so to complete! I now can prioritize traffic going in and out of my network as well as take advantage or tweaking my wireless signal to be stronger or weaker. There's alot of security incorporated into this firmware; and best of all it was completely free.
A week has gone by and I have no complaints. I still want to play with some of the features such as SSH and Kai Console Gaming. Let the my fun begin!
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