DSL modem sufficiency question

[msorens]

In the process of installing DSL in my home network consisting of a desktop and a laptop that currently use dial-up with Internet Connection Sharing.
I have a new Actiontec "DSL Modem with Wireless Gateway" provided from my DSL vendor. I also have on my shelf a Belkin wireless router.

(1) Will I be more secure by using both the DSL modem and the Belkin router, or is the DSL Modem by itself secure to the same degree?

(2) I wish to have the same level of file sharing I do now, so presumably I will still use ICS, or is that not the case...?

[cszeto]

A good part of how "secure" a network can be has a large part to do with how the network is configured. The equipment alone has very little to do with how secure the network that it supports can be built.

A lot of wireless networks are not configured as well as they could be from a security standpoint, but that also has a lot to do with what one is expecting as security versus ease of use. There is a trade-off between security and ease of use when it come to wireless networking.

As for local network file sharing, it has nothing to do with ICS. File sharing is strictly a NOS (Network Operating System - e.g. Windows Networking) functionality. It's the computers and how each of them are set up within the network. ICS just provides shared access to the Internet in most configurations.