2008 Woodie Awards
Shielding Your Home Network from Online Hackers
Jim Lane NIATEC Awareness Column
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Life
In the old days (a few years ago), almost everyone was using dial-up connections for Internet access. Do you remember sitting there listening to the squelching sounds of your modem while it was connecting? You got on, then you signed off as soon as possible because you didn't want to tie up your phone line for too long. Now, we are using "broadband" services that provide fast, "always-on" connections (no more waiting). This speed and reliability yields productivity as we accomplish so much more online than in the days of dial-up.
However, with this "always-on" service also comes a horde of new security problems. With your computer constantly connected to the Internet, it is bombarded by hackers using automated tools that sniff out insecure systems. You might think that you don't have anything on your system that anyone else would want; however, hackers don't care about this. They will break into your computer just because it's there and because they want to take it over for their own purposes, such as turning it into another "zombie" that they can control from afar. They will use your computer to break into other systems, send spam e-mail, or launch denial of service attacks. If you hook up your computer to a cable modem, DSL modem, etc. and leave it unprotected, your computer will be hacked within hours.
The only way to help keep your system safe these days is to take a few simple steps to protect it against these online attackers. What's really nice is that you can do almost everything for free. Here are a few suggestions:
Use a firewall: Use either a personal software firewall or a hardware firewall (i.e. a home router with firewall features), or, better yet, both! This will help hide your system from hackers and make it much harder for them to get in from the outside.
Keep everything patched: Sign up for automatic updates and regularly check to see if your operating system and applications have been patched up to the latest version. Unpatched software is one of the best invitations you can give to a hacker.
However, with this "always-on" service also comes a horde of new security problems. With your computer constantly connected to the Internet, it is bombarded by hackers using automated tools that sniff out insecure systems. You might think that you don't have anything on your system that anyone else would want; however, hackers don't care about this. They will break into your computer just because it's there and because they want to take it over for their own purposes, such as turning it into another "zombie" that they can control from afar. They will use your computer to break into other systems, send spam e-mail, or launch denial of service attacks. If you hook up your computer to a cable modem, DSL modem, etc. and leave it unprotected, your computer will be hacked within hours.
The only way to help keep your system safe these days is to take a few simple steps to protect it against these online attackers. What's really nice is that you can do almost everything for free. Here are a few suggestions:
Use a firewall: Use either a personal software firewall or a hardware firewall (i.e. a home router with firewall features), or, better yet, both! This will help hide your system from hackers and make it much harder for them to get in from the outside.
Keep everything patched: Sign up for automatic updates and regularly check to see if your operating system and applications have been patched up to the latest version. Unpatched software is one of the best invitations you can give to a hacker.
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