Home Computer Networking Class

The second of two classes on home computer networks covers:

• Configuring a home router. Anyone sharing a high speed (broadband) connection has a home router. Configuring a router for maximum protection means understanding some basic concepts of computer networking. We will run through the configuration options of a couple home WiFi routers and explain them. 
    
• Firewalls: What firewalls do and why they do it. Hardware vs. Software firewalls. Recommendations on choosing a firewall. Understanding the alerts from a firewall. Testing your firewall. Problems that a firewall can not protect you from. All firewalls deal with ports, which will be explained. There will be live demos of ZoneAlarm alerts and a review of its log file. Nothing drives home the point of how dangerous the Internet is like watching a firewall protect an exposed computer in real-time. We will watch this live.
   
• WiFi. Wireless computer networks. An explanation of the different types of WiFi networks and a dozen steps you can take to secure a WiFi network.  

This is the second class of two on the subject of home computer networks. The first class covers sharing files and printers, IP addressing, configuring TCP/IP and network attached storage. 

Schedule: The class was offered May 9, 2005 at the NYPC User Group. It is currently not scheduled again. However, I am teaching this material and more as part of a Computer Networking For Home Use class at Hunter College.

Wireless

Growth of Wireless Internet Opens New Path for Thieves New York Times March 19, 2005

How To Steal Wi-Fi And how to keep the neighbors from stealing yours by Paul Boutin in Slate magazine. November 18, 2004. 

Linksys Goes Long with MIMO-based Wireless at ExtremeTech February 2, 2005. A review of a pre-N WiFi router. 

Linksys WRT54GX Router with SRX PC Magazine February 28, 2005  

Belkin's wireless router raises the bar for speed and range The Detroit News November 24, 2004. A review of a pre-N WiFi router. 

Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router By Trusted Reviews March 7, 2005

Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router PC Magazine October 7, 2004  

Belkin Pre-N Wireless Networking the Belkin Web Site 

Always On Wireless WiFlyer PC Magazine. February 28, 2005

Wireless System Architecture: How Wireless Works By Jim Geier Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Cisco Press. October 15, 2004. Apart from transmitting the information over the air, wireless networks are very much like wired networks. However, that seemingly small difference can lead to some very large problems if you don't understand the nuances of this medium. Read this chapter to find out how wireless networks work, and why they need to be administered differently from traditional, wired networks.

Wireless Security By Tom M. Thomas. Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Cisco Press. July 16, 2004. The basics of setting up security for a wireless network. The various ways in which a wireless network can be breached, and provides help in protecting against those attacks. Lisa Phifer's Wireless CORner has many WiFi links

