More so, if you use broadband services and are connected to the Net 24 hoursa day. Cable modems and digital subscriber lines are no longer a distantdream in India. While ZeeNet has begun to offer access to the Net throughcable, DishnetDSL brings to you the DSL technology. Their tariff structureis already making them attractive to high users. While it is true thatbroadband users are more susceptible to intruders, even if you use dial-upservices you are not insulated from attacks. It is just that since you usethe Internet sparingly the chances of an intrusion are reduced.

How do you determine whether your connection is secure enough to protect youfrom invasions? You could log on to Gibson Research Corporation's Website at"www.grc.com". If you do so immediately, perhaps you would be greeted by thefollowing message, "Please excuse the current slowness of this site! Therecent high profile denial of service attacks has generated a surge ofinterest in personal internet connection security... So our ShieldsUP!servers are struggling under the load..." But if you wait sufficiently long,you would be able to gain access to ShieldsUP! servers. Once you've gainedaccess, you would be promted to download an application called IP Agent,which determines your computer's exact Internet Protocol (IP) address.

Without the correct address, ShieldsUP! will be unable to get into yourcomputer. In order to determine the security of your connection an attemptto invade your computer is actually made. Of course, only after you haveauthorised this by clicking on "Test my Shields". Having made the attempt toinvade your computer, ShieldsUP! gives you a report on your securitystatus.

It tries to access every port on your terminal and determines its status,that is whether it is open, closed or hidden. Ports are the points of entryand exit on your machine. Obviously, the best state to be in is hidden. Ifintruders cannot see you they wouldn't try to intrude on you. Unless youhave specially installed a firewall on your computer, the chances that yourcomputer will be hidden to an intruder are remote. ShieldsUP! could give youa favourable security report even if your computer is visible and it isunable to make a successful invasion. But the fact that your computer is nothidden makes it prone to future attacks by more advanced applications.

Perhaps the best way to protect yourself, therefore, is to intall a personalfirewall. You need not have fat pockets to do so. There's one available toyou free as long as you do not intend to use the product for commercial use.Log on to "www.zonelabs.com/zonealarm.htm" and download ZoneAlarm. Installit on your computer and you have an easy always-on Internet securityguard.

Its dynamic firewall can block attempts to connect to your computer from theinternet and its stealth mode makes your computer invisible from theInternet. Wish to test the product out? Log on to "www.grc.com" onceagain.

ShieldsUP! will be unable to connect with the Net BIOS to your computer andwill report that there is no evidence whatsoever that a computer exists atyour IP address. But that does not mean that your computer will be secureforever. You must keep doing this test periodically to ensure that yourfirewall continues to provide the security it used to.