1.0 I have dialup.
2.0 My dad is thinking of getting DSL BUT he is super paranoid about hackers comming into our computer and stealing stuff. (no not my uni videos.) So he said he would probably get it IF you could connect and disconnect from the internet at will. (Like a dial up connection.)
3.0 I have already been told that you can go to a website and turn it off but how do you get it back on? Go back to the website??? Imposible.
3.1 I’ve also been told that you just pull the plug. (Don’t really wan’t to crawl back under my desk and disconnect it every time I wan’t off the internet.)
Any contributions would be helpful but please if you DON’T have dsl and are just posting what you presume DON’T!!! I want solid facts from people who HAVE DSL and CAN do this if it is possible. If it’s not that’s fine to I just want to know the truth.
Noone can hack into your computer if you have no running services on that listen on open ports. You could get a trojan through e-mail, but that’s got very little to do with you having DSL.
Anyway, if you’re that anxious you could just install a firewall that’d completely block all incoming packets.
About disconnecting: the website depends on you service provider, ask them. Or you could always physically disconnect the plug, as someone already suggested.
ps. I really shouldn’t be wasting my writing energy on petty internet guides when I have my personal statement unfinished, but I can’t concentrate because of the neighbours’ tv, God damn it to hell. Amen.
Connect the computer to the DSL modem using a router. You can get home routers that have an integrated firewall that will protect the computer. No unwanted traffic from the internet will reach your computer. The router (firewall) will stop it.
Get a DSL modem that has an ethernet port. Don’t get the kind of DSL modem that has a USB wire running to your computer. You want one that has a real network cable connection. That network connection will connect to the router. The router then connects to the PCs (or Macs).
Then get a router that has an integrated firewall. Netgear, Linksys, and D-Link, and others all make those kinds of routers. Price is in the $40 range.
Configure the router and you’re good to go. Just don’t misconfigure it (for example putting your computer in the DMZ) and you’ll be fine.
I use a Netgear router. The PC is always connected to the internet. The router keeps the bad connections away. Running a software firewall on the computer will give you belt and suspenders protection.
A quick way to disconnect your computer from the internet (I’m surprised on one’s suggested this) would be to double click on the “Local Area Network” icon in your system tray, then right click on your network card and hit disable. Re-enabling it would follow the same procedure.
EDIT: that’s assuming you’re on a PC…because if you’re on a mac, you don’t have to worry about this kind of stuff usually…
I’m not an expert on DSL. I used to have it, but now I have a fiber-optic connection that’s awesome. My former DSL was through SBC-Yahoo. It involved a phone cable from the wall, a modem box, and a piece of network cable attaching that to a (Yahoo-supplied) PCI network card in my PC. I generally had to connect each time I wanted to do Internet stuff, and the process was annoyingly similar to the dialup I’d had previously. Today’s DSL experience may be different, but I’m sure there are easy ways to connect and disconnect without unplugging wires.
What your dad is worried about is the always-on connection, and all the probing your poor PC will get with the greatly increased exposure to the Internet and faster speed that stuff can go in and out of it. So yes, you need to keep it secure. Firewall (see John Childs’ advice above), anti-spyware and anti-virus software must be running, and up to date. The built-in Windows XP firewall only watching incoming traffic. A standalone router will have a firewall that watches traffic in both directions; a great way to notice if your machine has become a zombie or is otherwise doing stuff you don’t want it to.
An easier solution is to get a Mac. No anti-virus or anti-spyware software needed (yet), and still a one-way firewall built in. I’d still recommend the router (I use one). Running Windows on an Intel Mac doesn’t count, as if you’re running Windows you still need the spyware and virus protection any other PC needs.
A misconfiguration like that is more common that you would think.
By default the firewall in the router will block all incoming ports. But applications like P2P, online games, BitTorrent, and others require an open incoming port. So people try to run a P2P app, it doesn’t work, they go online and ask for help, some idiot will suggest just putting your computer in the DMZ and you’ll have it working in no time.
The DMZ in a home router is a play on demilitarized zone. It is a setting in the router that exposes all ports on a given computer to the wilds of the internet. It effectively disables the firewall protection that is in the router. Putting your computer in the DMZ on a home router is a dumb thing to do unless you really really know what you’re doing and have a very good reason for doing it.
Putting the computer in the DMZ is the lazy (and dangerous) way of opening ports for your P2P sharing and games. The proper way is to follow the instructions here for your router. Only open the ports that you need opened.
Many applications that require an open listening port now support UPnP which enables the application to tell the router that it needs an open port. All the port forwarding business will be handled automatically as long as the application is UPnP aware and UPnP is enabled on the router. That makes it all easy.
Using UPnP aware applications is the preferred way to get the applications working with a home router.
I have no ports forwarded or triggered in the router. Everything I need to do is handled by UPnP aware applications. No need to fiddle with router settings.
