We have a broadband internet connection though Telewest. This means that we have a cable (like cable TV) that comes into our house and
plugs into the unit on the right. Then we plug a network cable into that and then into the PC. We can then surf the internet and collect
our e-mail etc all the time. From the moment the PC is switched on, to the moment we turn it off, we are connected. No dial-up, no waiting
it's just on.
That's not all it does either, a modem (the thingy that lets you dial up to the internet) connects at about 56KB/s (that's how fast the
connection is), a cable modem connects at 512KB/s. That's a lot faster! If you want to pay more you can connct at a whopping 1024KB/s (1MB/s).
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In other countries, like Sweden and Japan, much faster connections are available for a fraction of the price.
For example, for around £30/month you can have 10Mb/s! that's 20 times as quick as we have for the same money.
Read an article on www.theinquirer.net here.
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Security
A major concern of having broadband is the increased security risks that are brought along with it.
Having your computer permanantly connected to the Internet presents a whole new set of issues than would have occured during dial-up
Internet access.
When your PC is connected to the Internet it is assigned an IP address. This IP address is used to give your PC a unique
identity on the WWW. As connecting to the Internet is now effectively "free" (as you've paid your monthly fee) you tend to stay
online longer. In doing so you provide extra opportunities to the nasties that the web has to offer. It is possible to "ping"
random IP addresses and perform port-scanning to try and get access to remote machines. Faster access and longer time-frames
give would be hackers more chance of getting into your machine and taking over it to less than desirable ends.
There a few things you can do to help secure your PC against these sorts of attack.
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Firewall
A firewall, beleive it or not is pretty much as it sounds. It stops unwanted traffic (hackers etc) from getting
past it and into your machine. There are more than one type of Firewall and the best, like everything in life,
are the most costly.
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Virus protection
Absolutely essential! There are no end of untold nasties waiting to wipe out your data, steal you banking records
and generally wreak havoc. Installing a Virus protection program is a must in today's modern computer environment.
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Spyware
Probably the least well known about tool of the underhanded is spyware. This can take many forms and can be part of a
virus. It can also be part of shareware or other programs which have a more noble purpose. It is generally installed
without the users knowledge and can do a few different things.
It can be as mundane as popping up search sites everytime you use Google
or it can log every key you press, known as key-logging (surpisingly) and look out for your credit card details, which it then
duly e-mails to the author of the malicious program so he/she (equal opportunities for hackers too you know) can do a bit of shopping
on you.
I've listed a few tools that may help you close a few avenues of attack on you PC on the links page of our site.
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