Mirsky mirsky.com> wrote:

Others have answered your questions. I'll just note that when my
mother-in-law got Verizon DSL a few years ago, the DSL modem they sent
here had a router built in (a wireless one even). So it is possible thet
you might have a router without particularly being aware of it as such.
Admitedly, Verizon probably ships multiple different kinds of DSL
modems, so the one you got might not also be a router.

(The default configuration Verizon sent my mother-in-law had the
wireless access wide open on their router, which I thought was a lot
bigger security issue for her. I fixed that for her.)

If you don't have a router, I consider one generally a good idea anyway,
even if you don't strictly "need" one. It isn't as though they are very
expensive (certainly not compared to your 24" iMac). Security aside, it
will be handy if you ever want to add another computer, or
friends/relatives/whatever come over and you want to let them acess the
net with their laptops, or... lots of other things.