[wolfie1599]

Hello all!

This is my first post, and as the subject says, I just switched and purchased a 20" G5 Imac. It is on the assembly line and is to be shipped on or before 5OCT04 -- I can't wait, especially since my borrowed PC just went belly up!

I have two questions, but will appreciate all advice anyone might have.

1. I have SBC Yahoo! DSL; what firewall software should I look at installing?

2. What books and/or magazines would you recommend to learn what I should do and when I should do it?

I don�t mean to be so vague, but this is all new to me. I am looking forward applications like ITunes and IMovie, but have never used either, much less the operating system.

Thanks in advance, and all the best,

Wolf

[Don Pickett]

OS X has a built-in firewall called ipfw. If you're comfortable with the command line, you can configure it yourself � 'man ipfw' in the Terminal will tell you all you need to know. If you don't want to muck around with that, there are programs which will give you a GUI to configure the firewall. I use Brickhouse, which does a good job.

Try MacAddict magazine.

[PeterKG]

Pick up David Pouges OSX, The Missing Manual

The Missing Manual

[mattyd]

Originally posted by Don Pickett:
OS X has a built-in firewall called ipfw. If you're comfortable with the command line, you can configure it yourself � 'man ipfw' in the Terminal will tell you all you need to know. If you don't want to muck around with that, there are programs which will give you a GUI to configure the firewall. I use Brickhouse, which does a good job.

Try MacAddict magazine.

can't you configure the built-in firewall using the Sharing Preference Pane?

[toti]

You can also use the free SunShield to configure your firewall. It's a quite nice preference pane that works

But honestly, while you don't enable server style services on your mac, you really don't need a firewall, since there is nothing that can be contacted on the mac in default setup.

If you turn on the built-in firewall, your standard services ( disk and printer sharing etc ) are by default protected...

[toti]

Originally posted by mattyd:
can't you configure the built-in firewall using the Sharing Preference Pane?

Only loosely. You get much more precision with programs like SunShield.

For anything but the defaults, the built-in configurator is just a toy

[lookmark]

But the long and short of it is, don't worry about it: OS X has a firewall built in. Turn it on from System Preferences > Sharing, and check out SunShield should you need all the configuration options under the, um, sun.

As for books, I second Pogue's Missing Manual (Panther edition). Very enjoyable book.

For a brief online reference, I've found this to be helpful for switchers:

http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/ma...tomac_one.html

It's from 2002, but it's still relevant, and a nice transition guide.

Good luck, and welcome!

[robby818]

an inexpensive 4port router such as the netgear mr814 will provide you w/ a hardware firewall and will also maintain your dsl connection so you can ditch the pppoe software.

[Lancer409]

Congrats and Welcome I think you'll love your new machine ... now ... about that secret handshake ...

[MrForgetable]

No one has taught me the Powerbook handshake yet

[wolfie1599]

Wow, thanks for all the advice -- and the welcome! I am heading to B&N this week for the book.

Not sure what a pppoe software is, but I will look it up; living in the middle of the desert, I just got DSL for the first time.

Secret handshake...damn, do I need to use that on the FedEx driver?!

Got Bluetooth, 512MB RAM and the larger HD (not sure why now�), and an extra 1GB RAM sitting on my desk. Estimated arrival says 13Oct -- from China; got a chuckle from that. I didn't know that was where they are manufactured. Ordered on 5SEP and shipped on 24SEP, so hopefully it gets here a little quicker, the Jones is killing me!

While I have you all here, any suggestions for a Bluetooth mouse and entry/mid-level printer?

All the best,

Jim

[jamesa]

Originally posted by wolfie1599:
Wow, thanks for all the advice -- and the welcome! I am heading to B&N this week for the book.

Not sure what a pppoe software is, but I will look it up; living in the middle of the desert, I just got DSL for the first time.

Secret handshake...damn, do I need to use that on the FedEx driver?!

Got Bluetooth, 512MB RAM and the larger HD (not sure why now�), and an extra 1GB RAM sitting on my desk. Estimated arrival says 13Oct -- from China; got a chuckle from that. I didn't know that was where they are manufactured. Ordered on 5SEP and shipped on 24SEP, so hopefully it gets here a little quicker, the Jones is killing me!

While I have you all here, any suggestions for a Bluetooth mouse and entry/mid-level printer?

All the best,

Jim

About the firewall; I second the suggestion of a hardware firewall. Just buy a router (say Netgear) and you'll be right. Your alternative is of course to get an Apple Airport Base Station and put an Airport card in your iMac, it acts as a hardware router and there's the added advantage in that you won't need to run any extra cords into the back of your iMac.

The software firewall in the system preferences sharing pane will be fine for your needs. You shouldn't need to enable any services, and remember every time you turn something on in the "services" part of the Sharing system preference pane, you're adding another possible way in. Leave them all off (things like web serving, etc) and you'll be fine.

Bluetooth mice; if you don't care for Apple's one, I hear that MS make a good one, it should be out soon.

As for the printer, depends whether you want a laser, photo or just colour. I'd go with a low end HP Laserjet for laser, or a Canon/Epson for colour inkjet. Pick the models within each line that match your budget. The Epsons might have the slight edge for photo printing, the Canon's for more business stuff with colour on a inkjet.

Oh, and don't worry about the extra HD space; when you start encoding your iTunes, make sure you turn the encoding quality right up; the music will sound better, and you'll fill that big HD right up (eventually )

Cheers, and have fun!

-- james

[PEHowland]

Originally posted by wolfie1599:

Not sure what a pppoe software is, but I will look it up; living in the middle of the desert, I just got DSL for the first time.

PPPoE = Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. It's the protocol used by your DSL connection to allow your computer to transmit IP packets over the DSL connection. With a basic DSL modem, your computer dials-in using PPPoE and your modem simply relays those packets to your ISP's computer. If you get a DSL Router, the router itself holds your username and password and dials in using PPPoE itself - so even when your computer is switched off your router is connected to your ISP. Your router then uses something Network Address Translation (NAT) to forward IP packets from the Internet side to your computer which is plugged into the router and now on a LAN. Anyway, the long and short of it is, if you have a DSL router, then your computer will always be connected to the Internet without you having to run any kind of dial-in application on the computer.

You might want to read this article I recently wrote for Sudhian Media that discusses all the jargon associated with home networking. It's not Mac-specific, but 99% of the article applies directly.