“High-speed Internet connections are becoming more readily
available and popular for home computer users. ADSL (Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Line), Nortel’s 1MB modem and cable modems all
offer connection speeds many times faster than that of a standard
56K POTS (plain old telephone service) modem that most of us know
all too well. The other big advantage of these new services is that
they are always connected. That is, you don’t need to dial your
service provider with your modem to start up your Internet
connection. When you turn on your computer, the connection is
already there, and your operating system will establish a link as
it boots up.”
“Like the standard modem, these connections allow only one
computer to connect to the Internet at a time. In some cases,
additional IP addresses can be assigned to additional computers,
but there is usually a monthly cost involved in providing this
service.”
“By installing Linux on that old 486 you have sitting in the
corner collecting dust, you can create a firewall so all the
computers on your local LAN can see the Internet, and at the same
time, transfer data back and forth between each other… You
don’t even need a dedicated PC. A faster PC can simultaneously be
used for other purposes while acting as the firewall; however,
there are two main drawbacks with this approach:
- Users on your LAN may experience a slower connection to the
Internet. - You could inadvertently open a security hole, allowing someone
on the Internet to get in and play havoc with your system or
files.”