One in three people in the UK believe they have been a victim of a cybercrime. While often cybercrime maybe a result of Internet-based attacks on sites where our financial details are saved, such as banks or online retailers, items such as passwords and even keystrokes can be analysed by intrusion software on our own home computers. Add to this the threat of viruses, spyware, adware and potentially unsuitable content for minors and you can see that while the Internet brings many benefits, there are, unfortunately, plenty of reasons to be wary.
Intruders’ motives for getting into your computer may not be to steal your information, but to launch attacks on other PCs. So how can we enjoy the wonders of the World Wide Web while protecting our home computers from intrusion?
Firstly, let’s take a look at some of the common security terms which we need to familiarise ourselves with from this glossary:
Adware: Adware often comes bundled into software packages and usually seek to find out what websites the computer user visits regularly to ensure that relevant advertising is presented to them on those sites.
Antivirus: Antivirus software is designed to protect PCs from intrusive programmes by detecting and removing them. This includes many of the threats outlined here.
Denial of Service (DoS): A DoS attack, or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDos), involves the mass bombardment of target servers – usually within websites or corporations – to render them unavailable to users as they struggle – or fail – to cope with demand.
Firewall: This is designed to prevent unauthorised access to a computer or network while allowing access to permitted parties. You will often see it at work while on your computer asking for permissions to allow pop-ups, for example.
Intrusion detection: An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) will often work in tandem with a firewall to identify actions which compromise data held on the computer or network to alert relevant stakeholders as to suspicious activity on the network.
Malware: This generic term covers a great deal of ‘malicious software’ that aims to access a computer. Malware includes viruses, spyware, adware and various other cybernasties.
Phishing: This is a common email nuisance. Phishing is the attempt by fraudsters to pose as legitimate organisations by email or instant messenger in order to gain sensitive information, such as bank account details. While not a direct threat to the network itself, it’s something a good spam filter should capture.
Spam: Spam is the bulk sending of unsolicited emails indiscriminately in order to promote products. Email filtering software helps combat spam by directing bulk mail straight into a ‘junk mail’ folder. Sometimes, however, legitimate mail ends up here too, so it’s worth checking the folder once in a while!
Spyware: Spyware can sneak onto computers and is often hard to detect. Spyware often collects personal information like surfing habits, and can even change settings within your computer. Sophisticated spyware can even monitor keystrokes, which in turn can be used to detect passwords, for example.
Trojan Horse: Named after the Greek legend, Trojans are programmes which may appear harmless enough but once installed allow a hacker to gain access to a computer system and infiltrate files at will.
Virus: Computer viruses can replicate themselves and should not be confused with adware, malware or spyware which do not reproduce. The aim of a virus is to spread from machine to machine, often via downloadable .exe (executable) files.
Worms: While viruses attack file systems worms also cause damage, often by taking up bandwidth and slowing overall performance.
Taking effective measures
You need not be daunted by the statistics or the sheer number of potential Internet threats out there, because there’s a whole industry worth billions of dollars continually developing technology to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
A lot of these Internet security products are available at Softwareload.co.uk, including antivirus, privacy protection, and general security suites and you can protect your PC for as little as £15. Let’s break that down:
Antivirus tools, as you read above, specifically target viruses, which are among the most damaging of Internet threats. Antivirus software automatically protects you against intruders, allowing you carefree shopping, chatting, emailing and messaging, while using the most modern detection methods to keep your PC clean from threats. For more detail, visit our antivirus store.
Privacy protection tools not only clear your Internet browsing history from the most popular browsers, such as Internet Explorer, AOL and Firefox, but also helps improve PC performance by deleting ‘clutter’ from your computer. Some products also wipe sensitive data, such as bank account details and passwords from potential infiltration. For more detail, visit our privacy protection store.
General security suites cover most of the bases discussed above and often include vital extras, such as parental control barriers to ensure that children cannot access unsuitable sites, anti-spam tools and file scanning technology. For more detail, visit our security suite store.
Peace of mind
Computers often come with built-in security software or offer you a preferred vendor, which may not always be the best option with other high-quality, cost-effective software out there on the market. Softwareload is continually adding top quality security products to its Internet security portfolio to give our customers peace of mind. You can keep up to date with security hints and tips, plus get the lowdown on the latest software offers by following Softwareload’s blog or joining our Facebook fan page.
Contact Information:
Chris Lee
Managing Director
Planet Content Ltd
Email: chris@planetcontent.co.uk
Mobile: +44 (0)7833 781720
Web: www.planetcontent.co.uk
Blog: www.runmarketing.co.uk/blog
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