Linksys Network Magic helps consumers make like networking pros

Barely three months after its acquisition of home networking vendor Pure Networks, Cisco's Linksys division has rolled out its first Pure Networks products. Network Magic 5.0 is aimed at enabling the average Joe to setup, manage and secure home networks like an IT pro, according to the pitch. The software comes in three flavors: Essentials for basic functionality, such as connecting two or three PCs to share a network connection, files or a printer; Pro, which enables uses to manage and secure networks; and Mac for wirelessly connecting a Mac and PC to share a printer or files between the computers.

The 5.0 upgrade includes improvements to the Network Health and Security Alerts capabilities, according to Linksys, as well as support for WPA and WPA2. There are also new tools to help parents monitor their kids' Web online activities.

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