Cisco-Linksys BEFSX41, Excellent router if you..

Overall Rating3.333.333.333.333.33

Excellent router if you know how to operate it

I’ve used two SX41s for over three years on DSL and they are rock solid providing that I don’t violate the cardinal rules of operation. The VPN tunnels are easy to set up if you follow the guidelines. First of all you must use a stable firmware. 1.45.7 is the most stable. The latest 1.52.9 is okay, but not as stable. Also you must NEVER set any of the Web Filters to deny or you will have reboots. Generally it is as simple as that.

There are also rules for flashing that must be observed. It doesn’t matter whether you use a ver 1 firmware on a ver 2 router or visa versa. Thinking there is a difference is nonsense. What DOES matter is that the router MUST be reset to factory defaults (30 secs on the reset button will do this) before a flash or you risk bricking the router. When flashing with the Web page flashing tool, use IE or you will risk bricking the router. Use the TFTP utility for the SX41 obtainable from Linksys if you wish to use a Mozilla-based browser to flash. After you flash, you should reset once again to factory defaults. There are residual register settings carried over from the previous firmware versions that can cause reboots and other malfunctions.

Even the best flashing procedures can fail, but there are procedures for recovering from a bad flash at DSLReports.com. The recovery rate is probably better than 90% using those techniques. Guidelines for setting tunnels up are also posted there as well as access to the 1.45.7 stable firmware.

Successful operation of the SX41 requires modest intelligence, some networking experience, and following the operating rules. Linksys support hasn’t a clue as to what those rules are so don’t even bother with them unless you are trying for an RMA for a defective unit. Basically the router has gotten a bad rap from people who don’t know how to operate it. Unfortunately they can’t learn how to do that from the minimalist manual or from the so-called tech support personnel. Ask for operation help in the Linksys forum on the above mentioned web site if you are struggling with this router.

Update (2/6/2012): This item is currently on sale here for the lowest price I’ve seen. I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Cisco-Linksys BEFSX41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Firewall Router 4-Port 10/100 Switch / VPN Endpoint Electronics, was written by d_l.

The average rating for this item is 3.3 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.

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Reviews (3)

T. Conrad

April 12th, 2010 at 10:22 am    


Overall Rating22222

Works - but not problem free!
Buyer Beware - I have been using for the BEFSX41 for over six months now. Initially everything was great, easy setup, tests from GRC showed everything looks good. Then it started auto-booting. To say the least it is very annoying waiting for it to come back in middle of web browsing. Testing hasn’t produced a consistent pattern. Contacted technical support - their solution is to revert to older firmware version. Old firmware version has known exploitable vulnerabilities, but tried anyway (they are tech support right) which reduced frequency of problem, but has not truly corrected the problem. I then went searching for answers - I’m not the only one seeing this and other problems. Check out http://www.dslreports.com/. Do search on BEFSX41 and read up on their forum. I’m sorry, but I haven’t started buying competitive brands to do comparisons so I can’t recommend a better alternative. Personally though I’m working on building a Linux based firewall. I know that is not a solution for most people, but illustrates my frustration with Linksys and their parent Cisco in this product and it’s support.


mungo

April 20th, 2010 at 5:15 am    


Overall Rating33333

firewall has some holes
I bought this in July 2003 just for the firewall capability. The install wizard wouldn’t run properly on my machine (WIN ME), so I just followed the setup directions. They are very simple. I left my Mcafee Firewall Plus software running. After a week, I found certain port probes are passing through Linksys and then being caught by Mcafee!The firmware in my router is 1.44.3 dated 12/24/02. There is no upgrade available on the Linksys website. Linksys customer suport sent me a Beta release of firmware 1.44.7. It installed easily and seems to have fixed the problem. Reviews say this is the best consumer firewall router on the market. It may be, but don’t turn off your software firewall. A copy of Norton internet security products comes with the router. Free updates for virus checking and firewall rules are included for 60 days. After that an annual license must be purchased to stay current. The programs are single use only licenses. A very useful program to read the firewall log is WallWatcher. It is freeware, source included. WallWatcher runs as a SNMP server and collects events from the router as they happen. Linksys does not include a similar program with the box, but they do have a download available. I didn’t try it.If you play Internet games, you may need to adjust the MTU setting or performance may suffer. Download the documentation from the Linksys site. This is an easy change to make. Amazon does have the best price for this product. Locally I found it for $$$$$. The router ships with a patch cable, so you don’t need to buy anything else. This is a very good product for SOHO with minimal requirements. For a business, I’d keep looking.


d_l

May 8th, 2010 at 2:33 pm    


Overall Rating55555

Excellent router if you know how to operate it
Rated 5 stars.


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