How to get started with knoppix and cable modems

[beforewisdom]

Hi;

I have an OLD ( over a year ) copy of knoppix installed on my hard drive.

I've never had a high speed connection before and today the cable guy came and hooked up my PC to a cable modem.

No surprise, he didn't know how to get it working with knoppix. I'm using the KDE desktop.

I would be much obliged if someone could tell me how to get knoppix working with the cable hookup( hopefully, before my dialup account runs out ).

Do I need to get a firewall? If so, could someone tell me the easiest (or best) option to take care of that?

Thanks much in advance

Steve

[beforewisdom]

Never mind the connection part. I rebooted my box and now it is working :).

However, I could still use information about firewalls. What are they? Do I need one with a cable modem? What is the best solution?

Thanks

Steve

[Harry Kuhman]

However, I could still use information about firewalls. What are they? Do I need one with a cable modem? What is the best solution?
The best solution is a hardware firewall, and you do need one with a cable modem, particularly if you run Windows but there are growing issues for Linux only users too. See answer #4 (http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/User:Harry_Kuhman) for more details.