Modems

1) Connecting a computer to the Internet

To connect a computer to the Internet a box called a Modem is required, which converts computer data so that it can be passed down a telephone line to the ISP (Internet Service Provider), who then links it into the World Wide Web. A basic modem works on a Standard Telephone Line and facilitates a connection to the internet at a fairly slow speed up to 56Kbits/Second. To connect faster the telephony companies introduced ISDN which connects at 64Kbits to 128Kbits/second. In the UK today many people are now moving to Broadband (ADSL) which brings connection speeds of up to 8Mbits/second, which is over 140 times faster than a basic Modem.

With this extra speed comes extra risk, in the form of the free ADSL Modem many ISP's offer with new Broadband connection. These modems connect the computer to the Internet but also the Internet to the computer. The computer is no loner private, but it is now available to anyone who wants to access it, from anywhere in the world. This has always true with a modem connection but before Broadband, the speeds were slower and the PC was only connected to the Internet when needed. With Broadband everything is much faster and many broadband connections keep a PC on the Internet 24x7.

Connect a PC onto the Internet with a Broadband Modem and no Firewall and typically it will be taken over by a Hacker within 15 mins.

To prevent people accessing a computer from the Internet a Firewall is needed, this is a box or piece of software which allows your computer to send information outbound onto the Internet but will only allow inbound traffic that has been requested, thereby preventing people accessing a computer remotely.

Windows XP SP2 brings a Firewall, but this firewall has had bugs so it is important to update the computer with Microsoft Update Service to ensure reliability.