Creating a secure guest network with a second router?

[alan_surry]

I work for myself doing PC & laptop repairs and often have customers computers in my workshop that are infected with viruses. What I'm trying to do is to create a guest network with a spare router so that i can keep customers computers on a different network from my own pc's. I use virgin and have an old virgin router as an access point with dhcp off, but I can't work out how to isolate it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[USAFRet]

Put the second router on a different subnet.
192.168.2.xxx, instead of your normal 192.168.1.xxx

However, for actual infected systems, I would not put them on the same network until they have been verified clean, or completely wiped and reinstalled.
They don't really need network access, either internal or external, until then.

 

[alan_surry]

Thanks for the answer. I'd tried this approach using a couple of different routers with DHCP off but with it on, I couldn't get an internet connection. I've realised that I've been trying to repurpose the wrong sort of router. I found an old Netgear DSL router and it's doing what i want just fine.

Thanks again.

 

[Alabalcho]

Actually, if you're using off-the-shelf consumer routers, it is wise to put your own computers behind a second routers, and leave guest stuff connected to your main router. This way, your nodes will be protected by the second router, while the guest PCs will be treated as "Internet" for them.