And while Mac OS 9 has added a Multiple Users option, there is still a strong degree of security. Since you are connected via a shared media, others can see your computer, unless specific steps are taken. This article will help educate you on some protections that can be taken to further secure your system on the internet. There are ways to protect your system from would be intruders and senseless attacks. While not an attack, another concern is sniffing.
Someone connects a sniffer to a network.
The sniffer will intercept a copy of every packet that is sent across the network. A sniffer can be set to look a every machine on a given network, or to look at only specific machines. The operator with some time and effort can rebuild the packet and extract the information. This information can be the contents of an e-mail message to an telnet, clear text password. The best way to beat sniffing is to use encrypted transmissions.