It's possible to probe your machine anytime you are on the internet.  While most such attacks are the work of be-zitted male social misfits, some are done by pros who know to go for your accounting files, password files, etc.

You can defend

• by going online only when you need to.  This greatly abates your exposure, as compared to a 24-7 DSL connect.
• by reverting to paper for important personal transactions, records, etc.  This has but little appeal to me, but it works.
• by using an ISP which changes your address from time to time behind the scenes, so if you are hacked they can't come back later.
• by using linux.  Most alpha geeks I know refer to Windows as 'a porous piece of crap.'  Vivid image, that.
• by getting a personal firewall which monitors, defeats, and writes evidence of hacks that can be used by your ISP to defeat them later, or even in court.

    (Dual Pissery.  One guy got a personal firewall and the first attack came when he logged as Remote into  his company, which immediately probed his computer.  He was furious and called the help desk: "What right have YOU got to probe MY personal computer without telling us in advance, etc...."

    They were furious: "When YOU log into OUR system, we have a perfect right to... and we don't have to announce every security move we make....")

    This was not the only attack he received; none of which he would ever have known about without....

    Network ICE sells a personal firewall.  I'm not advising you to get it, but I am advising you to ask around about these things and consider this or some other product.

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