Others say...

"What version is Amazon Selling now? "
V3 is good, and V1 is Bad. Hopefully by now they are only selling V3 and have not updated the product description...

"Good for its designed use."
I have been using and selling FVS318's for several years now and they have been uniformaly superb. Only later did I learn that these boxes have a few limitations.
They are supremely easy to set up, plenty of internet-searchable support, and easy to VPN. The price is fantastic and they are rock-solid.
However, they are very limited by their throughput and bandwidth. The older v1's and v2's are even more limited. If you need these things, get an FVS338. You get what you pay for.
As a simple home router, they are great. Performance and speed will cost you more. Do your research and then make a smart choice, these things are NOT for everyone.

"Moderate functinality but good value - Intellimatic Inc"
A little background, my experience level it over 20 year in software development, LAN's and WAN's. I do software development for a living. With that said, I purchased this router as a secondary appliance for a central VPN location. This VPN connection is IPsec not PPTP as you are normally used to with Microsoft's VPN RAS connection. If you use the VPN WAN miniport drivers provided by MS with XP you will find it will not work to connect to the device due to the lack of protocals that come with MS. This was later confirmed by tech support. Also if you try to set up an IPsec connection using the Security Policy Editor in MS XP you will find it very difficult and confusing. Some material exist on the web and you will not get help from Netgear unless you buy it. They dont guarantee that they will get it going either. If your time is valuable I suggest the following. A little secret thats normally not told to you, purchase the VPN ProSafe software directly from netgear. Pay the full price and they will give you unlimited support until you get it going. I'm sure with enough trial and error you may be able to get it going yourself but you will soon realize that your time was not worth the extra 25 dollars. Once working you can replicate it to other machines if necessary be aware that the software is a single user license. The software was created by safenet-inc.com an OEM to netgear, less expensive at netgear but behind a version so if you have Vista this may be a problem. You can actually use any VPN IPsec client software that has all of the functionallity. Also remember to turn on virtual adapter if you need to see the other persons IP Address. This is normally needed for support to other who access the router. The sofware has some bugs with it and incompadibilities. If you use McFee antivirus beware you may get a blue screen after install. Other IPsec clients may also cause the same problem. Do some research before installing and make sure your machine is backed up. I use ZoneAlarm and didnt have this problem.

The firewall is functional but fair in functionallity. Linksys provides more functionallity. Router seems fast and has enough abilities that are menu driven to get you going. Remember that this is a consumer product and not commercial grade. Overall for the price it provides alot of value for those who have the patience to work with getting the VPN working. The more you call the more they accelerate you in tech support.

If you are looking for a router for the purpose of VPN you may want to consider other routers that support MS CHAP, MS VPN PPTP RAS client. It will make your life easier and you dont have to buy additional software. If you dont mind the time and VPN is not your major concern the router is very easy to setup with a build in wizard.

"A great full featured firewall/router with no hassels"
I bought this router when, after switching modem's to a Motorola SurfBoard, my old SMC Barricade router/firewall would not communicate with it. SMC was worse than useless when I sought service help since the router was out of warranty (note to self -- avoid SMC products in the future). Anyway, I bought this Netgear router as it was the only one with 8 ports and firewall at a reasonable price. Oddly this market segment seems to have whitered as 3 years ago when I last shopped, I recall more options.

Anyway, the Netgear has worked very well. I just connected it to everything and turned it on and it ran. I needed 8 ports because my house is hard-wired with CAT5 cable in each room and I like to use a wired connection when possible for security and speed. We are generally using at most 3 ports at once, so perhaps this is not the most testing application, but it has worked well for me. I'm not sure I'm getting all the benefits of the firewall, as some seem intended for more advanced users, but its has not failed in the 3 weeks its been working for me. My speed at each link was tested at 1.5M/Sec which perhaps is somewhat below what my modem direct would support, but that far exceeds the speed of most down-loads anyway. I've experienced none of the technical problems that some have reported, so perhaps the most up-to-date version has these fixed. I would highly recommend this router/firewall for anyone for a home with many ports or a small business.

"Great Product"
Installed & worked just as stated in only a few minutes..... Just follow the start-up directions and all was well....