A Plug For The Home Plug

Frustrated with your home wireless internet network? Worried about wireless security?

There is a decent alternative, albeit more expensive (but so easy a caveman can set it up!)

That alternative is the "homeplug," or "wall-plugged ethernet switch." The Homeplug converts the copper wires in you home into high speed internet lines, making it possible for you to use any electrical outlet in the house to access high speed internet via your cable or fiber-optic modem.

The Homeplug device we are using is manufactured by Netgear. It's about the size of a Blackberry (see photo above), but twice as thick, and plugs into any standard electrical outlet. It has four ports--two on each side, each of which can handle an ethernet cable.

We've been using the Homeplug for about a month now, with no problems. We get good high-speed connections throughout the house, whereas our wireless system definitely had some bad spots. We also don't get the variability in speeds we had with wireless, and we don't get the technical glitches that require reading through a mountain of technical gibberish to solve.

We also aren't broadcasting our information to the entire neighborhood. Yes, of course, we had all the security features enabled for the wireless system, but some friends who are quite knowledgable about these things are adamant that they can still be hacked, pretty easily. And they know folks who do that, just for kicks.

Now, a Homeplug can also be hacked, but only by tapping into your electrical system, which is dicier than sitting in a car parked by the curb. (And the homeplug data can be encrypted pretty easily.)

One drawback, however, is price: the Netgear Homeplug we're using costs about $100 from Radio Shack, and you'll need at least two to get started (one at your modem or router to direct your internet into the electrical wires, and one for wherever you want to sit down and access the net). You'll probably want three if you have--as we do--internet users all over the house.

You'll also have to put up with having an ethernet cable linked to your laptop, which you don't need with the wireless connection.

The Homeplug is extremely easy to use: it's basically "plug and play"--no programming, no looking up arcane numbers, such as your SSID or WEP key.

So, if you're frustrated with your wireless system, consider the Homeplug.