Broadband question

As I keep telling you all, repeatedly , I now have wireless broadband. When I bought my new computer earlier this year, I also got with it Norton 360 virus protection software, which seems to be pretty on to it (as far as I can tell).

Today, I was talking with someone who said they were worried about broadband as even when the computer is off, the broadband connection is still "live" so some nasty person somewhere could use it without me knowing (well, at least until the bill arrived), or send viruses etc down the line and into my computer.

Is that true? I mean, as I have VOIP (voice over internet phone) I know my wireless connection is still going, as I still have use of the phone when the computer is off.

Am I at more risk? Should I have something other than Norton 360? Would Vista be doing anything to protect my computer? I note Windows Mail sorts out my spam and suspect "phishing" emails etc.

Pumpkingirl;202569 wrote: Today, I was talking with someone who said they were worried about broadband as even when the computer is off, the broadband connection is still "live" so some nasty person somewhere could use it without me knowing (well, at least until the bill arrived), or send viruses etc down the line and into my computer.

That is complete rubbish PG [xx(]

If your computer is off, how could anyone possibly send viruses into it :confused:

Your router / VoIP adaptor will reject any incoming data which is unsolicited. The only way your PC could be vulnerable is as follows:

- It must be switched ON
AND:
- A port would need to be opened in the Router's firewall (bad idea unless you know what you are doing)

Presumably the person who set up your router would have enabled the firewall function. If you don't know for sure, it would pay to check.

Pumpkingirl;202569 wrote: Would Vista be doing anything to protect my computer? I note Windows Mail sorts out my spam and suspect "phishing" emails etc.

- Windows Vista has a built-in firewall which should have been enabled.

- Windows Mail does seem to do a good job weeding out Spam etc. Inger's new laptop is running it, and I am quite impressed with how effective it is. Even stuff that has slipped through Google Mail's filter is picked up by Windows Mail, which is good to see [^]

On our pc laptop we've got Nod32 running as protection, so far it's been brilliant. You have to upgrade it yearly and it costs about $30 ( I think) but it's really excellent.

Thank you both very much

I've learnt so much from reading OT computer questions, but I'm still very green about these things. I have no real idea about the dangers other than viruses and adware/spyware/trojans etc, and didn't know if what this woman was saying was true or not - it sounded odd, but then since I don't know the technicalities, I wasn't sure.

I find Windows Mail on Vista very good. It has (so far) picked up the few spam emails I've received, plus a it has "Phishing" warning that has also worked 100% so far. I also receive a few newsletters and it puts them into a "junk" email folder for me which I guess is what they are, even if I have volunteered to receive them.