A Quick Note on ADSL / Broadband and 'Always On' Internet connections

With ADSL, Broadband (or another 'always-on' connection through Cable, ISDN or leased line) you machine could be open to attack from anyone with bad intentions anywhere in the World who is on the Internet. These 'hackers' could conceivably gain access to your computer and all of your data.

Whilst security protection within the business level Operating Systems (Microsoft Windows NT4, Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional) can provide protection against access to files unless user login information is known by the hacker (and, of course, assuming that the files are protected by this security!) the majority of home or small business installations are running the 'simpler' operating systems such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows XP Home.

To protect your systems against hackers you need what is known as a Firewall. This will allow unwanted access from the Internet to be blocked (if configured correctly).

Windows XP does come with a 'stateful firewall' but this must be enabled before it can provide any protection. One drawback is that this is a program which runs on your computer delaying data and using your processor power - maybe not a significant issue if you have a fast processor but it is still an overhead.
The other 'simpler' operating systems have no specific protection built in.

So, if you are using an 'always on' connection with one of the 'simpler' operating systems, you really must not just connect your machine using a 'Broadband Modem' because you are leaving yourself wide open to hacking. These 'Broadband Modems' are often offered free as part of the sign-up to a Broadband service but they should be seen for what they are - a cheap connection device.

The solution to this problem is to replace your 'Broadband' modem with a Router with built in Firewall.