Niki if your main worry is being hacked into then go for a belkin high speed router.
Both D link and Netgear have far too much wireless range, The futher the radio transmits the more hacks you will be open to as more people will be able to detect and break into your network.
I would also suggest keeping your router downstairs if at all possible because radiowaves travel better when you are higher up.
To be honest wether you have a netgear, d link ,belkin or what ever then regarding protection they all have the approx the same option to use wep, wpa encyption and most of them you can use mac address filtering.
It comes down to radio basics at the end of the day, keep your router as low as possible, low power. The futher your signal gets out of your premises then the risk of hacking will Increase.
If you have a large property and you want more coverage then install more low powered routers to give you your coverage and internet speed and it at all possible then hardwire your computers into your router using cat 5 cables as your internet will be faster and you will have no hack attempts.
Some routers have adjustable power settings which might be a good idea to look for when buying one
Trust me I have a class A amateur radio license for which I had to sit a city n guilds in electronics and communication so I know what Im talking about within very good reason.
Most people don`t realise how vulnerable there networks are and most probably would not care or don`t give a flying monkey but the truth is that the fbi as a test at an exibition hacked into loads of computers on a network to show the public how easy it was and it only took about 10 minutes to break into networks using wep and wpa and the software is easily available on the internet and is free.
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