Howdy, everyone! This week the Geek answers questions on repair costs, broadband, and secuirty.

Q: How do I create a more secure system?
A: Computer System Security is a constant worry in the mind of many computer managers, business professionals, and other knowledgable people. The security failures of larger companies with larger machines are a concern for anyone who has a driver's license, a credit card, a cell phone, or even something as simple as a checking account. Most larger-sized companies have their own information systems specialist to deal with security. Increasingly, however, more and more attacks on the internet are launched from smaller, home PC's with a broadband connection.

There are 3 easy steps that you can take to increase your security on the internet enough to prevent most "hackers" from taking over your system. First, buy an Anti-Virus program, and keep it up-to-date! Make sure it monitors your system constantly for viruses and does a complete system scan at least weekly. Second, buy and keep an internet firewall, or hacker prevention program, up-to-date. These include Norton's Personal Firewall or Internet Security, ISS' Black Ice, or even run the built-in firewall in Windows XP. Third, if you are running a computer with Windows 2000, or Windows XP, set up a user password that is easy to remember, but hard to guess. If you are able to launch your computer and begin using it without entering a password, your system is ripe to be hacked by some high-school punk using nothing more then a program designed to take over unsecured systems.

Q: My computer is broken, and MCC wants to charge me $100/hr to fix it. Is this too much?
A: Yes.

Q: Which is better, DSL or Cable Modem?
A: That question seems obvious, but really is complex. A cable modem which runs at 750 kbs is faster than DSL at 550 kbs. However, DSL has guranteed bandwith, meaning you always get 550kbs, whereas with a cable modem, your bandwith will vary depending on how many people in your neighborhood are using one as well as how many of them are doing downloads or running file-sharing servers. There are other factors that can affect your decision such as availability, wiring, pricing, and hardware needed, but the bandwith and performance seems to be the factor most Whim readers are most concerned about.

That's all for this week, folks. Please remember to keep your questions coming by e-mailing whim@radford.edu.