On Thursday 27 February 2003 06:37, Maureen L. Thomas wrote:
> I was called by Verizon and offered DSL for 29.99 a month. Free
> modem and cable. All I have to do is supply the ethernet card.
> How easy is it to hook up for someone like myself who is still a
> relative newbie
In the early years of cable it was grossly oversold. They simply did
not know what they were doing. These days they know DSL is theirs
to take and so seldom oversell cable.
For $40 you have a minimum of 768K down and 384 up.
Compare that with 384k down on DSL for the same price.
Today I know of no one who does not have a good connection. Plus
many end up with about 2Mb down connections.
When I got my cable they supplied the network card (3Com no less)
but that may have changed.
> How hard is it to secure - I use Bastille for a firewall but
> don't have any of the other stuff I read about on the SLUG list.
> Can I turn my machine off on the two days that I work, and if I
> can will I have to reset anything to get it to work. I'm using
> Mandrake 9.0 on an AMD 850 Duron.
Securing is another issue. It's not just a matter of installing a
firewall as many amateurs think. However it is the first step in
securing your LAN. (I think I saw someone explaining how to do that
on this thread.) It should be a dedicated box, not just your own
computer as any failing app you use could become the entrance to
your network. But by using a dedicated machine you can keep the
number of potential holes down. Then each machine needs to be
reviewed. Applications you use play a huge role. F.ex. using chat
and things like ICQ etc, leaves you very vulnerable as they are
easy to hack, and then install malicious code on your machine.
It's not a friendly world online.
Offer no services to the outside, be very aware of what is going on
as few software developers have a clue about security.
Also realize that you can never FULLY secure ANY computer network.
But you can make it too hard to be worth it and if you pay very
close attention to your logs you can potentially catch most or even
all attempts.
Now, that's a pretty good scare!
It is entirely possible that you will never ever be attacked. You
have to weight in the pro's and con's of how much effort you put
into security.
Hackers f.ex prefer to leave their tools on other peoples computers,
so as to leave evidence elsewhere. Once they have hacked someone
they often don't do anything to that machine so they can have their
tools safely there. Plus when they attack someone they always use
several other peoples identities, as in a chain of identities, to
do their dirty work. Your computer could be the one used to break
in someplace. Or the one the FEDS decide is involved for whatever
reason.
So it's not a matter of not having anything valuable on your
computer. You always have something valuable. Someone elses
identity.
I'm telling you so that you can at least make somewhat educated
decision of what you are up against.
The majority of people get's away with very poor security for long
time. Unfortunately you having a permanent connection is really
valuable to a hacker as he can then always get to your box.
Ultimately, you are effect to the degree you don't know. Install a
firewall, don't offer any services to the outside, read up on the
subject. Use and understand ZoneAlarm (on Windows machines) it's
free too.
Install something called Tripwire which will alert you if any of
your program and configuration files are changed. There are
software that will help you monitor the log files and alert you to
those entries that look bad (LOGDIGEST) thus saving you time when
it comes to monitoring log files.
Finally always minimally backup any documents and files that you
create.
The good part is that is you are here you are using windows less.
Which unfortunately cannot be secured, even the Dept of Defense
have realized it. Microsofts approach to security is through the
use of Public Relations, not programming. They prefer not to let
anyone know about any bug. Under OpenSource (like Linux) you at
least get the truth.
Now don't let my tirade stop you from using computers or the
Internet, it can be done quite safely and by being prepared
(backups and improved education) you can recover nicely if need be.
> Is Verizon DSL any good. I had there dial up until they had so
> many people on one line that it became unusable. Any if all the
> answers are good what ethernet card would you recommend ?
>
> TIA for you wisdom, Maureen
Verizon does not do their DSL, it's outsorced to a company in Texas,
that is highly incompetent. Actually according to my inside
contacts, they have been trying to get out of using them for some
time now. It apparently is only doable at the end of the year as
that is when the contract is renewed.
I use Time Warner and love them. At the office I have 5Mb bursts and
it is my main connection there for about 40 people. I use a DSL
line as a backup.
The best manufacturer is 3Com bar none in my professional opinion.
Lifetime warranty and really good performance when the going gets
tough. They have ruled for decades by making really good cards and
great service.
--Steve ___________________________________________________________ HTML in e-mail is not safe. It let's spammers know to spam you more, and sets you up for online attack through IE 4.x and above. Using HTML in e-mail only promotes it as safe to the uninitiated.
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