DSL ? ?

[MOP]

Hi I have avoided cable for the obvious security reasons, plus my friends have been complaining how slow it gets in the evenings. Trying to find out are there any real deal out there. Verizon is offing it at 34.95 free modem and no contract, it alows me to drop my dedicated data line and do all on one.

[David O]

I use a DSL through my local provider Bell South and it works fine. Talk on the phone and use the computer all on the same line, same time, no problems. No experience with cable.

[HyperDonzi]

Cable is less secure, and a little slower in evenings, everyone in the neighborhood has it, evenings are a bit slower, but not slow enough to bother me, the only way I notice is if Im downloading music. What does DSL compare with cable, speed wise?

[MOP]

I did a search it seems to stack up really well infact better in some areas. Cost seems to be an issue with faster speeds and fixed IP's providers controll both. Need more input.

[mattyboy]

there are 2 basic types of dsl

home and business dsl( one is called a-dsl and one is called dsl I can never get it right so home and business)

home dsl rides on your existing telephone line and offers broad band speeds usually up to in some cases 256k but sometimes they limit speeds on upload down load like 256k down and 128k up . with this service you also get a dynamic ip address for each session when you're online.
it uses a modem not a router and in networked applications needs a main PC to act as a proxy server,and as a gateway for the other computers,so that pc as to stay on.

business dsl is a dedicated dsl line and cannot be used for voice communications. depending on the provider the speeds may go as high as 384k and have no limit on upload download speeds. It uses a router,and offers a static ip address, and uplinks directly to your network. This makes establishing a VPN,webserver or email server much easier but also leads to the need for security(firewall or the router running NAT)
I use this service at my office for around 39 dollars a month with web and mail hosting.

So if you can get a business grade dsl in your home ( say it's for your home office) you would be in the cat bird seat.

also home dsl they throw in the modem in business dsl you pay for or supply your own router

Matt

no charge for the consulting service just buy me a beer at one of the gatherings( but don't let my customers know I'd never be able to drive home from work wink )

<small>[ March 15, 2003, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: mattyboy ]</small>

[florida gator]

I don't know much about any of this, but I have been thinking about upgrading so I asked a friend who runs computr systems for a major developer here. I was inquiring about DSL and he brought up cable. He said it is faster, more reliable and less costly.

[abelchinewalker]

I've always been told that regardless of the system you use that if someone wants to get in they will. I've been very happy with the cable system I use and I even cringe when I go to my parents house and use their dial up system. I'm probably crazy, but I'm in the process of picking out a wireless system as well.

[oldLenny]

We sell ADSL services here, again, as Matty said, we have a home and professional (business) version. In regards to speed here, our GUARANTEED minimum in 1.5 MEG throughput for about $39.95 a month which includes the phone line. (home number) Those are CAN$ prices, so figure and $25/month US$. Our business line offering is at 4 MEG.
DSL-digital subscriber line.
ADSL- asymetric digital subscriber line (due to varying upload and download transfer rates)
We are now working at rolling out VDSL, running in the 3 Ghz spectrum and offering about 10-15 MEG of throughput!.

Between the two, DSL is on average faster, due to the slowing in the evenings on cable. We offer nothing slower than 1.5 meg here, cable averages around 700Khz,...here. DSL needs you to be within 3 miles or so of the central office (or DSLAM equipment area) measured one way out, not return.
The security issue is a moot point 'cuz no one has yet "hacked" a cable system to strip out bandwidth to gain access to customer records. I am sure that it is coming mind you. I would buy the ADSL service if it were me. You get the phone line as well, and movies and entertainment are right around the corner with the increased bandwidth.

[Bryan Tuvell 33ZX]

MOP, our experience with cable has been awesome, $29.95 a month, I own the modem, we are networked throughout the house, many can surf, email, chat etc and never miss a beat. No slow times here that we have noticed in the evening.
Our provider is Cox.
Best of luck, they both beat dial up for sure.
Bryan

[Stepped Bottom]

We have road runner cable service through Time Warner. It's $44.95 a month but we don't pay quite that much because we buy our internet service and cable tv together at a package rate. Don't tell Time Warner but they could probably double their rates and I still wouldn't go back to dial-up. We use a firewall and have been told that although it won't stop everyone from getting into our system (those who want to get in badly enough will find a way to do it)it is a good way to keep the honest people honest. They would probably be terribly disappointed at what they'd find anyway-kid's games and a bunch of research papers for school. Pretty dull stuff. Anyway, I digress.....cable is great and it is so much faster than dial-up that is worth every extra $$ that it costs. Just my .02 worth.
Darla

[BigGrizzly]

I got cable and is great I finally moved up to the 21 century. Iyts fast reliable and I get TV too. I'm with Charter. The tech guys at work seem to like this they say all types have their own defiencies but in reality none ar4e worth worring about. They all said "Get oft that phone line"

[Sam]

I have had cable for cable for a few years at home and at the office. No real problems, lot's of speed and no down time.

