Quote:
I found a third method listed and the modem came on line.

Excellent!

I don't use Suse, so I don't know how to turn it on, but most linux distros include firewall software. I'd use it, even for a dialup connection. After that, be sure to disable any services you don't need (sendmail, portmapper, nfs, telnet, ftp, etc.) It's possible to make a linux machine very secure with a little effort.