Why is internet security a very important topic

The question I have for you is, how safe is your computer? The technology age has changed since the days when I was a youth. Growing up as a poor child, living in the rural areas of an impoverished city, technology was the last thing we were worried about staying current on. I couldn’t even fathom the day that I would ever be able to afford to purchase my very first computer. As I matured into an adult, my life would lead me to Joining the military and it was there that I had the opportunity to interact with computers.

In this present world, it is not uncommon to see a computer in almost every household. Most Americans would be lost if you ever told them that they would have to live without the Internet. Long before we had the Internet, we still use to suffer from the attacks of outside attacks. These so called attacks to your computer can come in many different forms and wreak havoc on your system. Some of the following attacks can be grouped into categories such as viruses, bootees, worms, and Trojan horses. The first form of attack I would like to discuss is computer viruses.

Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer to another and to interfere with computer operation (” Microsoft Safety and Security Center,” n. D). It is imperative to know that anytime you use your computer to connect to the World Wide Web that you are running the risk of being exposed to a virus. Viruses can be found in anything on the Internet and they are often mistakenly downloaded. They can be hidden in emails, funny pictures, birthday cards, as well as any audio or video file. Some people may even have a virus on their external hard drive and are not even aware of its presence.

They help the virus spread by plugging heir external data drive on to your computer and accidental infect your computer with the same virus. Once a virus is on your computer, there is no limit to what damage it could cause. A computer virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer, use your email program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on your hard disk (” Microsoft Safety and Security Center,” n. D). It is recommended that all users invest in a good virus protection program for their computer to help mitigate the risk of ever being infected with a virus.

What if I told oh that the minute you buy your computer from any manufacture, by the time you bring it home, your system virus protection is already outdated? Welcome to the world of Internet Security. Most computers are sent to places like Best Buy, Wall-Mart, and Target months in advance with a pre-installed virus protection that was installed months ago. Why is this important to know? The important knowledge that I want you to take from this question is the date on the installation. A virus protection program is only good and effective when you run it like it is designed to function.

For example, if the date of manufacture on my laptop says that my virus protection software was installed on August 1, 2013 and today is November 23, 2013 then I need to run an update immediately. Every day there are many different attacks that are released on the Internet. The last time my system searched for a new list containing those viruses and how to prevent them was over three months ago. This will leave my system in a very vulnerable position. I want you to remember that once you load your security software, it is only as good as the information available at the time of development (” Ever-Evolving Threats,” n. ). If you really want to give your system the protection that it needs then there are several things that you can do after you install your security software. The Internet is a particularly important conduit for security software updates. It’s perhaps a sweet irony that the very medium used for virus proliferation and other threats are also a delivery mechanism for anti-threat technology (” Ever-Evolving Threats,” n. D. ). The reality is security firms can use the Internet Just as effectively as hackers. In fact, the Internet has become the primary method for security update delivery (” Ever-Evolving Threats,” n. ). Different security software companies offer live updates that will include the various security updates that will apply to your network. It is recommended that you check for these updates on a weekly basis. I am extra cautious when it pertains to the safety of my computer so I do my scans every three days. You can also set your computer up to scan on a weekly basis and automatically provide the necessary updates. It is a personal preference as to how you want to check and apply your updates but whatever you do, please do not ignore the updates.

If you are new to the computer world and you onto know anything about securing your computer, then I highly recommend Norton, MacAfee, or Vast virus protection programs. Some may ask, ” Why is Internet Security a very important topic”? I am glad they asked those types of questions. Have you ever heard of the term ” pashing”? Pashing is an online version of identity theft. It is a method of fraudulently obtaining personal information, such as passwords, social security numbers, and credit card details, by sending spoofed emails that look like they come from trusted sources, such as banks or legitimate companies (” What is

Pashing,” n. D. ). One of the more common forms of pashing is Deceptive. This type of attack usually involves receiving and responding to a bogus email message and now the attacker has your personal information. I remember years ago, my wife and I were victims to this attack. We had Just applied for a credit card and at the time our interest rate was 6 % and we received an email the offer off lower score. Once we replied to this email we waited for our interest rate to drop, however it never happened.

What ended up happening was my computer being attacked by different luscious software, telling me that my computer was infected and I had to go to Wall- Mart and purchase a green dot money card and send them money in order to repair my computer, when I didn’t even have a problem with it in the first place. Needless to say, I was very upset about the whole ordeal and Vive been adamant about the security of my computer every since. In conclusion, there are many things that can happen to your computer while you are browsing through the Internet. Virus change on a daily basis and with each one becoming more complex, the war to get rid of