Wireless rtr internet security

Question

New to this, so please excuse me for being a little dingy. Have installed a router to main computer and also installed a wireless adapter to my laptop and a wireless adapter to one other pc. Do I need virus protection, firewalls, etc for the 2 computers that are on the adaptors or do they all work off of the protection that the main computer has??????
Told you I'm new at this wireless stuff, but learning

Answer 1

While I certainly respect gv's opinion on computer security, I personally believe that only a real computer expert like him should be running without a software firewall and antivirus software.  I think "ordinary Joe" home users need more protection.
My recommendation is that, at a minimum, you turn on Windows firewall (which comes free with Windows) and that you run an antivirus program, at least weekly, but preferably 24/7.  This should be done on all computers.
Optionally, Windows firewall can be replaced with a more robust software firewall.  Another option is to add anti-spyware software.  Some software packages combine two or all three (firewall - antivirus - anti-spyware) of these functions into a single software package.
Either your antivirus or your anti-spyware software (or both) should also be capable of detecting "root-kits".
I make these recommendations for "ordinary Joe" home users because of the many "risks" for infection that occur each and every day.  These include such things as:
1) having a teen in the household  ---  Who knows what computer virus they might bring home from a LAN party, shared music, shared games, or internet downloads.
2) having an office worker in the household  ---  How many people use USB drives, compact flash, or home-made CD's to transfer data back and forth between work and home computers?   My point is this:  not all malware comes from your internet connection.  If your router is your only protection, malware could enter your computer through these other routes.   These other routes are typically protected by antivirus software.  (Note:  So far, my wife has brought home two computer viruses from work.  Yes, this was before we had more robust antivirus software.)
3) living with others  ---  Even if you practice safe computing, can you really get your spouse, or child, to do it?
4)  click errors  ---  don't tell me that you have never, ever opened an email by mistake.  Everybody makes a click error sooner or later.
5) risk of "drive by" infections  ---  just Google "Britney Spears", and click on all the links.  Sooner or later you will hit a site designed to try to give your computer a "drive by" infection.  So even innocent web surfing can sometimes get you nailed.
(Note:  I had this happen once.  The router did not stop it, but the antivirus software did.)
6) a clever phisherman  ---  Let's say you just emailed linksys.com   Soon you get an email from Iinksys.com and you open it.  Surprise - its infected!   How did that happen  ---  well, you may not have noticed, but I spelled that second occurance of "linksys.com" with a "capital i", not a "small L".  So the email that you thought was from linksys.com was from somebody else!  (OK, an I for an l is not the most clever substitution, but I think you get my drift.)
7) router malfunctions  ---  how many times have routers failed?  To get their system working, people bypass their router and connect their computer directly to their modem.  Well, if you don't ordinarily run a firewall, did you remember to turn on Windows firewall before you plugged into that modem?  If you are an expert, you probably remembered.  If you are an ordinary Joe - you forgot - and now you are toast!
There are so many ways to get infected, many quite innocent, that I think it is important for everyone to run a software firewall and anitvirus program.  So that is why I recommend it.
Message Edited by toomanydonuts on 02-02-200710:46 PM
Message Edited by toomanydonuts on 02-02-200710:47 PM
Message Edited by toomanydonuts on 02-02-200710:52 PM
Message Edited by toomanydonuts on 02-03-200712:36 AM