Question: Should I leave my router switched on all the time ? I have been turning it off at night when I turn off the computer, but this morning I forgot it and spent ages trying to get on line before I realised. Do you leave yours on all the time. Answer: (By Julian H. Stacey http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/cv/ ) Some people have DSL as a card plugged into PC, so no choice for them. My router is in 2 parts: A 220V ADSL modem, connected via an ethernet cable (no hub) to a full function PC (old mini tower). That mini tower is a firewall gateway router proxy that connects my internal ethernet host to internet. The DSL modem: The modem stays turned on for months. Though in summer I think about that, as theres so much that stays on all night & its one more office heat source. Powered up continuously it will of course be warmer & the electrolytic capacitors will dry out & die sooner. On the other hand, my main tower's main board died last week, cos the BIOS ROM chip died. Not that I wouldnt expect a ROM to die quicker if left on (as it usually is for weeks), but on the other hand I didnt need that BIOS till I turned on. Does one want to increase the chances of problems next morning at power up ? An administrator friend once said he had so much kit, whenever he turned it all on (eg after Xmas) something always failed to start. My ADSL modem takes maybe 20+ seconds to synchronise when powered up or re-connected on the phone line side. My gateway router-PC: Usually stays on for weeks, except in hot weather overnight. The firewall runs on the gateway = router PC, not on all the internal hosts. I wrote the firewall router rules myself. Being paranoid, I dont trust my own rules, & if I Know I won't be using the net for a while I unplug the ethernet cable between gateway/router & DSL modem. What should you do ? I'd suggest turn off. Being paranoid as I feel I'm trained to be, I'd ask: while powering up, does Microsoft & the raft of other stuff initially lock itself tight, then install firewall rules to progressively unlock bits, or does it start open, & later lock bits up ? Is there a window of opportunity each time the machine boots ? (automatic intrusion takes a few seconds, & Microsoft machines are scanned & attacked extremely quickly if you have right software to see it - I have seen it). If you leave yourself connected for long periods, & are you sure your firewall rules are correct & appropriate (*) ? Unplugging gives absolute security :-) If default firewall rules are too difficult the manufacturer will get many complaints, particularly from unskilled people, costing extra support salaries. if firewall rules are too easy some people will be broken into, & subset will notice, a smaller subset will complain to firewall manufacturer, & some of those will be fobbed off or blamed for changing something, of the remainder, some will probably be bought off with a free software upgrade, virtually none will see a cash damages payment. So if you were a firewall vendor, what would you do ? & if a cautious user what would you do ? (Answer turn off everything, & only very cautiously turn on a minimum of what's essential). Firewalls are a pain. So are locked doors & gate security/porters. But just like one bolts a door at times in case the lock is picked, why not power down or physically unplug the DSL modem when you know you don't need it. ? PS http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/txt/ip/