Netgear extender wireless to LAN dropouts

[igorness]

I live in an apartment building with dual band wireless throughout which we access by large outdoor Cisco access points the nearest being 20-25 ft from my front door. I have no access to the common router.
I was using a Netgear wireless adapter for my desktop and realized the signal is completely open. It worked fine and was very strong. I bought a Netgear extender for the security features and the LAN jack which I connected to my computer. I got it set up fine with security and the signal was just as strong but the signal now drops out every couple of minutes for a few seconds then comes back on. Sometimes it won't come back on and I have to reset the ethernet adapter and if that doesn't work, I have to restart my machine.
Is the extender having trouble translating from wireless to LAN? It's a cheaper extender. Maybe a more expensive one?
The extender LAN jack is only 10/100. Would help with one with 10/100/1000?

 

[kanewolf]

That open wireless is a BIG security hole no matter what you do. ALL your traffic ends up on an open WIFI. That means that you have to be very careful to use only HTTPS websites or use a VPN service so that all your traffic is encrypted. That is a big enough security problem that I would probably buy my own internet service.

But, if you intend to continue using the WIFI, then I would get a wireless bridge that will act like a router. Treat the WIFI as "the internet" and have a router with firewall and NAT to protect your network. You could get an Engenius or Ubiquiti unit. Since you have dual band available, I would get a 5Ghz WIFI unit since there is probably less congestion on that band.

 

[igorness]

That open wireless is a BIG security hole no matter what you do. ALL your traffic ends up on an open WIFI. That means that you have to be very careful to use only HTTPS websites or use a VPN service so that all your traffic is encrypted. That is a big enough security problem that I would probably buy my own internet service.

But, if you intend to continue using the WIFI, then I would get a wireless bridge that will act like a router. Treat the WIFI as "the internet" and have a router with firewall and NAT to protect your network. You could get an Engenius or Ubiquiti unit. Since you have dual band available, I would get a 5Ghz WIFI unit since there is probably less congestion on that band.

But since the extender has WPA2 security, aren't I protected and using the LAN port from the extender to my machine instead of straight unprotected wireless I was using with the adapter? I also use the Epic browser with it's own VPN and always uses HTTPS.

 

[kanewolf]

As long as ALL your internet traffic has to go over the open WIFI to get to the community (Cisco) access points, you are at risk. The link from your phone to the extender may be encrypted, but then it goes unencrypted to the Cisco.

Do you use any non-web mail ? That traffic may not be encrypted. Chat? IM? there is lots of traffic that might not be encrypted. I am just pointing out a big risk. It might be worth it to you for the cost savings, but it wouldn't be for me.

 

[igorness]

As long as ALL your internet traffic has to go over the open WIFI to get to the community (Cisco) access points, you are at risk. The link from your phone to the extender may be encrypted, but then it goes unencrypted to the Cisco.

Do you use any non-web mail ? That traffic may not be encrypted. Chat? IM? there is lots of traffic that might not be encrypted. I am just pointing out a big risk. It might be worth it to you for the cost savings, but it wouldn't be for me.

I have no other options as far as my service. I pay monthly for either 2 or 5MB service. All my mail is web based and I really don't do anything else risky. I'm more concerned with someone getting in and messing with my machine. I have real time virus and malware protection, do regular scans and no issues. Somehow I just feel safer with this set up than before. I'm just curious about the signal drop out when the adapter doesn't. Thanks for your help. Let me know if you think of anything else.

 

[igorness]

NOT AN ANSWER: Despite the conversations above, does anyone have any ideas about the signal drop out in LAN but not wireless?
Is the extender having trouble translating from wireless to LAN? It's a cheaper extender. Maybe a more expensive one?
The extender LAN jack is only 10/100. Would help with one with 10/100/1000?