Hi, I'm linked to the internet trough a cable modem ( motorola cyber surf) what I would like to know is: Can I protect myself against potetial intruders ?? What is my level of exposure. I have a single machine which is my workstation at the end of this install, I never work as root except when needed root has a complex passsword remote login is forbidden for root , "." is not in the root password that s all for now. the ISP is supposed to protect my comms between him and I. I m looking for any kind of advices. regards GH Portefait -- "Computers are like air conditioners - they stop working properly when you open Windows" -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- Version: 3.1 GCS/CC d-@ s+:- C++(++++)UL++>++++ P++>++++ L++>+++ E-W+(++) N++ !o K- w !O M(++) V? !PS !PE y+ PGP+++ t+ 5? X R* tv b+ DI? D+ G+++ e+++ h+ r y? ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ http://www.geekcode.com