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1547
September 10th, 2004 03:00
best practice for wireless networks
Hi! Now that I've set-up my D505 to connect with my first ADSL modem through a wireless router (Buffalo WBR-G54), I just realized that for as long as my router and modem is on, I'd be forever connected to the Internet. Is this correct?
If so, what would be the best practice for home networks such as mine? Do I leave the modem and router powered ON 24x7x365? If so, won't this open my network to probes (even if the grc website found only 1 port that responded to their challenges)? Or do I have to shut-down my modem, router and PC every time I leave the house for work?
I read that cycling your PC on-and-off everyday would actually reduce its life because of the cycle stress. I know this idea is controversial, but for this purpose, if I leave my PC on the whole day (thus connected to my router), would I expose my PC to hackers even if IE is not open?
Finally, using Windows XP SP2, I have an administrator account and a limited account which I use for surfing. When I startup my PC, I can only connect wirelessly if I use the administrator account. Then, I open my limited account to surf. If I switch accounts and close the administrator account, I lose connection when I go back to the limited account. So, I'm forced to keep the administrator account open. Is this a good practice?
Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Geordie_the_par
27 Posts
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September 10th, 2004 07:00
sqm
8 Posts
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September 10th, 2004 07:00
Hi Geordie,
Yep, I can switch off the modem and wireless router. But when I want to get connected again, I have to switch on the modem first, wait about 2 minutes to let it finish its diagnostics, then turn on the wireless router and wait another 2-3 minutes till it gets settled down. Then, I'll have to reboot my laptop to enable the wireless connection. Not a real problem if I have all the time and patience...
But I'd like to know the "recommended best practice" of maintaining a home network, taking everything into consideration (security, ease of use, practicality, etc.).
Angel
Geordie_the_par
27 Posts
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September 10th, 2004 13:00
Does it still need to go thro9ugh all that if you unplug the telephone cable from the modem rather than the power supply?
I'm just setting up my first network gizmo now so I'm not really sure how routers and stuff work. I'm just going from the way my desktop PC works.
JersWork
770 Posts
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September 13th, 2004 03:00
OK, here is what I do, and have done for about 1.5 years now. The only PC I regularly turn-off s my notebook which goes to work with me, and comes home every evening. If I am going to be out of town for more than a week, I may turn--off a couple of the servers upstairs, but other than that, the sysem sare all on 24x7, and most of them are on battery backup systems too.
I leave my "DSL Modem" on 24x7. It connects directly to my wireless router (Linksys WRT54G) which also stays on 24x7. On my wireless router, I have WEP enabled, broadcast SSID disabled, and MAC filtering enabled, so no one can connect to my wireless network without my permission and configuration for them. Since I have done this, I have not had any viruses get into my home network, nor have I had any worms or such. a GRC port scan reveals one open port, and that is because I have remote administration for my router enabled. Sine my wireless does not broadcast its SSID, it is harder for anyone else to hack into it, and if they manage to find the SSID, they still need to get by the MAC address filtering, and the 128 bit WEP filtering...
I have lived through Nimda, Blaster, Welchia, etc all with no impact on my home network. Even more, I can easily access my home network while at the neighbor's house working on their computer for them too.
sqm
8 Posts
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September 13th, 2004 12:00
Looks like your fort is really secured and tested. My wireless router is set-up in the Japanese language, which I'm practically illiterate. So I can only depend on the Buffalo AOSS feature which, they say, is sufficient protection for my system.
In another message thread, I was asking if there was a way to challenge the integrity of my wireless network without using another PC. I mean, what would be the simplest way for me to be sure my neighbor isn't piggy-backing on my network?
I never thought of Georgie's suggestion of pulling the phone plug from the modem. If I want to reconnect to my ISP, I suppose I'd have to turn off then turn on the modem & router again? Maybe I can try it over the weekend.
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions!
sqm
8 Posts
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October 7th, 2004 11:00
Hi! I just read an article about leaving your PC on at night. I don't think this may apply to you since you're behind a router. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1666911,00.asp