Home networks?
Why would anyone need a home network?
One of the most common questions regarding home networks I get is:
Why do I need a network?
Well, maybe you don't.
If you have just one computer and you DO NOT EVER CONNECT TO THE INTERNET , then you don't need a home network. But since you are reading this web page I think we can safely assume that you connect to the internet occasionally at least.
And since you connect (at least occasionally) to the largest computer network of all (the World Wide Web) you should, at the very minimum, have a basic network to keep your computer safe while online.
How can a network keep you safe? Safe from what?
Every time you connect your computer to the internet (if you have a high-speed DSL or cable modem, this often means "always ") your computer becomes part of a much larger network of computers that spans the globe. You may not like it, but if you want to access the internet and all it has to offer, there is simply no way around it.
The issue starts to make sense if you think about it in a real world context: you lock the doors to your home at night, you lock your car when you park at the mall, you don't give your credit card number to telemarketers, you keep your important papers in a firebox or at the bank - in short, you take normal safety precautions in the real world.
Why do you take precautions?
Because there are bad people out there in the real world. People who would come into your home if it wasn't locked. People who would steal your car if you left it open. People who would use your credit card to buy plasma TVs. People who would steal your identity if they could.
If you take safety precautions in the real world, it makes sense to take equal precautions in the digital world.
When you connect to the internet, you can think of it as opening your front door. Your front door leads to the walk. The walk leads to the street. The street leads to the highway. The highway leads to the airport. The airport leads to the world. You can walk right out, go anywhere and find just about anything AND anyone could come right in from anywhere and do anything they want too. That is, they can if you fail to take the right precautions.
The right precaution in this case is a network. A simple routed network can provide the proper barriers to keep you safe on the internet.
A Routed Network
A routed network? We call it a "routed" because the network contains a "router" - a semi-smart network device whose job it is to direct traffic between two networks. In the case of a small home network, a router's job is to sit between the wild and wooly public internet and your small private network. The router acts like a bouncer at an exclusive club - letting only the guests on the guest list in and giving everyone else the boot.
The router "routes" traffic - if you request a web page by typing an address in your browser, the router knows this and lets the requested web site files into your network. If a bad guy trys to follow the web site into your network, the router stops him because you didn't request it.
Sometimes a router is referred to as a "firewall" but that's really a bit of an inaccuracy, but it's close enough to be generally true (you can learn more about routers and firewalls here).
In simple terms, this is how a network keeps you safe. If you use a dial-up modem (without a dedicated software firewall) or if you have attached a broadband cable modem or DSL modem directly to your computer (without a dedicated software firewall) - this is one of the more dangerous things you can do with your computer.
A word on software based firewalls...
It's akin to leaving your front door open or your car doors unlocked - you are just begging the bad guys to come in and take a look at your goodies - and take them if they want (you can learn more about security for home networks here).
When you use a routed network to access the internet, the router is the device which connects directly to the unregulated internet instead of your computer. The router is a hardened device designed specifically for this purpose. The router is also significantly less likely than a computer with a complex operating sysem to have a flaw which allows any type of unauthorized access.
Now that we've learned that a network is required as a basic safety precaution we can explore some of the other reasons why you might need or want a home network.
