Network Security: Ensuring Your Computer’s Safety
Almost everybody I know owns a personal computer. Take a peek into anyone’s computer, and you will find all sorts of data stored there—emails old and new, chat histories, communication logs, bills, banking and financial information, even details about credit cards, and so on. And your computer follows the same trend of setting itself up as a storehouse of information!
But what you are rapidly discovering now is that people with unhealthy inclinations are finding it easier and easier to get your personal information as well as misuse your financial data! It is like an intruder entering your personal territory, when he/she has no right to be there! While these intruders do it just for fun, others have far more evil designs, as you will see:
(1) With the Internet being accessible to one and all, the hacker has a chance to “prey” upon your personal computer via any other computer without your even being aware of it! You would require great tactical skills to outsmart him/her! Often, by the time you make the famous discovery of an intruder tampering with your system, it is too late!
(2) A favorite disguise is to act as the “intruded computer” and keep a watch on your system. As a victim yourself, naturally you will not suspect another victim! The hacker therefore has an opportunity to totally re-format your hard disc without your knowledge. So there goes your credit card information, valuable knowledge about the money you have in your bank accounts, and God knows what else! Why, these clever hackers even manage to get hold of user names and passwords without any difficulty!
(3) And if you are still confused about how the hacker gets into your “secure and personal” system, well my friend, he has wonderful tools with him! They are capable of penetrating where they will. And mind you, some of them never enter via the front door—it is always a back door entry! These are known as “infections” or “viruses”. A few common ones are Subseven, Netbus and MoSucker.
(4) Trojans are bold intruders who have no hesitation in making an entrance via the front door or front window! They are more dangerous than viruses. In fact, they let in more viruses into your already infected computer! These “clever” horses are capable of disfiguring your system configuration altogether, taking screen shots of your current screen on the computer, capturing all the keystrokes and finally bringing the whole system crashing down so that it no longer works. If you have a printer, they even manage to print matter via your printer. Using a Trojan is child’s play for any hacker!
Then, how do you protect yourself from these intruders?
Make sure you have Network Security, if you want to keep your system safe. An active defense system is like having two personal guards looking after your personal property. The defense network sends out constant alerts regarding impending threats, gives information about whether the intruder has made a successful entry or has been blocked, and conducts repair jobs immediately if necessary.
Ensure that the patches provided by your computer vendors are downloaded and installed. They are to be checked for updates at least once or twice a week.
A “sick” computer can be compared to an “ill” person. When you are sick, what do you do? Consume the required course of antibiotics. Well, the antibiotic for your “infected” or “ill” computer is anti-virus software. This type of software keeps you informed about the “germs” and gives guidance on how best to deal with them. Well-developed software can free your computer of these viruses completely. The best known and most popular ones today are—Norton Anti-virus and MacAfee security center.
It is thus a constant battle between computer vendors and hackers! As fast as a computer vendor discovers a loop hole and patches it up, so fast does the intruder discover another way of getting over this obstacle! It is not a once-in-a-while occurrence; the process goes on day in and day out. Both sides are therefore kept busy all the time!
If you believe your computer network to be flawed or vulnerable, get a free quote for computer network security services or visit bsecure.com.au; keeping computer networks in Sydney Australia, secure!
