DSL security

Hi all !
        I'm finally breakin' down and replacing the old 56k with high speed DSL.
   Something I never thought of though...If my PC is always "online" so to speak, how do I disable the "open connection",  without turning off my PC. I have SPFW of course ! Do I log off ? Check "block all" on my FW ?  Other ?

               thanks in advance !!  
                    bill

 

First off, you really ought to get a hardware firewall.

Second, you can tell your software firewall to block all traffic, turn you machine off, or neither (my choice).

 

 Thanks Unicron !
                           I was thinking of a hardware firewall, but wasn't sure if it was really neccessary, having a  software FW.
 So your choice would be "NOT TO" turn off the PC or block all traffic via the FW , when my PC is not in use ??
 Just want to make sure I'm clear on this !
What do you recommend for a Hard FW ??

                           thanks,
                                      bill    

 

When I was in the market for a HW firewall I did alot of research. a place called http://www.epinions.com/ helped a good deal. See what other said about products.

I read many good things about lynksys from buyers who just bought it, but some disgruntled ones from people who had it for a while. Seems that it works great at first then screws up. A friend has a netgear one and he likes it. I have the 3com 3c510 and love it (I bought two) but they discontinued it with no explanation.

Things to consider:

Support: Normally not a huge factor for me since I rarely need it, but I hear the support for lynksys/Dlink and Netgear is LEGENDARILY HORRIBLE. I did call 3com once and I was surprized that it was pretty good.

firmware upgrades: These things use firmwear, do the manufacturers release updates? Once every six months to a year is fine. 3com released 3 ner vers, that is enough to get the thing working smooth. I hear people had hacked the lynksys one to do more than it does from factory. I would be leary of "third party" firmware.

Configurability: My router/FW has ways to restrict sme ports both ways. eg: For certain computers I can choose to allow only email/web/ftp ect. This would make a call home on an obscure port difficult.

Compatibility: No FW is going to give maximum protection, but also work smooth with all the insecure communication progs out there. Netmeeting is a problem, you can chat easily enough, but getting video to work is a nightmare. Netmeeting wants to open a gazillion ports and the fire wall hates it. My router suppoets triggers, so that when data is sent out of one port, you can choose to have other ports open for a breif time. It takes abit to wrap your brain around, but there are preset ones. File transfer with ICQ or MSNmessenger doesn't work well all the time but that is probably a good thing. FTP or any REAL server service has no problems.

Lots of stuff to consider; you don't have to make a career out of this, but don't just buy the first one you see.

 

Gotcha...
             I will definitely be checking out the 3 COM boxes. In the meantime, I'll rely on SPFW.

                  TY,
                      bill