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I unbox this thing. It's got a CD and instructions to install it without a CD. But both want to connect me to some .com or .net site. Then tells me it wants about 4 minutes to deal with something as part of the install process (but that's just one of the steps; the overall install process takes several minutes longer).

Why couldn't this be done by simply pointing to the firmware. Does this site now have my passwords for my router?

(Also I notice that my IE web browser now takes 7 seconds to open before using it; Chrome takes about half that. Before this new router installation, both opened immediately. They still do if I unplug the cable from the router and go directly through the modem with it.)

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What make and model of router? What site do the instructions point you to? – Mike Insch Jan 17 at 15:00
Netgear N300 WNR2000. routerlogin.com and routerlogin.net – M M Jan 17 at 15:09
@MM those sites are for most "average" computer users (most of whom couldn't fathom the concept of an IP address, let alone wireless security). You know what you're doing, so throw out those CD's and just set up your router manually. – Breakthrough Jan 17 at 15:29
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closed as not constructive by RedGrittyBrick, Dave M, Daniel Beck, Breakthrough, Kyle Jan 17 at 15:29

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Netgear has added this feature to some of their routers because some users found it difficult to remember their router's address of 192.168.1.1 or whatever it happened to be. Netgear registered routerlogin.com and routerlogin.net and programmed their routers to respond to them. When your computer looks up either of these DNS names, the DNS server inside your router recognizes them and returns its own IP address.

So, when you have one of these Netgear routers and you type "http://www.routerlogin.com" into your web browser, that brings you to your router's firmware. Just as serverfault.com might take you to the server at 64.34.119.12, when you type routerlogin.com it takes you to 192.168.1.1.

If you're not using one of these Netgear routers (or you are using DNS servers other than your router), then routerlogin.com is resolved by DNS servers on the Internet and you are redirected to Netgear's support page.

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Thanks. I hope that's the case. (I'm still curious about the time lengths now of the browser apps to open. What's going on there?) – M M Jan 17 at 15:30
It's checking for firmware updates when you first open it @MM – Kyle Jan 17 at 15:31
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