Sam

[MOP]

I am giving up on the issue for now, I have been told that ADSL is the only thing in my area right now. So I will lay back on my 56 and do more home work.

[harbormaster]

Phil verify those DSL speeds. You should be able to get faster DSL.

One other thing that you all shuld know. When you get DSL you now have a digital phone line. In the event of a natural disaster like a hurricane, the digital phone lines will be brought back operational before the analog phone lines will. I heard this from someone in my area.

The BIG security problem with cable is that you are on a big loop that goes by a buch of your neighbors houses. All you need is a "hacker wannabe" kid that downloads one of the many sniffer programs available on the web. The sniffer program puts his network card in promiscuous mode and captures everything that that goes by. In effect: clear text logins, passwords, checking account info, email to other people etc.

How do I know this? I was a computer security officer for NASA KSC/JSC/United Space Alliance for 3 years. I was paid to break into government systems in order to test their vulnerbilities.

I would never get cable unless I had no access to DSL. Even then I would limit what I do. I for sure would be using a browser that utilizes 128k encryption in order to protect my stuff going out.

<small>[ March 21, 2003, 08:07 AM: Message edited by: Harbormaster ]</small>

[MOP]

Scot I agree completely, I have had so many friends hacked its spooky. Everything we have runs through the New York hub so that may add a bunch more kids or bad guys. They now run firewalls like many of us, but are always complaining about how often they get hit. "My advice If you have anything personal or of value on your machine don't go cable"

[oldLenny]

Scot...FYI...

They are not "digital lines" so to speak. Telephony is still analogue from 0-4000hz, (voice frquency) even in a DSL line situation. The digital bitsteam rides on this signal superimposed and is stripped off by a "pots splitter". Once you get into any central office or any remote office, (telephone office), whatever, then everything is digital anyways over host remote links and fiber spans, T-1, T-3 etc. When service or lines are down the residential customer is the last one we care about...Business's generating revenue get the first response. Much the same as a hydro failure. You need the business's generating money up and running asap. ADSL,VDSL,XDSL, any dsl service is not futher up the foodchain than a POTS set (plain old telephone service) The Router or DSLAM service mind you, if it were down, is of high importance. But, that is not at the street address/house level... :D

Business's and schools and large Centrex configurations do indeed have end to end digital service but it is not the norm. A configuration like this is no faster if configured with a DSL service and the only reason THIS service might get a higher priority is due to the size of the operation and to be sure it is commercial...

<small>[ March 22, 2003, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: Lenny ]</small>

[TuxedoPk]

I am a hacker (paid security professional vs. crackers-who are the bad guys)

When it comes to security, it is not material whether you are running cable modem, DSL, a dedicated office T-1, or a dial up connection. The only increased risk that cable presents is that you are more likely to leave your computer turned on than if you have a dial up connection, and the longer your computer is online, the more chance it has of being hacked.

Firewalls- Firewalls are only one tool to help with security, and they are further only useful when configured properly. 99% of the population is not going to do it correctly. Most of the personal firewalls like to give pop up alerts that give you a false sense of vulnerabilities.

One thing that a firewall does do is prevent a connection from outside of the firewall from initiating a connection inside of the firewall. Unless you are running a web or mail server at your home, this would be desireable.

After installing a firewall, many people have a false sense of security. Malware, such as trojans, can initiate an outbound connection (just like when you web browse), and then the intruder comes right thru the firewall because the connection was internally initiated.

Because of vulnerabilities in the MS operating systems, and Internet Explorer, you can become 'infected' quite easily. While years back we would scan a floppy before using it for infections, today, just by going to a web site, software can be downloaded on your computer without your knowledge. If you are using an HTML email program such as Outlook or Outlook Express, the same results can occur by 'openning' an email, or for that matter, if you have your preview pane open, even if you don't open the message but it is in the preview pane below.

Hope this helps.. if interested, check out my link http://www.trackon.edu/Outlines/HACKING.htm