by Duncan Kelly

Created on: October 21, 2008   Last Updated: November 13, 2008

Home networks are really great for getting your money's worth out of your computers and peripherals. All the computers in your home can share one printer, one modem or wireless connection, they can share hard drive space and DVD drives, scanners and so on. Of course, there are some safeguards one has to put in place as well.

Computers used by the kids are probably going to have to fend off viruses and buggy programs, since kids usually get copies of copies of programs, games, music and video from friends, and these are often from dubious sources. So a sturdy anti-virus and anti-spyware system needs to be in place. Remember that in a network, when one computer gets infected, the others usually do as well.

If your network is a wireless system, it is possible to hack into it from outside your property, so keep firewalls and other security systems active even if not connected to the internet. And especially if your are connected to the internet, keep all your security systems and the settings in Internet explorer on the highest settings that you can comfortably live with.

Another problem that could arise is having semi - computer- literate members of the family, like younger children, accessing files that are of a sensitive nature, like your home budget files, or deleting things on your computer while they are working on their computer. For this reason a strict sharing and permissions system should be implemented by the head of the household, to prevent accidental erasure or access to various important files. You can set this security on a folder by right clicking it and then selecting "Sharing and security" and then setting the options as you want them. Don't share your whole hard drive, but only those folders that need to be shared.

Put passwords on your computers. And give each person their own logon credentials. This helps to keep track of who did what, and it keeps most of your personal documents separate from other people's documents.

When you leave the computer, it is best to log off so that no one else (such as a visiting neighborhood kid) can get into your data. Another easier method is to enable the screen saver and set it to request a password when it resumes.

These few precautions should enable you to have a trouble free home network.

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