Need advice on Internet Equipment & Compatibility PLEASE HELP!

[JP56]

Hello everyone! I am new here so please forgive me if my posting has not been done properly or if it is overly large or long, but I am in need of some technical advice or guidance and hoping I can find it here, since this forum came up during a search of where to look for my answers.

My current Internet/Cable provider company is Xfinity/Comcast. I won't go into problems with my service over the years, I just want some advice, if possible about some equipment I want to buy & install instead of paying them their blood money for equipment rentals.

I want to Install VPN software, that will work through my Router so everything I connect to the internet will be privacy protected. The company I want to purchase from made specific recommendations as to which Routers would work best for this software.

Not being anywhere near a Tech or Techie, I am seeking some advice or opinions as to the Router they spec'd out, plus I want to add a Router Extender or Expander switch(?), and I think I want to go back to my own Modem as well, so I am trying to find out if these will work together.

I sure hope someone here reads and knows about this stuff and can point me in the right direction.

They recommend the Linksys WRT3200ACM Dual-Band Open Source Router for Home (Tri-Stream Fast Wireless Wi-Fi Router, MU-MIMO Gigabit Wireless Router)

Connections	WiFi^Wired
Frequency	2.4 GHz
Frequency Band Class	Dual-Band
Data Transfer Rate	2160 Megabits Per Second
Brand	Linksys
Wireless Type	802.11ac
Security Protocol	WPA2-PSK
LAN Port Bandwidth	Gigabit Ethernet
Voltage	240 Volts
Operating System	MacOS (10.X or higher), Windows 7, Windows 8.1 (Works with Windows 10)

Fast wireless router provides Wi-Fi coverage for your home (works with existing modem)
Open source firmware offers advanced customization; Certified operating systems: MacOS (10.X or higher), Windows 7, Windows 8.1 (Works with Windows 10)
Tri stream 160 technology doubles bandwidth from 80 MHz to 160 MHz
Enjoy 4K HD streaming, gaming and more in high quality without buffering
Dual band Wi-Fi speeds up to 2.6 Gbps (2.4 GHz / 600 Mbps) + (5 GHz / 2600 Mbps). Operating temperature: 32 to 104 F (0 to 40 C)
MU MIMO (Multi User Multiple Input Multiple Output) provides Wi-Fi to multiple devices at once, at the same high speed
Power supply: Input: 100 240V - 50 60Hz; Output: 12V, 3.0A


Since I need more ports then what comes with this router, I want to add a Linksys LGS105 Business 5-Port Desktop Gigabit Ethernet Network Unmanaged Switch I Metal Enclosure

Brand	Linksys
Switch Style	Metal
Material	Unspecified
Item Dimensions LxWxH	2.95 x 4.72 x 0.98 inches
Mounting Type	Wall Mount
Actuator Type	Push Button

Wired connection speed up to 1000 Mbps
5 Gigabit Ethernet auto sensing ports
Easy plug & play connection
Quality of Service (QoS) traffic prioritization
Meets EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) 802.3az standard
Wired connection speed up to 1,000 Mbps
5 Gigabit Ethernet auto sensing ports
Power saving features
Easy plug and play connection


I also would like to purchase my own modem again, so I was wondering about adding this into my equipment mix. Linksys CM3024 High Speed DOCSIS 3.0 24x8 Cable Modem, Certified for Comcast/Xfinity, Time Warner, Cox & Charter (Modem Only, No Wi-fi Functionality)
Style: 960 Mbps (24x faster)

Compatible with Comcast Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox, Cablevision, and more; Requires Cable Internet Service
Not compatible with: Verizon, AT&T, or CenturyLink
Cable Modem only (no WiFi router), Interfaces: Cable: F type female 75 ohm
Experience high speed Wi Fi speeds from your existing ISP plans up to 300 Mbps; Ideal for HD media streaming, simultaneous online gaming, web surfing and more
Features Intel Puma 6 chipset to achieve high speed downstream and upstream performance
Easy plug and play setup

 

[jimscreechy]

The short answer is yes, all these bits of kit will work well together. I suspect more questions will be coming but certainly for purposes of compatibility you're fine.

 

[EndlessWaves]

I want to Install VPN software, that will work through my Router so everything I connect to the internet will be privacy protected.

By sending all your data to a random company you hadn't heard of a year ago!

There's a lot of dodgy advertising in that area so be sure you know what you are and aren't getting.

VPN itself is a way to connect to another network securely over the internet.

The anonymity services you're talking about use a VPN protocol to route your traffic to their network and then out over the internet normally.

So for the data that gets sent out you're essentially just trading one organisation for another - your ISP for the anonymity service. Make sure you trust them significantly more than your trust your ISP.

 

[JP56]

By sending all your data to a random company you hadn't heard of a year ago!

There's a lot of dodgy advertising in that area so be sure you know what you are and aren't getting.

VPN itself is a way to connect to another network securely over the internet.

The anonymity services you're talking about use a VPN protocol to route your traffic to their network and then out over the internet normally.

So for the data that gets sent out you're essentially just trading one organisation for another - your ISP for the anonymity service. Make sure you trust them significantly more than your trust your ISP.

Any recommendations as to any VPN providers? I have been hearing the name Express VPN a lot lately. You make a good point about trading one company for another, but these days, with everyone out there mining info for the govt and for basically anyone who wants to pay for it or these days even just demands it, I actually like the idea of hiding my ISP location and making them work for anything they want.

 

[jimscreechy]

When I was looking at using a VPN I did a bit of research and Express VPN and Nord VPN came out as the top two.