Help - Home Network Security

[Orville Noah]

To start with, I don't have any technical education about Internet or
Networking.

I heard several suggestions about 'home' networking and connecting PCs to
Internet,
using a 'gateway'. In the early days, when we had only phonelines and
extensions in
our bedrooms, we got used to with a phoneline home network. Speed started
at 24 kilobits, and now it is up to 2-10 megabits on phonelines(?). Then
came RJ-45
connections, and few of us spent some money to re-wire our homes to transfer
files
at 100 megabits, but connections to the Internet remains at about the same
speed
(about 2-10 megabits for home use, although the cable companies swear that
we are
getting 100 megabits transfer rate!). For 'security' purpose, we were
suggested to
use a 'firewall' at the 'gateway' PC, and also for the remaining home PCs.
Besides,
we use a bundle of other 'software' to secure our e-mails. It is nice that
XP has a
built in 'firewall'. Do we need a better 'firewall' for the 'gateway' PC ?
Recently,
here comes the short distance 'Airwaves' networking and spreading the
Internet
connection to neighbors Laptops (free). What a mess...we are re-learning
this phase.

Question - what are the pitfalls for not making our home network 'secure'
and
what should be the most economic way to make our home network 'secure'?

Appreciate all the suggestions and comments.

 

[Chuck]

To start with, I don't have any technical education about Internet or
Networking.

I heard several suggestions about 'home' networking and connecting PCs to
Internet,
using a 'gateway'. In the early days, when we had only phonelines and
extensions in
our bedrooms, we got used to with a phoneline home network. Speed started
at 24 kilobits, and now it is up to 2-10 megabits on phonelines(?). Then
came RJ-45
connections, and few of us spent some money to re-wire our homes to transfer
files
at 100 megabits, but connections to the Internet remains at about the same
speed
(about 2-10 megabits for home use, although the cable companies swear that
we are
getting 100 megabits transfer rate!). For 'security' purpose, we were
suggested to
use a 'firewall' at the 'gateway' PC, and also for the remaining home PCs.
Besides,
we use a bundle of other 'software' to secure our e-mails. It is nice that
XP has a
built in 'firewall'. Do we need a better 'firewall' for the 'gateway' PC ?
Recently,
here comes the short distance 'Airwaves' networking and spreading the
Internet
connection to neighbors Laptops (free). What a mess...we are re-learning
this phase.

Question - what are the pitfalls for not making our home network 'secure'
and
what should be the most economic way to make our home network 'secure'?

Appreciate all the suggestions and comments.

Orville,

The subject of protecting yourself, or your computer, from malicious activity,
is heavily discussed in numerous forums. My advice is that you use a robust,
aka Layered Security, strategy. You need layers of security, because there is
not one single product that will protect you 100% of the time. Here's my
contribution:
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html

 

[Orville Noah]

Orville,

The subject of protecting yourself, or your computer, from malicious
activity,
is heavily discussed in numerous forums. My advice is that you use a
robust,
aka Layered Security, strategy. You need layers of security, because
there is
not one single product that will protect you 100% of the time. Here's my
contribution:
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html

Chuck,

Thank you for your contribution. As I tried to read your posted page,
I was unable to read the following definition, given in the page. Do I need
any special permission, or the web page is being revised at this time?

" NWInternet What is a firewall?."

Orville

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

Thank you for your contribution. As I tried to read your posted page,
I was unable to read the following definition, given in the page. Do I need
any special permission, or the web page is being revised at this time?

" NWInternet What is a firewall?."

Orville

Orville,

It appears that the NWInternet website is down, either temporarily or
permanently I do not know. I will have to research this, and maybe update my
article with another link. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Please continue reading, and feel free to ask more questions.

 

[Orville Noah]

Orville,

It appears that the NWInternet website is down, either temporarily or
permanently I do not know. I will have to research this, and maybe update
my
article with another link. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Please continue reading, and feel free to ask more questions.

I was curious and pursued to check the ICSA Labs 'firewall' certifications.

Surprising, that I did not see couple of prominent company names or their

products, such as ZoneLabs or Sygate. I thought these are the most active

labs for home user 'firewalls'. Although XP or XP Pro has a built in
'firewall',

I was told that these are one way 'firewall' only.

Any comments will be highly appreciated?

 

[Chuck]

I was curious and pursued to check the ICSA Labs 'firewall' certifications.

Surprising, that I did not see couple of prominent company names or their

products, such as ZoneLabs or Sygate. I thought these are the most active

labs for home user 'firewalls'. Although XP or XP Pro has a built in
'firewall',

I was told that these are one way 'firewall' only.

Orville,

If you'll reread the article, you'll notice that the subject of ICSA firewalls,
which are hardware devices, is addressed in Perimeter Protection. Sygate and
ZoneAlarm are personal firewalls, are software based, and are addressed in
Individual Protection.

XP SP2 has Windows Firewall, which is indeed a one-way software based solution.

 

[Orville Noah]

Orville,

If you'll reread the article, you'll notice that the subject of ICSA firewalls,
which are hardware devices, is addressed in Perimeter Protection. Sygate and
ZoneAlarm are personal firewalls, are software based, and are addressed in
Individual Protection.

XP SP2 has Windows Firewall, which is indeed a one-way software based solution.

Got it. Thanks
Orville