From anywhere in the world, you can go to the Parental Controls Center site, log in with the account you just created, and further customize the Web-filtering features of the router. From there, you no longer need the software.
NETGEAR GENIE DESKTOP SOFTWARE
The software guides you through a few steps of setting up a free online account with OpenDNS and choosing between five overall Web-filtering levels: high, moderate, low, minimum, and none, where high means most traffic will be blocked, and none means nothing will be blocked.
NETGEAR GENIE DESKTOP INSTALL
To use this, you first need to install the Netgear Live Parental Controls software the download link is provided via the Netgear Genie application or the Web interface.
The router has a Parental Controls feature, which was first introduced with the WNR2000. Users also have options to isolate the two main networks, making connected clients unable to see one another. Guest networking is an increasingly popular feature that enables you to create separate wireless networks that offer guests access to the Internet, while separating them from local resources such as files or printers. It's also able to broadcast two more guest wireless networks, one for each band. The N900 is capable of simultaneously broadcasting Wireless-N signals in both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands. Note that you need wireless clients that support the same standard to take advantage of the new speed, but the router works with any existing clients on the market. This is the new three-stream standard (aka 3x3) that's getting more popular in high-end wireless routers.
The WNDR4500 is the first dual 450Mbps router from Netgear that offers the 450Mbps ceiling wireless speed on both the 5GHz and the 2.4GHz bands. If you're OK with these default manufacturer settings, all you have to do is plug the router into an Internet source, turn it on, and you're good to go. If you don't want to bother with customizing, the N900 comes preconfigured with a network name and its encryption key printed on a label. Unlike Cisco Connect, Genie allows users to use both the desktop application and the Web interface to manage the router. Savvy users should definitely use the Web interface to get the most out of the router. The only difference between the two is that the Web interface allows you to set up two separate networks for the two 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands the desktop software only allows you to make one network for the 2.4GHz band. You can use either the Web interface or the desktop software to manage all the router's settings. This means if you don't want to use the desktop software and opt for the Web interface-which can be accessed by pointing a connected computer's browser to its default IP address, 192.168.1.1-you'll be presented with similarly easy-to-use wizards and instructions. The best thing about the new Genie is the fact that the router's firmware is now also part of it. This is a newer version of Netgear Genie than the one that accompanied the WNDR400, and it offers much more detailed instructions as well as deeper access to the router's settings. It's very easy to set up the router with the included Netgear Genie application, which behaves somewhat like the Cisco Connect software that comes with the Linksys E4200.
The N900's Web interface looks and functions similarly to its Genie desktop software. The router is designed to work in the vertical position and its base is not detachable, meaning you won't be able put it flat on a surface or wall-mount it.
The Netgear WNDR4500 N900 router looks very much like recent Netgear routers such as the WNDR4000, with one big exception: it's about 20 percent larger. Those who just want dual 450Mbps support and don't care for USB ports and other features should also check out the much more affordable Trendnet TEW-692GR. Priced at around $180, the WNDR4500 makes a very good investment for a high-end home network, especially one with mostly 5GHz wireless clients. To make up for this, the router's wireless signals are very stable and it also offers lots of features, including robust parental controls, a detailed Network Map, an Internet bandwidth meter, and IPv6. The router's built-in support for network storage via its two USB ports didn't provide fast enough bandwidth to be considered as a viable NAS solution. Its 2.4GHz band, however, could use some improvement in data rates. In terms of performance, the WNDR4500, though selectively faster, is very similar to the WNDR4000, with excellent range and throughput speeds on the 5GHz band.