Using a router with a firewall isn’t as difficult as all that makes it sound. For the most part it is just plug it in and it works. The defaults work for most setups. By default they will get the IP and DNS info automatically. It only gets messy if you have to get into the details. Basic operation is just plug it in and and follow a simple configuration guide.
You’re asking the wrong question and believing in the wrong answer.
The answer to your situation is a router with a firewall.
Disconnecting from the internet does not make you safer while you are online. If you’re connecting without a firewall you are absolutely vulnerable while online, even if only online for a few minutes or a few hours per day. It’s a false sense of security to believe that connecting for only short periods makes you safer. It was a false belief back in the days of dialup. It is a false belief now.
It only takes minutes for some of the worms to get you if you’re not firewalled and if your OS is vulnerable. As soon as you connect you’ll be a target and a victim. It doesn’t matter that you’re only connected a short time and disconnected for the rest of the time. Believing that disconnecting makes you safer is a fallacy.
You need a firewall with a router. It’s the way to do broadband.
Use a router with a firewall. Stay connected 24/7. Enjoy the convenience. You’re safer that way than relying on disconnecting while not online.
If you absolutely want to disconnect you can turn off the power to the router or the modem.
Although, here is a list of ways to disconnect your computer from DSL.
Unplug the rj11 jack from the wall.
Unplug the rj11 jack from the modem.
Unplug the modems power cable from the wall
Unplug the power cable from the modem.
Turn off the modem.
Turn off your PC.
Unplug your PC.
Disable the network card from you PC.
Uninstall your network card from the PC.
Install a firewall/router and unplug your computer from it.
…and on and on. Lots of ways to do this.
The thing is, what hackers want from you is your identity. They want your usernames, passwords, SSN, credit card numbers etc. They get this things when you’re online and you’re typing them into websites. You need a firewall, and if you use wireless, you need encryption (and not WEP, as that’s easily hacked).
I was just taking a security class where they demonstrated Cain and Able. It is amazingly easy to get all sorts of information, and all they need is a point of entry.
Anyways, my point is, all the most interesting stuff hackers want is stuff they find out while you’re actually online. So, disconnect if you want, but make sure you’re protected when you are connected.
But I didn’t ask about saftey online I asked if it was possible to disconnect from the internet without having to physically unplug something from the computer. NOT ABOUT FIREWALLS.
If being able to disconnect gets you broadband then it’s worth it even if it does further ingrain false security beliefs in your dad’s mind.
I’d still see if you can swing a home router out of the deal. It’s the right way to do things. Plug the modem in to a separate power strip and turn off that power strip when you don’t want to be connected.
Both Windows XP SP2 and Mac OSX have a built in software firewall. Linux also has software firewalls depending on the distro. But I don’t like relying on only a software firewall. Software firewalls can fail or crash or get turned off or be buggy or any other number of things that will cause them to fail to protect you. The router will do better and be more reliable. Run the software firewall as a backup in a belt and suspenders kind of way.
[QUOTE=john_childs]
I’d still see if you can swing a home router out of the deal. It’s the right way to do things. Plug the modem in to a separate power strip and turn off that power strip when you don’t want to be connected. QUOTE]
Is’nt the modem connected directly to the computer and dosen’t need a power source of it’s own?
The USB connected DSL modems are often powered by the USB port. But you don’t want that kind of modem. You can’t use that type of modem with a router. It is not convenient to be able to share the internet connection with a second computer. The USB modems often (always?) use the CPU to do some of the protocol processing. They tend to be Windows only and will require drivers specific to the modem. It may only work with the USB 1.1 transfer speed (12 Mbps) and even if it supports USB 2.0 it may still operate at the 12 Mbps speed and not the high speed 480 Mbps that USB 2.0 is capable of. There are too many ways that the USB modems can take the cheap (and slower) way of doing things.
Ethernet connected modems can’t take those shortcuts. They don’t require drivers specific to the modem. They will work with any OS that supports Ethernet. Far more flexible in setup. You can plug them in to a home router.
Ethernet connected modems will require external power (usually a wall wart). So you can disconnect the modem by turning off the power. Or some may have a standby button on the front that disables the connection.
Most desktop computers now have an Ethernet connector built-in the motherboard so you likely already have an Ethernet port in the computer. If not, you’d have to buy an Ethernet card.
On all DSL modems I have seen, and on the one I had before I switched over to cable and getting the cable modem. The box would come with the Ethernet ports, and the USB port.
It is recommended to use Ethernet, mainly for all the other reasons you have mentioned, but for older computers or ones without an Ethernet card you could use the USB for it.
I used the Ethernet, which left me the choice of using the USB at the same time and hook up another comp with internet, so my friend would always come over with his laptop and just use a USB cord from my house and plug it in. Then we would do online gaming together in my room. It was great.
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