Jim Meagher wrote:
>
> Yes Sean, you are open to being hacked, BUT... and that's a big but....
> if you are using a dial up account, then the chances of it happening are
> incredibly small.
> The two main reasons that is almost impossible are:
> 1. The hacker would need to know when you are on line. AND
> 2. The hacker would need to know the full IP address you are using and this
> changes each time you dial in.

Cable modems almost always use static IP addresses and are always
connected. Though I haven't tried to figure out how to do it, I've heard
it is *very* easy to see other users machines which share the connection
in your area. I would strongly suggest a proxy or firewall. And, I'm
surprised that cable companies don't inform their users of this. Seems
to me there could be a liability issue there. Check out the FAQ at
http://www.cablemodeminfo.com/ for more info. For advanced security
info, check out http://www.inetdevgrp.org/19980721/ppframe.htm. I have
not used either product, but I've heard good things about WinRoute
(http://www.tinysoftware.com/) and WinGate (http://www.wingate.com/).
--
Kelly Younger

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