Firewalls

• Choosing The Right Personal Firewall By Wayne Rash December 10, 2004 
• Big bug in the Windows XP SP2 firewall 
   Microsoft fixes 'critical' XP firewall issue  IDG News Service December 17, 2004 
   Description of the critical update for Windows Firewall "My Network (subnet) only" scoping in Windows XP Service Pack 2 
   XP SP2 Bug Inadvertently Shares Your PC's Files Online by Andrew Brandt PC World September 17, 2004
• ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5 reviewed by PC Magazine November 18, 2004. They liked it.  
• Norton Personal Firewall 2005 reviewed by PC Magazine October 1, 2004. They liked it. 
• Personal Firewall—Don't Surf Without It PC Magazine October 1, 2004 By Neil J. Rubenking 
• Why does svchost access the internet? September 1, 2004 Leo Notenboom 
• Routers, firewalls give PCs extra hack-attack protection by Mike Himowitz in the Baltimore Sun August 12, 2004 
• Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2 from Microsoft. August 4, 2004. By default, Windows Firewall is enabled and blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. This article discusses how to make an exception and enable a program to run by adding it to the list of exceptions.
• Troubleshooting Windows Firewall in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 by Microsoft. How Windows Firewall works, common problems with it and tools used to troubleshoot it.
• Troubleshooting Internet Connection Firewall on Microsoft Windows XP by Microsoft. How ICF works, how to enable it, common problems with using ICF, and the set of tools used to troubleshoot ICF issues.
• Manually Configuring Windows Firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2 by Microsoft February 16, 2004
• Don't Toss That Personal Firewall By Larry Seltzer in eWeek August 5, 2004. About problems and limitations with the Windows firewall in Windows XP SP2. 
• Windows XP SP2's Windows Firewall won't be enough by Brian Livingston July 8, 2004
• Pop-up pains by David Strom in his Web Informant newsletter, December 12, 2003. About Messenger pop-ups. 
• Stay Safe Online from the National Cyber Security Alliance
• Step-By-Step: Bulletproof Your PC With a Software Firewall The setup basics. PC World magazine June 24, 2003
• Hackers And Viruses Don't Stand A Chance About ZoneAlarm Pro v4. Forbes Magazine Ten O'Clock Tech June 13, 2003
• New ZoneAlarm Toughens Firewall. Version 4 improves e-mail protection, hacker-tracing, and VPN support. PCWorld.com June 12, 2003
• Great Walls of Fire - How to Keep Ruffians Out of Your Computer—for Free The Village Voice April 18, 2003 by Brendan I. Koerner
• www.firewallguide.com 
• Do your systems need ZoneAlarm? ZDNet June 13, 2002 
• About XP's Internet Connection Firewall Read why you should not use the Microsoft firewall that is part of Windows XP. by Scot Finnie December 9, 2002. 
• Firewall Feedback Fred Langa tests a new crop of desktop firewalls and makes recommendations. Covers ZoneAlarm, Agnitum Outpost, Sygate Personal Firewall and Tiny Personal Firewall. Information Week April 15, 2002.
• Personal Internet Firewalls that really work! by Steve Gibson. Explains what a firewall is and how it works. February 2002. 
• How Much Protection Is Enough? Too much or too little online security can lead to a world of trouble. About Firewalls. By Fred Langa in Information Week magazine. June 4, 2001. 
• Description of a Personal Firewall from Microsoft. What a firewall is and does and problems it may entail. 
• Internet Firewalls For Windows XP. From Microsoft. Introductory article. By Tony Northrup. August 12, 2002 
• Which Programs Should I Let Access the Internet? About configuring ZoneAlarm v3. PC World Magazine. November 2002 issue
• How It Works: Personal Firewalls PC World  June 5, 2000
• How Firewalls Work by Jeff Tyson No date.
• Firewalls from Microsoft. No date. Long and fairly technical article.
• Troubleshooting Internet Connection Firewall on Windows XP from Microsoft. How ICF works, how to enable it, common problems and tools used to troubleshoot problems. October 2003. 
• ComputerWorld magazine Firewall center
• Download many firewall programs from PC World Magazine
• Identify Ports 
• Port Authority Database from Steve Gibson
• Port Numbers from iana - plain text - not as comprehensive as Steve Gibson's 
• Port Requirements for the Microsoft Windows Server System Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 832017
• Firewalls
• ZoneAlarm Free and paid versions 
• Sygate Personal Firewall The Standard Edition is free, there are paid versions too 
• Kerio Personal Firewall Free and paid versions 
• Outpost Personal Firewall Free and paid versions 
• McAfee Firewall Express is free from AOL Broadband
• Tiny Software makes a Personal Firewall that sells for about $50 and runs on Windows 2000, XP, and 2003.
• Testing your firewall, for free 
• ShieldsUP! by Steve Gibson of GRC. To learn how to use Shields Up, see this free streaming video by Patrick Crispen
• Internet-Security Site by Symantec includes a security scan to see if your computer is safe from online threats 
• Security Scan from Sygate offers many types of scans 
• Secure Me from DSL Reports offers two types of scans
• AuditMyPC has a free port probe
• PC Flank has a number of different tests 
• Secunia Online Vulnerability Scanner 
• Leak Test also by Steve Gibson, tests outbound protection of your firewall
• DSLReports has assorted tests and tools
• How Scot Finnie tests firewalls when he reviews them in his newsletter
• Good And Bad Online Security Check-Ups About web sites that testing system and network security. By Fred Langa in Information Week magazine. June 11, 2001.