I have 3 computers in my apartment and would like to hardwire one
computer to the modem and somehow also attach a router to this same
modem to provide wireless access to the other computers. The reason I
don't want to connect all the computers through the router is that I
would like the hardwired computer not to be visible in the wireless
network and thus be more secure from eavesdropping from my neighbors
since I do all my banking etc from the main computer. Any suggestion
would be highly appreciated. I know I can run network cables and
hardwire them all but I would have to make a lot of holes in the walls
and I would much rather come up with an alternative that would afford
me similar type of security on at least the main computer.
Thanks

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Clarification of Question by havequestions-ga on 17 Jul 2004 18:51 PDT

Thank you for your comment.
One question, though. will connecting the main computer to the router,
which is also providing the signal to the other computers expose it to
the same vulnerabilities of a wireless system. In other words, will a
hacker have the same ease in listening to the wired computer as he
might have listening to the wirelessly connected ones in this type of
configuration?

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Clarification of Question by havequestions-ga on 18 Jul 2004 19:37 PDT

Thanks a million, crythias-ga!

Simple. Get this. http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=35&prid=544

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=BEFW11S4&btnG=Search+Froogle

The short answer is no.

The wired computer won't broadcast its network connections over the
wireless network. This is mainly because a) it's wired. and b) it's
connected to a SWITCH which makes sure that bandwidth is dedicated for
traffic between connections and not sent to all ports on the switch,
like it would for a Hub. (Beyond the scope of the question, though).

Still, take advantage of and familiarize yourself with the WEP (Wired
equivalence Protocol) that allows you to encrypt your wireless
connections. Make sure you change your connection information from the
default, turn on WEP, use 128bit security, change the default router
password, etc. and you'll have as secure as you need. More information
is in the manual.

Although, realistically, I'd guess that most people don't get that
far. It hooks up and just works, so they don't bother with security.
The best thing to do is to make sure you have a firewall
www.zonealarm.com, ferinstance, on your banking PC ... even though
it's behind a router, you may just want to be sure nothing is
connecting FROM your PC to the outside world without your permission.
It also helps to prevent your PC from sharing its drives without
permission. The firewall will prevent anyone, even on your network,
from seeing the PC or using common exploits. You then can add specific
trusted computers when you wish to share your banking PC with those on
your network.

But, as far as your original question goes, the part I quoted is one
of the most popular devices to accomplish exactly what you requested.