The Threat of Online Security : How Safe Is Our Data?

The internet offers the opportunity to bank and shop in safety whenever and wherenever you want to do but also got a lot of people are facing problem on an attack their personal, financial and privacy data. The criminals attack internet users in a variety of ways including: virus, spyware, Wi-Fi eavesdropping, Hacking, Phishing.

Virus

Viruses are small, malicious computer progras that try to infect computers, spreading from on machine to the next. They spread in different ways:

• As attachments to emails. An infected computer can send out tens of thousands of emails, each carrying virus. Often it will use your email address book to find new people to attack
• By pretending to be something they are not (a ‘Trojan’). For example, a file that looks like it contains a picture of a celebrity.
• As downloads on malicious websites. In some cases, just visiting the site can download the virus. In other cases, they can be hidden inside seemingly-innocent programs that you download from the net. Hidden inside documents (‘macro viruses’)
• Directly over the internet from one computer to another (a ‘worm’). Once infected, a computer will scan the internet looking for computers that are vulnerable to attack and send them a copy.

spyware

Spyware doesn’t try to replicate itself a virus. Instead, it relies on people downloading it mistakenly, often alongside other programs such as peer- to-peer music sharing programs.It causes a range of problems,including:

• Annoying pop-up adverts
• Taking over your web browser
• Scanning your computer for private information like credit card numbers
• Slowing down your computer and internet connection
• Downloading viruses
• Being very difficult to remove

Wi-Fi eavesdropping

If you use a wireless, or Wi-Fi, network you will know that it lets you connect to your broadband internet connection using a radio link with a range of several hundred feet. However, this flexibility has a downside. Without security, other people can also connect to your internet link if they are within range. This mean you could pay for you neighbor’s internet use. A more sinister risk is that people can with the right equipment, eavesdrop on you and gain access to your computer over the wireless link.

Hacking

Hacker is individual who intends to gain unauthorized access t a computer system. Hackers are increasingly motivated by money and stealing your bank account and credit card information could make it well worth a criminal’s time to attack you. However, cracker is individual who intends to gain unauthorized access to a computer system with criminal intentions.

Phishing

Phishing, which means using a fake bank or credit card website and persuading you to enter private information that can be used to steal from you

As a conclusion, as a user we need to safeguard our privacy information by different defences for complete protection, for example anti-virus software and firewall. Besides that users should update it regularly in order to ensure its effectiveness.