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  Asked: Feb 27 2008   4:13 PM GMT
  Asked by: Strtme

Is it the encryption level?


WPA, WEP, Routers

I've got a Linksys BEFSR81 wired router, which is networked to about 5 other Linksys/Motorola routers. The BEFSR81 is on WEP, as are the others.

The system runs at a crawl after i download the first 5mb of most files. I have been told that it could be that it's because this system is on WEP. Is it possible to boost this network to WPA through firmware upgrades? Do I just change the networked routers? Swap out the BEFSR81?

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Last Answered: Feb 29 2008  6:21 AM GMT  by Jlees




It's doubtful the reason is becasue you are using WEP. WEP might add some overhead, but it would generally stay constant and not slow down over time.

It's more likely you have a bottleneck elsewhere or possibly some spyware on your system.

First off, it is easy enough to get a copy of Spyware Search and Destroy or lavasoft's AdAware Personal and scan your system for spyware. I'd start there, assuming your C: drive isn't full.

I would also try these things:

Defrag your hard drives.
Scan for Viruses
Check CPU Usage
Check memory usage (Task manager can give you a 40,000ft view of memory and CPU)
Check your connection speed. (www.dslreports.com is a good site for this.)
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Chippy088  |   Mar 2 2008  2:23PM GMT

Simple question, complex answers. You haven’t given enough information to give a complete answer.

I am taking for granted that none of the other wireless routers are transmitting on the same channel, and that they are far enough away to not be interfering with each other. (remember there has to be a wide enough gap in the channels to avoid ‘bleed over, like listening to 2 radio stations on your car radio, one station temporarily blocks the other)

Are you able to move around and still receive data regardless of which router is used? (Roaming profiles)

If the pc/laptop you are using able to receive from more than one of the wireless routers at the same time, this could mean that it could flip flop between routers and cause data to be lost/corrupted and have to be resent. (CRC errors, missing packets etc)

Or, it is other users moving through your routers zone adding to traffic (bottle necking the zone)

All the defraging, virus checking and malware checks are things which I would do on a regular basis anyway. (Automatically via your firewall/virus software installed on your pc)