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> I am a little concerned as far as security, as when my computer is
> on I am also on the network and visible to @Home employees.
It's much worse than that. When your computer is on, you're on the
Internet, and you are visible to EVERY DEMENTED HACKER IN THE WORLD.
*ANY* cyber-psychopath ANYwhere, if he looks hard enough, can find
your computer's address and start attacking it.
Cable modem and DSL connections are worse than modems, because you
are a "stationary target." You're on all the time, and you're always
at the same address. But even someone who logs in via modem is
vulnerable to attack. You're especially vulnerable if you ever hang
out in IRC channels -- I've seen "sitting in IRC" described as being
"like walking down a dark alley with $20 bills pinned to your shirt."
Look into the firewalls recommended by other posters. Conseal (the
"pcfirewall" product at http://www.signal9.com that Ed mentioned) and
AtGuard (http://www.atguard.com) have good reputations. The Conseal
site has an excellent overview of the different kinds of attacks.
Unfortunately Conseal for NT costs 3x as much as Conseal for W9x.
:-(
Chances are, you could probably go for a long time without any
problems. But it only takes one social misfit to ruin your day.
Gary
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