Internet_Security

Internet security is currently a highly discussed topic due to numerous investigations into cyber attacks. A high profile story that has risen recently is how cyber criminals have been targeting World Cup football fans. Harvey, Mike (2010) states that in the build up to the World Cup, football fans have targeted “with a wave of spam e-mails, fake offers and attempts to steal banking details.” Situations such as these now have a vast amount of the public concerned as how secure the internet actually is. For non-technical users, the internet can seem very daunting when terms such as ‘Internet Worms’, ‘Spyware’, ‘Phishing’ or ‘Computer Virus’ are mentioned. However, further reading into this article may yet prove that the internet is not such a scary place after all. Unfortunately, there are users of the internet that set out with an intention to breach other users’ computer security. For example, known cases of this have been via usage of spurious websites, receipt of trick emails or even by people hacking straight into users’ computers to gain personal information. A way of counteracting and minimising attempts such as these is by using a firewall. A firewall is essentially software that acts as a filter / barrier to prevent unauthorised intrusions from outsiders, reducing vulnerability and exposure to such attacks. Other methods of attacks on computers are viruses. Viruses are malicious programs, which can infect computers and affect the way that computers react and respond. These reactions and responses can affect speed and performance. Viruses can corrupt files required by the computer to run effectively, or even stop it from functioning at all. However, threats such as these can be minimised with the usage of an Anti-virus program. An anti-virus program continuously runs in the background of a computer, constantly inspecting current and new file content. If a virus or a form of threat is detected, the anti-virus software informs the user of the threat before it can carry out any damage to the computer, thus allowing the threat to be contained. In conclusion, although there are numerous potential threats when using the internet, the internet can be a safe place when effective measures are put into place and security software (such as Firewalls and Anti-viruses) are used. For further information on firewalls and viruses, Kumar, Arun (2011) and Ptifluidtech.com (2011) give further information. References Harvey, Mike (2010) Cyber criminals target World Cup football fans [Online], www.timesonline.co.uk (Accessed 1st April 2010) Kumar, Arun (2011) Understanding Firewalls, Part 1 - What is a Firewall' [Online], http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/articles/62022.aspx (Accessed 1st April 2010) Ptifluidtech.com (2011) Computer Software – New Antivirus Explained [Online], http://www.ptifluidtech.com/computer-software-new-antivirus-explained/ (Accessed 1st April 2010)