As I hit "send" on that post, I had a premonition that someone would challenge that. The point is that SSH is a major vulnerability if you don't have proper passwords. There have been several examples of that posted here. It's the easiest way to get owned if your password is "password."

Hi Carlos,
you are right, however "Password" is far to komplex, most mac users I know use "ibook" or "apple" :D
My sisters use "macmini" and "ibook" on their boxes.

so much for security, hehe :)

ron

do I really need to update the firmware in my router?
 

I'm new to this wireless router stuff, so pardon me if this is a dumb question: do I really need to update the firmware in my router?

I'm unwilling to mess with something that Just Works, as long as it's working and, of course, safe to use. If it's risky to go without the firmware upgrade, I guess I'll have to do it -- but must I really?

If your router is working, then no. The only time you need to upgrade a router is if it's not doing what you want.

OK my firewall is on and all the SSHs etc off.But what if I want to do a little file-sharing?-I do occasionally download some music from filesharing places like Limewire.
Also my connection is running pretty well-except there were two or three times last night when it went down for 5-10 minutes.Is this because my ISP has capped the bandwidth/because I'm so far from the exchange/or what?
Thanks for all help.

Filesharing can be enabled, but it does increase your vulnerability to attack. Not nearly as much as a PC, but still an increase.
If you've got DSL and you're at or beyond the limit as far as distance, I'm afraid you're always going to have spotty service. That was why I switched to cable a couple of years ago.

How about if I got the wireless router? Would it make a difference to my signal from the exchange? There's no likelihood of cable hereabouts,I think;this is deepest rural England,which of course has plenty of compensations.
Last night I only got a 10 second signal in two and a half hours waiting.I've told the ISP;let's see what they respond with.

deepest rural England.... sounds like LakeDistricts.... baaaahhh *sheepsounds* ;-))

As to you getting a wireless router:
This will probably not change anything concerning the quality of your dsl-connection, the problem is signal quality between your modem and the phone exchange. You could ask your provider to reduce the transmission speed a bit, this will improve dsl-stability at a slight bandwidth loss.
There are quite a few dsl modem out and about which you can programm yourself, but this is very difficult as you need to know quite a few settings which your provider will probably not give you.
Best thing is to get on their nerves, as soon something doesn't work, call the callcentre people and tell them to find a solution.
Also, you should ask for a cae number, this is just a tag so somebody can identify your problem history. If the line goes down again, call them and quote the previous problems with the case numbers already given to you on previous occasions. Sooner or later someone is going to say "ok then, give these people the good modem and card on the phoneline....."


Good luck

ron