Many of you might not be familiar with DD-WRT. To start, DD-WRT is a linux based firmware which can be flashed to your router for additional features. This is an opensource program which means that it is free of charge.

Using DD-WRT on your router is almost the same as your current firmware. It also has a web gui which makes it easier to configure. You don’t need to be a computer geek to be able to use this one. Below are some of the features that this DD-WRT is capable of.

-  VPN

-  Bandwidth manager

-  Enhanced frequencies

-  Multilingual user interface

The lists above are only few of its features. I personally recommend this one especially for those who like experimenting with their equipments. This can even help you learn more about networking stuffs. This is really a useful program. I’ve used this one on a WRT54GL router which is really amazing.

It really has more features compared to the default firmware. One of the best features that I liked about this program is that it supports VPN. This DD-WRT still doesn’t support all routers. If you want to flash your router to DD-WRT, you can check here http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database first if your router is capable of using this program.

Before doing any steps on upgrading your firmware, check the tutorials on the DD-WRT website. This could really help you. If you are not sure on what you are doing, study it first to avoid any problem. Always follow the tutorials on their website to avoid any problem.

Aside from DD-WRT, you could also use Tomato. Tomato is also a firmware for some routers to maximize its potential. It also has features same as the DD-WRT firmware. Tomato’s website is http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.

The said firmware upgrades can be installed on your own risk.  As I’ve said, make sure that you know what you are doing to avoid any problems. If you are not sure with the step, you could ask something from the forum to help you.

One of the worst problems that you could experience is to brick your router.  This is normally a cause of a bad flash. If you’ll be experiencing this kind of problem, you could again search the forum for a solution. There are also some steps on how to recover a router from a bad flash.

Another thing, make sure to check the version of your router. There are different versions for some routers which could confuse you. Even if you have a supported router but the version of your router is not supported. It is still not possible. And also, make sure to download the correct firmware for your router.