Modem vs Router

   When subscribing to an ISP, they would usually provide you with a box that connects to your phone line and to your computer. This box is usually both a router and a modem. A modem is a device that negotiates the connection with your ISP through your telephone line while a router is a device that is used to connect two networks together, in this case your network to your modem.

  Traditionally modems were stand alone devices that can be connected straight to your computer or to a router. It connects to the router via the standard RJ45 and with the telephone line via the smaller RJ11. Its job is simply to translate data from one protocol to another since telephone lines do not use the same signaling and transmission methods that are used in computer networks. Because of this, data isn’t being screened by the modem and any potential threat would still go through to your network.

  Routers only use RJ45 since it is understood that it would only connect to computer networks. Its job is to examine a data packet and determine where it should go; it chooses the route the data should take, thus the name router. It is in a router where firewalls are implemented in order to screen out potential attacks or threats that might try to gain access to your network.

  You should know that modems are the means to connect to the internet and without modems the internet would not exist. Routers on the other hand, are not really essential for internet communication. It is still possible to connect to the internet without routers just like in the old days with internal PCI modems. But you should remember that the main job of the router is to protect you from possible threats and malware, and this shouldn’t be taken very lightly.