Precautions w/cable modem connection?

[Dan Mitchell]

After considering the short falls of my current dialup ISP, and especially after seeing that my cable company (wide open west) offers a 112k cable modem connection for $2/month LESS than I'm paying for my present usually 45.3k dialup connection, I have decided to go with cable (actually, I'm going for the 500k connection for 8 bucks more/month than I was paying for dialup. A no-brainer if ever there was one). But I'm wondering what precautions I need to take in terms of firewalls etc with the always on cable set up. I know I should have had a firewall all along, even with the dialup, but I've never used one. Where can I get good info about the precautions/software/setup/etc required to be safe with the new connection?

Thanks,

Dan

[Anubis]

Some good info can be found at http://www.grc.com

As far as a firewall I use Zone Alarm, the free version and haven't had any problems with it. Well I did have problems but that was becuase Charter felt this deep inner need to ping me to really determine if I had a problem. You can check it out at : http://www.zonealarm.com

[evalroy]

Dan,

I got my cable connection about a year ago and despite a few glitches have been very pleased. Being without it is akin to losing the remote control for the TV - I become powerless :D.

I would suggest getting a personal firewall program like Zone Alarm (www.zonelabs.com). They offer a free version that is very good. If you plan to network your connection, get a Cable/DSL router. It will function as a firewall too and let you share the high-speed access with other family members. I have a DLink 804 and have seen this and similar models going for $30-50.

For peace of mind, you can check out your integrity of your system's security at Steve Gibson's web site (www.grc.com). He has a nice program called Shields Up! that will probe your system for security holes and make recommendations to correct the problems.

Outside of that, I would advise the standard precautions such as a good anti-virus program and making sure that your browser is kept up-to-date.
Otherwise, sit back and enjoy your newfound "need for speed".

ER :cool:

[Mark Miller]

One of the best places to check out your new cable company is dslreport.com. Besides being able to test if your getting what you paid for, you will also be able to see what other people are saying about their service. I also agree that zone alarm is a good free firewall.
Mark

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. I found a copy of Norton Internet Security 2002 a friend send me awhile back (sends me so much software I often forget what I have!). I have installed the program, which includes a firewall. Seems to work fine, they have a link you can go to to (supposedly) check the effectiveness of the protection. Naturally it says all is A-OK, but since it's the Symantecs site, one might be just a TAD skeptical ;) Anyone have any comments on the relative merits of this particular protection package?

Only 50 more hours 'til 500K!!!!!!!!! (I have a life. REALLY, I DO!) ;)

Dan

[spitzaf]

you should check out www.speedguide.net (http://www.speedguide.net) and click on patches. if you install the web tweak and generic patch, you should notice an enjoyable little increase in speed out of your cable. when i had an uncapped (YES - no limit on bandwidth) connection, i installed those patches and my downloads went at least twice as fast.