Linux Gazette: Security for the Home Network | Linux Today

Linux Gazette: Security for the Home Network

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Oct 10, 1999

“Security for the home network is your responsibility. With all
the tools available to the crackers and script kiddies, it is not a
matter of if but rather when you will be probed and possibly
attacked. I have personally been connected via modem for less than
5 minutes and been port scanned! Your ISP really does not care if
you are being attacked by “x” because if they shut down “x”,
tomorrow it will be “y” attacking you. Fortunately there are
several things you can do to greatly increase the security of your
network…”

“Why crack me? Most of us believed, at one time, that we were so
insignificant that a cracker would not waste his time with us.
Additionally, there are so many computers connected to the internet
that the odds of being cracked were virtually nil. Five years ago
that was probably a correct assessment. With the advent of the
script kiddies, this is no longer true. The tools available to them
make it so easy to find and crack systems that anyone who can turn
on a computer can do it.

“There are two main reasons they may want to crack your home
system: the thrill of another conquest, and to get information to
use your ISP account to launch other attacks. Life will become
distinctly unpleasant when the authorities come to your door
investigating why you were using your ISP account to break into the
pentagon.”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.