[geeks] cheap, secure wifi router?

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: Bill Bradford <mrbill at mrbill.net>
" 
" On Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 05:05:34PM -0500, Sandwich Maker wrote:
" >i've been wifi-free up to now, on security and privacy grounds, but now
" >i have - or rather my gf/so/dp has - a device for which wifi is the
" >only way to access the internet, so now i need a wifi router.
" >'secure' suggests one which can be loaded with one of the
" >'aftermarket' linux builds, but is that compatible with 'cheap'?
" >range isn't a problem; 20' would be a stretch, and the less the better
" >for security.
" >any suggestions?  what's out there?
" 
" I've been happy with some of the sub-$50 TP-Link stuff that can have OpenWRT
" loaded.
" _______________________________________________

" From: Lionel Peterson <lionel4287 at gmail.com>
" 
" Is $40 'cheap'?
" 
" Linksys WRT-54GL runs openWRT and is very reliable hardware. To secure your
" wifi, MAC ID screening would be best - it would prevent any other devices from
" joining your WiFi network. In theory.
" 
" http://www.linksys.com/us/P-WRT54GL-RM-Linksys/p/P-WRT54GL-RM/
" 
" Just plain works, power output is controllable, lots of other features
" also...
" 
" Lionel
" 
" Ken
" _______________________________________________

excellent leads - thank you!  they may well be within budget range.

i do plan to lock access to the mac and hide the ssid, as well as
limit power.  macs can be spoofed though just guessing would be a long
trial-and-error, and the gadget in question may not be smart enough to
connect to a hidden ssid...  it does encryption, at least.

" From: Andrew Jones <andrew at jones.ec>
" 
" On 12/14/2015 05:05 PM, Sandwich Maker wrote:
" > i've been wifi-free up to now, on security and privacy grounds, but now
" > i have - or rather my gf/so/dp has - a device for which wifi is the
" > only way to access the internet, so now i need a wifi router.
" 
" I keep my wireless AP device separate from my actual internet router so 
" that I am not at the mercy of ddwrt/tomato/openwrt maintainers for 
" security updates on an internet-facing device.
" _______________________________________________

no fear!  i'm not gonna re-architect my network just for wi-fi - it'll
be added on.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought