Hello,

I plan to get a router from my telephone company and heck as embarrassing as it is I do not know anything about it! I use a combination of dial-up and wireless plugin modem since forever and this is to be my first crack at getting one.

Now my telephone company is offering a Dlink broadband modem DIR-300 well at the lowest plan I can afford at the moment. The other model is a CDRKing WRT-688 (Wireless Router)
1T1R 150M WIRELESS AP ROUTER (DD-WRT FLASHED). This one will be a wired connection and the model will not have a firewall.

1. Can you guys share some inputs as to how can I be safe with that model of a router..?

2. What do I need to know about using one?

I know my friends "share" their connections.

3. If I am to share this connection that I will purchase, what may be the necessary information that I need to know..? (Maybe a step-by-step points to consider scenario that I need to know to be safe, say, I'll allow 2 wireless connections to mine --one wired/2 wireless).

4. What should I be wary of with this kind of sharing?

5. What may be threats (not necessarily virus but people wanting to use my connections without my express authority) that I need to know of...

6. How can I protect myself from unwanted usage?

7. Now this dsl-plan that comes with the router will not have a firewall, how can I setup say, Online Armor or Comodo to protect me...?

8. How can I limit the connections to only three? Can I do that on the router? Or will I need tools to do that...? If I can do that can you kindly tell me how can I set that up?

9. How can I protect my 3 user connection properly...? I'd like to have Admin control on the 3 user setup and I do not know how to do it..?

10. Now on that particular shared setup(one wired / 2 wireless), how can I balance the bandwidth usage...? I fear that the other or both might be hogging all the bandwidth and cripple me. How can I setup say, allocated bandwidth for the 3 users?

11. Are there tools that I can use to do that? What apps that might be? (preferably freeware please).

12. Supposing that I am now using it and I see that there's an unidentified user/connection in the "Networks", what will/must do?

13. How can I terminate an unidentified connection...? Through Online Armor/Comodo perhaps (can I do that?)or there are better ways to do it?

14. How can I monitor the usage of the 3 users? Again if I may..tools or apps that can do the job...(preferably freeware).

So sorry for the ton of questions here. Fact is I don't know and I am asking so I can learn this from you guys. Seems to be elementary but I have to start somewhere huh

Please share a lot of inputs

Thank you very much