Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Security Handbook

Dial-Up Connections

For the past decade, a phone line with a modem has been the de facto method of connecting to a remote network. With the proliferation of modems and affordable Internet service providers (ISPs) in the past years, nearly every computer is connected to the Internet at least occasionally.

This type of arrangement works well, but as I'm sure you know, analog phone lines are painfully slow and error-prone, and ISP dial lines are notoriously fraught with busy signals. However, from a security perspective, dial lines actually give their users a bit of security insulation:

• Dial lines are almost always used on a part-time basis. People dial in only to check their email, browse the Web, and so on and then disconnect. Even if you are ...