Posts Tagged ‘Computer Security’

Get Protected From Viruses Worms, Trojans, Spyware

Monday, May 9th, 2011

Not everybody is aware even nowadays about the differences between the terms Virus, Worms, Trojans and Spyware but only a few of us know what exactly separates these categories. The majority of the users believe that everything that is detected by their antivirus software is a virus, which is totally wrong.

An antivirus sofware can also detect Trojans, Worms and Spyware. Another thing that every user should know is that a virus is not categorized as a malware and vice versa. Of course, all the above can be very harmful to our computers’ hardware and software but there are numerous differences between a virus, a Trojan, a Worm and a Spyware. We will now analyze each category in order to clarify these differences:

Virus.
A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. Most people have the tendency of using incorrectly the term virus in order to describe other types of malware. A true virus can spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Once it enters into system memory it either searches for other files that can be infected or stays in the background and infect the files that are uses the virus infected program.

Worms.
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computers on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, even if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer

Trojan Horses.
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but (perhaps in addition to the expected function) steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.

Spyware.
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user’s personal computer. Sometimes, however, spywares such as keyloggers are installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer on purpose in order to secretly monitor other users.

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Email Security: the way to success

Monday, April 4th, 2011

No one can doubt the fact that e-mail technology has totally changed the ways in which people communicate. Nowadays people can easily communicate instantly and at no cost even if they are kilometers away from each other.

Email security is not a brand-new issue, actually is old news, but always timely. Nowadays it is necessary for all kinds of companies to protect their data and information in today’s fragile web-working world, by adopting countermeasures in order to avoid the effects negative of spam and malicious email content. Companies and organizations that deal with highly confidential information and data may face serious problems if an employee, either mistakenly or in purpose, expose this kind of data such as Social Security and account numbers or confidential records. At this point the most valuable asset of an effective email security solution and even for the security of the IT infrastructure in a company/organization, is by far the employees’ awareness and training.

Employees’ awareness to avoid security issues is the first step, but there are many more steps in order to improve email security: Adopt an archive system for all e-mail accounts existing in the IT infrastructure including administrators and managers. Implement specified policies and controls regarding what can be stored on user desktops and laptops, so you can control and protect important data. Empower the administrators of your network to enforce those policies by taking advantage of public available tools and policies. Make sure that every employee in the organization understands and accepts these policies especially within the key departments, such as the IT department, the HR department and of course the financial department.

Be always aware and informed for new threats and anti-virus solutions that evolve. Identify any problems that may occur and always find for the appropriate solution/program. Properly education of the employees is more than necessary in order to get protected in the first place. All employees should be aware and well informed about security policies from opening spam or emails from unknown senders. Nowadays, instant communication is the most common way of exchanging information and data for almost every business and organization. As all of us have taken from granted e-mail evolution, none of us should neglect security.

Unfortunately, the days of pure and safe internet are far away so there is no excuse for shortcuts when it comes to internet security. You can easily make use of all the public available solutions, and try to encourage your network administrators to enforce security policies.

Cyber Security Tips

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

by Talha Azeem

Nasties

In today’s digital age, cyber security is as important, if not more so, as actual security guarding a real piece of company property. However they may differ, they both have safeguard strategies that need to be implemented to the letter to be effective.

The following are some guidelines for use in cyber security:

Up-to-date anti-virus software
This is a given: all computers must have anti-virus software. The anti-virus software is specifically created and designed to protect your computer against known viruses.

There is one caveat, however. New viruses are created almost daily. There is a need, therefore, to update your anti-virus program on a regular basis to recognize these new variants of viruses.

Like flu shots, only that they are done more often, these regular updates can help stop these viruses. These regular updates are antidotes for these man-made vermin.

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Computer with problems

Firewalls
Firewalls are virtual defensive fortifications to protect your computer from the outside world. They filter unauthorized data from elsewhere, mostly the Internet, while allowing authorized or ‘good’ data to enter your computer.

All types of firewalls are available in most computer stores, and some computer manufacturing companies bundle them together with their computers that you purchase.

Emails
The simplest rule is this: if you don’t know the person who is sending you an email, be very careful about opening the email and never open any file attached to it.

Sometimes, you may have a vague idea who the sender is, but you should still be careful.
Some tell-tale signs include unusual hyperlinks and/or urgent messages to open the attached file. Some of your friends may have been conned and unwittingly forwarded you a virus-laden email.

When in doubt, delete. Your friend will understand.

Passwords
Passwords were created to be your virtual key to computer data. Like real-life keys, passwords are only as good if they are difficult to ‘duplicate’ or guessed.

Some of the guidelines are: Don’t share your password, don’t use your same password in more than one place, and most importantly, create a password that is difficult to guess.
Here are some time-tested rules in password-making:

1.) Passwords should have a minimum of 8 characters, and should be as meaningless as possible.

2.) Use all kinds of types possible – lower case, upper case, numbers, symbols, special characters, etc.

3.) Change your passwords regularly, every three months, for example.

4.) Never give out your password to anybody.

Back-up Data
Experienced computer users know one primary rule: always back up your data. Small amounts of data can be stored on disks and on CDs if they are more than the disk can handle. For computers in a network, the usual backup is through the network data storage system. The overall idea is that if anything happens to your primary data, you can always retrieve them from somewhere.

File sharing

laptop-virus

Another big no-no for experienced computer users is sharing them with strangers. Your computer operating system may allow file sharing from other computers in your network or from the Internet. This is one sure way of infecting your computer. Be sure to turn off and disable file-sharing if it is not needed.

Disconnecting from the Internet
Cutting your computer’s connection with the Internet when not in use lessens the possibility of accessing it. If your computer has no firewall or updated anti-virus protection, someone could harm it.

Update security patches
Just like your anti-virus program, there is a need to regularly update your other computer programs. Sometimes, bugs are discovered in your regular programs that can be an entrance to your computer for any malicious person to attack and infect.

Software companies create patches for these and post them in their sites. They can be downloaded and are automatically patched up into your program in question.

Regular security checkups
Like a car’s multiple systems, a computer security programs need regular checkups, too. Sometimes, you may discover that a program is outdated through simple oversight. Some security settings have to be adjusted according to your present needs. Twice-a-year evaluation is good enough.

Security awareness
Like preparing for emergencies in real life, it is good policy to make sure that family members or probably your employees would know what to do during computer emergencies.

They must at least be aware of proper computer security practices – how to update virus protection programs, how to download patches, how to create proper passwords.

Cyber security, like any real security, needs everybody’s help for it to succeed and avert those dreaded computer attacks.


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