[Bill Kinkle]

I finally got out of the dark ages and ordered DSL. The service goes into effect next week. I also bought an airport extreme base station. What should I do to keep my computers safe? Firewalls and such. I am very new to this and don't know anything about it. Thanks for any advice anyone may offer.

[ghporter]

In addition to using OS X's (whichever sub-version you have) firewall, you need a strong antivirus package (yes, Macs are susceptible to some viri). You also should use the 128-bit WEP encryption the AEBS offers, and give the base station an odd name and a strong admin password. The encryption keeps the casual passerby from hitching a ride on your Internet connection-or from browsing the contents of your hard drive if you have sharing enabled. A strong admin password keeps that passerby from gaining control of your wireless network.

It's also a good idea to change your network password (which is the WEP encryption key) and your admin password every now and then-always use strong passwords!

[tooki]

I have to disagree on the virus thing... there are no viruses for OS X, and most of the viruses for classic Mac OS (which could, theoretically, infect the Classic environment) are extinct. Yes, there are the MS Office macro viruses, but they're only a concern if a) you use Office and b) you receive Office files from others.

No email viruses can infect a Mac in any way.

tooki

[ghporter]

Tooki, I didn't say Mac specific viruses, I said that Macs are susceptible to some viri-specifically Unix-specific viri. It's unfortunate, but there are some out there, and they're insidious. The biggest goal of these is to gain root access on a Unix/Linux machine, in order to use it as a zombie or a server for viruses, porn, stolen music, etc. There aren't a lot of them, or they're being kept pretty quiet, but they do exist, and OS X is Unix-based. My point is that it's better to be safe than sorry, and use a good antivirus package as an added layer of protection for your computer.