[Derek in NYC]

I had huge problems with two Linksys routers and got rid of both of them. Now I use a D-Link and have fewer problems.

W/r/t the router, I found that enabling the security features seemed to make the connection more stable, in particular MAC address filtering and WEP encryption. Before I enabled security, I would periodically find somebody leeching off my network connection... perhaps this made it less stable?

Other than this possibility, Im not sure why these would make a difference, but they are probably good security hygiene practices in any event. Also, while you're at it, remember to turn off SSID broadcast, change the channel, rename the router, and change the admin password.