The HomePlug networking standard has been around in the States and other countries for a few years, and has proven a popular alternative to running CAT 5 cabling in your walls or for the (then) expensive cost of setting up a wireless network. HomePlug is wired networking for sure, but it uses an existing infrastructure in your office or domicile: your copper electricity power 'network' that feeds your TV, hair-dryer, fridge and any other electrical appliance the juice it needs to run. In short, HomePlug uses your house's electrical wiring.

USB 2.0 hard disks are a convenient way of backing up your data, but if you want to share the files with other computers over a small office or home network they're not ideal. But Linksys has an alternative. The Network Storage Link (NSL) takes a USB 2.0 hard disk or flash drive and puts it on the network.

Ongoing concerns about the security of wireless networks and an increasing demand to be able to connect remotely to office and home networks has forced many people to look for a reasonably priced VPN solution. Virtual Private Networks use the Internet to establish a secure link between an external PC and a local network.

Devices that attach storage to the network aren't new, but until now they've been either very expensive or limited in ability. But this little marvel from Asus changes all that. The WL-HDD can put a hard disk on the network with no drivers or client software required, and it can do this wirelessly via 802.11g.

WhatsUp Gold ups the ante by providing all the tools to monitor network device status and performance.

Picture this scenario: your daughter is in her bedroom using the old laptop computer to do some schoolwork, you are busy finishing a presentation for work on the desktop computer thats connected to the colour printer and your partner has just arrived home from the gym. Suddenly everyone is in the main computer room.

Despite worrying reports about network congestion, Optus performed well in our tests. Top-notch speed, balanced with keen pricing - if you value network performance above all else this is the mobile broadband to get

It looks like a standard webcam, but the Axis 205 is cleverer than that. Its internal web server and 10/100 Ethernet port mean it can be directly connected to and accessed by anyone on the network.

The appealing price and form factor can’t hide some serious usability issues, but there’s a good system underneath.

Telstra says it now has more than 300,000 ADSL subscribers and is on target to reach a million by 2005. The problem with home ADSL is that unlike cable, Telstra doesn’t make it easy to network even though it requires an Ethernet connection. Interestingly, the Ethernet requirement for broadband Internet connectivity is also helping to drive the rising popularity of home networks.

Netgear delivers a highly affordable SSL VPN appliance that’s also relatively easy to configure.

When everything from your movie collection to your photo album is digital, why would you want to watch it all on a tiny monitor with tinny speakers while your big television and surround sound sits idle in the lounge room?

Inexpensive, but a frugal assortment of features

An interesting and secure way to share data, once you overlook some minor drawbacks.

The title says it all, and though I'm wary of anything branded as 'complete', Paul Heltzel's 'Complete Wireless Home Networking' offers both the essential education and the 'walkthrough' for you to start your first home wireless network.

When Symantecs Norton Ghost 2002 was released last year, it offered few improvements, with support for Windows XP the only significant addition. Not so with Drive Image 2002.

For a laser printer manufacturer, GCC has an unusual history. Formed in 1981, the company originally developed enhancements for coin-operated video games such as Ataris Missile Command and also brought us PacMan.

This aluminium storage box is a prime candidate for a living-room media network, especially if you need 1TB of storage space.

For Sony, the advent of MP3 must have been a particular irritation. After all, well before MP3 achieved any popularity Sony had released its own perceptual encoding/compression system for digital audio: ATRAC.

The arrival of dual-n band networking with 5GHz promises an end to crowded home wireless networks. Speed, range and technology is great, but the price is steep