On 8 Oct 2005 at 13:00, Bob Lendrim wrote:

> I normally use a cable connection with a router/hardware firewall,
> software firewall, Avast, AdAware, and Spybot. I feel very secure with
> that configuration. But......When I travel, I use my laptop with a
> plain old telephone connection. I have the same protective software,
> but no router/hardware firewall. My software firewall detects constant
> incoming attempts which, I suppose, could be dangerous. Is there a
> reasonably inexpensive and practical product which would act as a
> hardware firewall when using a telephone modem, internal or external?
> I don't need to connect multiple computers, just looking for security.
> Thanks for any and all suggestions. Bob Lendrim

  Routers with POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) uplink ports have been
manufactured, but they're rare and unlikely to become common.
  The "obvious" solution is to run firewall software on a small Linux box
with a modem and an Ethernet port.  (Many hardware routers/firewalls are, in
fact, pre-packaged small Linux machines....)  The tricky part is to find a
suitably-equipped small box -- other than carrying a second laptop.

  Odds are good that your software firewall is adequate for this job.
Software firewalls are potentially vulnerable to things that are running on
your PC, already inside that perimeter -- the kind of thing that your
various antivirus and anti-spyware solutions may manage to detect and
eliminate.

David Gillett

        The NOSPIN Group has added a new feature on our website,
           web based bulletinboard for questions and answers:
              Visit our sister website at http://nospin.com