Secure Home Networking

[Luke]

I have recently caught up with the 21st century and
updated quite a bit of the computing equipment in my home
network.

However, this new fandangled stuff has just been plonked
in wherever it fits without any consideration given to a
secure networked environment or proper network design.

Therefore, i am in the process of rebuilding and
reconfiguring my entire home network in an attempt to
make it bulletproof and reliable.

I would really appreciate any
advice/suggestions/recommendations/links for information
on the architecture of a good, reliable and secure home
network configuration.

The bits i have to play with include
* my ADSL modem
* a wireless 802.11g router
* two desktops (one high spec'ed - wireless NIC & wired
NIC, one low spec'ed two wired NICs)
* two notebooks used as our client PCs
* USB printer

Any suggestions or comments appreciated.

I will award the winning design a one year subscription
to Readers Digest

 

[JR]

Here are some tips:
- ADSL modem: change the remote login password from the
manufacturer default.
- Wireless router: Change the remote login password from
the manufacturer default. Enable the firewall. Enable
WEP/WPA. Enable MAC address filtering. Change the Channel
from the default.
- PC's: Run an up-to-date virusscan on all machines, run
firewall on all machines (zonealarm basic is good one
from Zonelabs)
Hope it helps....
More info available on
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/