Network question

[Paul Maddox Mail LIsts]

Peter,

> But wait a moment, I've got all machines connected to the *router*. With
> the switch, you could run into trouble with allocating network ports. A
> switch just switches, whereas a router has that little bit extra that
> makes it work hassle-free.

Errrr, no.

If all the machines are on the same subnet, a router will act like a switch,
you'll have just bought an expensive switch.

If, however, your machines are on different subnets, the router will 'route'
the appropriate packets to the appropriate interface.

So, 99.999% of ADSL modems also include a router, this allows you to connect
your own home subnet (eg, 192.168.100.0) to the ISP subnet (usually
something like 97.23.100.101).
 
Rule 1) Do NOT rely on windows firewall, it's pants. Windows is accredited
to EAL4+, but what they don't tell you is that their test scenario is when
the machine isn't connected to a network!

Rule 2) Put the firewall between you and the rest of the world, again 99% of
ADSL modems have a firewall in them. If it doesn't get one, ASAP.

Rule 3) Bolt down your Wifi as far as possible, use WEP (3DES if you have
it) and Mac address locking.

Paul