You know those movies depicting the days of yore when the royals lived in a castle? Such a flick wouldn't seem authentic without a scene of people passing through the castle gates, complete with a drawbridge and a moat. Given such castles were built of solid, high walls, it's implied there was no way in or out except through the gate.
Your modem is the castle gate
In the kingdom of the Internet, as far as homes and small businesses are concerned, there's only one way in and out, only one castle gate: the modem. On Hawaii Island, the modems are provided by Hawaiian Telcom, Spectrum, satellite internet providers, or cell providers like AT&T and Verizon.
So the modem is THE conduit to the Internet. No modem, no Internet. (Here I'm limiting the scope to not include connecting on a cell phone to the Internet via a cellular data plan.)
Modem/router
Some of these modems are actually a modem/router combo. The router component is what allows multiple users to connect through one modem via a wired or wireless connection. Some folks have a modem from the telco provider and a router they bought off the shelf, like a Linksys or Netgear brand.
Castle gate, but no protection
Now here my catle gate analogy breaks down a little, becuase a modem by itself affords virtually no protection against Internet crooks. It's actually the router that provides gate keeping. The basic protection a router affords is a firewall, but there are other security features like WiFi encryption, etc.
I highly recommend not connecting a computer to the Internet directly via a modem, even if you have only one computer. Install a router between your computer and the modem.
Hacking Targets
Given that we depend on our routers for security, it's very important to know they are regularly the target of hacking. Cybercrooks are constantly on the lookout for router vulnerabilities. The cheaper and older a router is, the less likely the manufacturer is to "patch" it, which means to keep the software up-to-date against known threats.
How to secure your router
What can you do to keep your router as secure as possible? There are several things, but one of the most important and oft-neglected is to update the firmware (the router software). The most common way to do this is login to your router via the router's IP address in a web browser, then locate the update option. Note: Only do this when you can afford for the router to be shut down, because the firmware update will reboot the device. You can check for specific firmware instructions on the vendor's site for your router, such as linksys.com or netgear.com, etc.
Additionally, if your router is older than two years, I suggest replacing it. A router's performance decreases over time; and as mentioned, security can be compromised if vendors don't keep patching the defects.
Get some help
Be sure to get some help configuring a new router, because out of the box it's not optimally secure. If the router is provided by your telco, they will upgrade you to the latest model for free.
Here's another article with more info and tips on this subject:
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-upgrade-your-wireless-routers-firmware-2487671
Thanks for reading!
-Sam
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