Soledad's Journal

The danger isn't just from spyware; cable modems leave you very vulnerable to hackers, and also to virus-writers and especially spammers (who can covertly install software on your computer while you're surfing online, which then goes on to distribute their viruses or spam for them whenever you're connected to the internet). Dial-up connections are for the most part immune to the latter two dangers because the connection's so slow. (Plus, people only turn on dial up connections when they want to use their computer, while a lot of people leave their computer on and their cable modem connected 24/7 - which means their system's vulnerable all the time, and not just for the few hours a day they may actually be spending on the web.)