[Ham-Computers] Why is DSL/Wideband more "hackable"?

[Jim Myers]

Hello,

1.) As long as you have a good firewall, which you do with Zone Alarm, 
you are no more vulnerable than you were with dial-up.  In fact, if Zone 
Alarm is configured correctly you computer would be invisible to the 
outside world anyway.  You can go to http://www.grc.com and test your 
computer with the Shields-Up! test and see if any of your ports are 
vulnerable.  I would bet than unless you have specifically told Zone 
Alarm to open a port, the test will show that your computer is invisible 
to the outside world.

2.) Your computer would be available for port scanning all the time with 
an always-on DSL connection.  More port scans does not mean that you are 
more vulnerable.  With Zone Alarm blocking your ports, all the port 
scans in the world are not going to find your system.

3.) As long as you take the proper precautions, there is no "natural 
weakness" of a wideband system.

As for the necessity of a router with a built-in firewall is concerned, 
as long as you run Zone Alarm 24 hours a day, you have all the firewall 
protection that you could possibly need.  About the only advantage that 
Zone Alarm could offer in addition to a hardware router with a firewall 
is the interception of outbound traffic, such as a trojan or spyware 
trying to connect to the internet from your computer.  As long as you 
keep your anti-virus software up to date, and run a good anti-spyware 
program such as Spybot Search and Destroy, you should not have any 
reason to buy a router with a firewall in it.

Jim, kd7eir

Philip Atchley wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just a quick question here, perhaps the answer is obvious, but not to me.
>
> Why are the wideband services "easier" to penetrate than a simple 
> dial-up?  The reason I ask is,  using the dial-up my virus scanner 
> (AVAST) was was blocking constant "Port 135 DCOM Exploit attacks" 
> until I "plugged the hole" (I was running the XP firewall).  Also Zone 
> Alarm indicates pretty much of a steady stream of "probes", which of 
> course it blocks.  All this over a Dial-up.
>
> Now, the 20th I'm installing DSL.  I've been told I should definitely 
> have a hardware router, which I don't have (I thought my 5 port hub 
> was one, but it isn't).
> Questions:
> 1.  WHY would my system be more vulnerable with DSL than it already 
> was/is with dial-up?
> 2.  Is it simply because the higher speed allows more attacks or 
> probes to my machine in a certain period of time, or is it more to do 
> with the "always on" feature of the wideband that allows more "time" 
> for exposure?
> 3.  Or is it just a natural weakness of the Wideband system itself?
>
> Inquiring minds want to know 8^)
>
> 73 de Phil  KO6BB
>  
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