Home
The network basics
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s introduce a few concepts…
O ur home connections have an IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned by our ISPs. Static IP addresses make our lives easier, in terms of not needing dynamic DNS, or having to remember when IPs change and so on, but combining this with opening ports on our routers is a recipe for disaster, as it gives hackers an easier ‘in’ to our homes. This needs to be carefully balanced so that we can access what we need against leaving gaping security holes. The DNS protocol is used to map human readable/ memorable names against hard-to-remember IP addresses. Unfortunately, lots of companies use tracking cookies and other ad-based technologies to learn about our lives and track our browsing habits across the internet. By blocking access to the most commonly used ad-related domains, we can block them being shown on the websites we interact with. Another thing we can look at is the router/firewall that comes from our ISPs. Some of these are remotely configurable by the ISP, which shows the level of trust we need to have in them. Often, these devices are of a relatively low specification and do not receive firmware updates to address newly discovered security issues.