Question for the Pros....

I have a home network (2 computers) hooked into a Linksys Router. I got the router because after a horrid experience with a Trojan, my cable company said they were unable to help and suggested I get one. I understand about NAT and the fact it's a hardware firewall, but tell me, just how secure IS all this? I'm certain it's possible to penetrate my firewall, but what level of expertise would it take? I'm running Norton and Tauscan. Is there anything else I can do? I have a static IP on the Linksys, and would like to serve my website from one of the machines. Is there any way to do it safely?

Can I isolate the website on a small hard drive by itself or does ANY access make it easier to gain access to the entire network?

The reason I ask is that my husband had a wage claim a few weeks ago. The company was refusing to pay earned wages and there were letters and email back and forth. Somehow, 6 files APPEARED ON THE DESKTOP of one of the computers. They were relevent to the wage claim and appeared to have come from someone inside the company who wanted us to have the files anonymously. Neither I nor hubby ever saw them before.

I don't feel very safe.

[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-18-2001).]

Hard firewall as opposed to software? on cable? you should be fine. You could download free "zonealarm" (zonelabs.com) free but I'd stick with the hardwall approach and ZA could just show who's hitting the wall. (mostly junk but if your interested worth a looker.)

As for insurance claims desktop? sounds like Word or simalar microsoft *.doc file extention. I would not open or move these files at all. keep the extentions intact. just don't mess with them unless you know how to find the transmitted files.. but you need computer savvy witness to document the dates & times , too. A legal witness like you're lawyer etc.. but the files cannot be moved or opened without.

Jeff



[This message has been edited by MACH2 (edited 09-18-2001).]

I have a home network of 4 computers. I don't have a static IP, mine is dynamic but the ZoneAlarm is excellent software and it is free. Make sure you have your network set up for internal and external IP addresses. Within Zonealarm make sure you set it up to allow the local IP addresses to access your file and print sharing. If the system set up properly, it is very secure. Zonealarm will tell you if someone is trying access your computer. That and the hardware firewall should be very secure.