Home network security configuration needed

I have someone in the family who has a recurring spyware infestation
problem with his computer. This person, whom I will refer to as John,
has a computer at his house which he lets his school-age kids use. John
uses his computer mostly for internet browsing and for accessing his
financial accounts online. Myself and other member of the family have in
the past helped John remove spyware and other junk from his computer.
We've come to the conclusion that John should get a separate computer
just for himself. Further, John should put his computer on a separate,
firewalled LAN so that even if the kids' computer is infected, that
computer won't be able to infect or spy on his.

Can someone suggest a good hardware/software configuration for the
purpose? If you know of specific products that you'd recommend, that'd
be helpful too.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Home network security configuration needed

KGS wrote:
> I have someone in the family who has a recurring spyware infestation
> problem with his computer. This person, whom I will refer to as John,
> has a computer at his house which he lets his school-age kids use. John
> uses his computer mostly for internet browsing and for accessing his
> financial accounts online. Myself and other member of the family have in
> the past helped John remove spyware and other junk from his computer.
> We've come to the conclusion that John should get a separate computer
> just for himself. Further, John should put his computer on a separate,
> firewalled LAN so that even if the kids' computer is infected, that
> computer won't be able to infect or spy on his.
>
> Can someone suggest a good hardware/software configuration for the
> purpose? If you know of specific products that you'd recommend, that'd
> be helpful too.
>
> Thanks in advance.

If John's children are of school age, it does not matter what the
harware configuration is, to keep THEM and the computer safe, the ONLY
way to achieve this is to provide constant supervision.

If you're going to give the kids a seperate machine, ensure it is in a
supervisable area. Ideally install Linux so if they do surf to a site
where they might pich up some spyware, it is unlikely to cause any harm.

As I said before, the only way to keep the children safe is supervision.
But it is worth repeating. Supervision.

Bogwitch.

Re: Home network security configuration needed

KGS wrote:
> I have someone in the family who has a recurring spyware infestation
> problem with his computer. This person, whom I will refer to as John,
> has a computer at his house which he lets his school-age kids use. John
> uses his computer mostly for internet browsing and for accessing his
> financial accounts online. Myself and other member of the family have in
> the past helped John remove spyware and other junk from his computer.
> We've come to the conclusion that John should get a separate computer
> just for himself. Further, John should put his computer on a separate,
> firewalled LAN so that even if the kids' computer is infected, that
> computer won't be able to infect or spy on his.
>
> Can someone suggest a good hardware/software configuration for the
> purpose? If you know of specific products that you'd recommend, that'd
> be helpful too.
>
> Thanks in advance.

I'll second Bogwitch's comments.

But, to address your question, a "cheap and easy" solution would be to
install two routers.... Router #1 would connect between your cable/dsl
modem and the childrens' computer. Router #2 would connect between
Router #1 and John's computer. This way, each computer can be a member
of a different workgroup, and no direct communication between the two
would be possible unless specifically set up via VPN or something similar.

Re: Home network security configuration needed

On Feb 11, 1:45 pm, Bogwitch wrote:
> KGS wrote:
> > I have someone in the family who has a recurring spyware infestation
> > problem with his computer. This person, whom I will refer to as John,
> > has a computer at his house which he lets his school-age kids use. John
> > uses his computer mostly for internet browsing and for accessing his
> > financial accounts online. Myself and other member of the family have in
> > the past helped John remove spyware and other junk from his computer.
> > We've come to the conclusion that John should get a separate computer
> > just for himself. Further, John should put his computer on a separate,
> > firewalled LAN so that even if the kids' computer is infected, that
> > computer won't be able to infect or spy on his.
>
> > Can someone suggest a good hardware/software configuration for the
> > purpose? If you know of specific products that you'd recommend, that'd
> > be helpful too.
>
> > Thanks in advance.
>
> If John's children are of school age, it does not matter what the
> harware configuration is, to keep THEM and the computer safe, the ONLY
> way to achieve this is to provide constant supervision.
>
> If you're going to give the kids a seperate machine, ensure it is in a
> supervisable area. Ideally install Linux so if they do surf to a site
> where they might pich up some spyware, it is unlikely to cause any harm.
>
> As I said before, the only way to keep the children safe is supervision.
> But it is worth repeating. Supervision.
>
> Bogwitch.

Ya it would suck to actually teach your kids something, it's much more
productive to always be sitting over their shoulder.