[LBo] Chapter 10

[Brice Hunt]

Rafi Gabzu wrote:
> Hi ,
> If I'm working (actually playing..)  with the remote desktop like VNC ,
> Putty, Xming etc. in my local home network (4xPCs + HUB + Router ) , Am I
> exposed for security problems from external world ?
> Thanks,
> Rafi
I'm supposing that your setup is:

4xPC's <--> Hub <--> Router <--> Internet.

If this is the case, then whether or not you're exposed probably depends
mostly on your router's capabilities and configuration.  Many routers
also provide firewall capabilities.  If it does and if the firewall is
turned on, then you're probably pretty safe.  Even if your router is
only doing NAT (Network Address Translation), as long as few or no ports
are forwarded, then you're still pretty safe against most of the threats
on the Internet (unless you have a Windows machine with a virus/Trojan
horse on your network).  NAT does not deter any determined cracker that
wants into your network, but it does keep most script-kiddies at bay and
also usually obscures what ports are open on machines so that port scans
usually won't turn up much.  Do like Sam suggested and run a port-scan
from a website that does such things.  That will tell you how good your
router is at hiding your network from the Internet.  If it comes up with
open ports, then you might want to look into configuring your router
differently.  If you need to reconfigure your router, you can usually
find a manual at the router manufacturer's website.  Sometimes, you
might have to get the manual from the DSL/cable provider (e.g. Qwest
Communications in the western U.S. provides customers with fairly common
DSL routers but loads on special firmware to work with their DSL setup
and so you have to get the router manual from Qwest).

Brice