Is cable really less secure...

Lobster · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from ArchAngel:

Right, put your sensitive files on a Unix machine and be absolutely guaranteed that there's no security

At least they are trying.

Winston · Mar 2, 2003

I was informed by my broker I trade w/that the bandwith is the issue for not using cable. Info may be lost in transmission and if many of your neighbors are logged on while your trading that's when you lose the bandwith. I use lowest speed DSL and is almost instantaneous. Have had several down times here in Boston though.

canyonman00 · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from Whamo:

Hey canyonman00,

Would a standard Linksys router running NAT and Zone Alarm on the PC be sufficient for Cable Modem connectivity?

Yes, that would achieve some security. But know that you ARE sharing the band with the neighbors. Now, are they sitting there sniffing your data? I seriously doubt it. But it is possible. Don't go overboard with fear here. Everything CAN ultimately be defeated. I use Zone Alarm on My laptops when I am in the field, but I don't rely on it to cover the home setups. I just don't think it robust enough for dedicated coverage. That's not to say it's not, just that I don't use it for that. The Linksys should cover most of the lower and middle level intrusion attempts.

TGregg · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from Winston:

I was informed by my broker I trade w/that the bandwith is the issue for not using cable. Info may be lost in transmission and if many of your neighbors are logged on while your trading that's when you lose the bandwith. I use lowest speed DSL and is almost instantaneous. Have had several down times here in Boston though.

While possible, that's pretty rare (AFAIK). I'm running cable, and I get slightly better than DSL speeds (just about 2 mbs).

Whamo · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from canyonman00:

... Now, are they sitting there sniffing your data? I seriously doubt it. But it is possible. Don't go overboard with fear here...

I'm not trying to propagate fear. A couple of years ago I would have agreed with you on this one. But teenagers today are getting their Cisco Certifications (CCNA, CCDA, CCNP) while they're in High School. My girlfriend has a student that has all three of these certifications and he helps teach the CCNA course at the local community college on the weekends. Getting a copy of SnifferPro software shouldn't be difficult for him. Hell, when I was in High School I was lucky to have access to a PC

nitro · Mar 2, 2003

It doesn't take much to wreak havoc.

My wife got a virus recently - not sure how...I run my own mail server. The virus sole funciton is to SPAM. My domain has now been added to

http://www.ordb.org/

which means that any mail server that checks against this will bounce all the email from my domain.

nitro :mad:

VVVWaveRiderVVV · Mar 2, 2003

Thank you to everyone who responded.

VVVWaveRiderVVV · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from Lobster:
What are your worried about Re security? Terrorists hacking into your computer and disrupting the trading process? Unauthorized people getting access to files on your computer?

I'm not as worried about terrorists as I am about trojans sending sensitive information out, crackers sniffing around, or scriptkiddies with packetsniffers capturing passwords and acct. numbers.

VVVWaveRiderVVV · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from Whamo:
From what I understand, DSL is switched (its own little LAN) from the CO to your house while Cable is part of a shared LAN with other users. With Cable, your neighbor could hook up a Network General Sniffer and see the traffic that's destined for your computer. That's were the security is different between the two.

Yeah, that's one of the things I'm talking about. I've heard that your local neighborhood is basically a little network and one of the neighborhood kids can more easily hack your machine and/or sniff the data since they are internal to the network.

Is this the primary security difference between cable and DSL?

VVVWaveRiderVVV · Mar 2, 2003

Quote from nitro:

5) Install a hardware firewall.
nitro

Thanks for the tips, nitro.

I was originally looking at the Linksys BEFSR11 or the Linksys BEFSX41. The BEFSR11 is a very popular router and "the built-in NAT technology acts as a firewall protecting your internal network." However, the BEFSX41 is only about $10 more expensive and "features an advanced Stateful Packet Inspection firewall" (whatever that is - it just sounds better - does anyone know the effective difference between the two firewall technologies?).

Are the Linksys router/firewalls not enough? Do the one's you mentioned do a better job? I'm a networking newbie, so I'm looking for the right balance - somewhat powerful, yet relatively easy to setup.

Quote from nitro:
"To solve this problem, some ISP's encrypt all cable modem trafiic, while others use a strictly router based conection with no LAN-type connection to nearby users.

Find out what security measures your ISP employes.
nitro

I'll call the cable provider next week and ask what they use.

Quote from nitro:
I strongly recommend the Feb 25 '03 PCMagazine article "Broadband's Back End" on page 61. It is the best description for the layman of all the technology that makes cable and dsl work.

Good article. If anyone else wants to read it: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,844016,00.asp