Computers Security

Discover how to make a wise decison on your next computer purchase.

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So you’ve finally decided it’s time for a change. No matter what advice you follow that old work horse of a desktop computer you have has outlived its usefulness with slow loading applications and

a continuous rise in operation noise. Searching for that Perfect Computer can be about as much fun as purchasing a new car and about as frustrating also when sorting through the various brands while trying to decide which “bells and whistles” best fit your needs. Besides all that trying to return something that is so large can be both inconvenient and very difficult to do. So making the right decision the FIRST time is the wise path of choice.

For starters you’ll need to decide what you want to do with your computer. Are you into the video game scene or are you someone who likes to just surf the internet and occasionally do some book keeping with simple word processing software?

If you’re into video games you’re going to want a machine that can handle the high level of graphics and superior sound quality. On the other hand if you’re not into all that high adrenalin stuff can probably get by with a less expensive system. Although,Buying the Perfect Computer – The FIRST Time Articles if you want to stay on the safe side I would recommend going with something more “high-end” so you don’t have to spend another large chunk of change to upgrade the system you just bought.

There are two basic routes you can take when purchasing
a new computer.

1) Purchase a “Brand Name” Computer
2) Purchase a “Clone” Computer

A “BRAND-NAME” computer is one that is manufactured by a company that is recognizable by name.

Some Advantages/Disadvantages of “Brand-Name” computers include:

Advantages-

Customer Support- If you are experiencing problems with your computer you will have the option to contact a representative of the company that you purchased the PC from to get help in solving your problem.

Customer support is probably the best reason to buy a brand-name computer.

Warranty- Having a warranty is always nice since it acts as a type of security blanket for you.

In case a part on your computer should fail you should be able to get the item fixed at no charge just as long as the warranty has not expired.

Read and understand a company’s warranty policy BEFORE you purchase a computer from them.

This way you’ll have a good understanding of the procedures to follow in case a problem should arise.

Pre-installed Software- Many companies will include software packages that are all set up and ready to go for you on your computer.

Although, a disadvantage of buying a brand-name computer with software pre-installed is that you usually end up with more than fits your needs and usually just results with the wasting of space on your storage device.

Additional Support- Most brand-name computer companies are also able to provide you with web sites that may provide you with current software updates, user manuals, or basic troubleshooting help.

Disadvantages-

The use of Proprietary parts- the term Proprietary refers to products that are unique to an individual company and that company only.

So if a part was to malfunction on your computer after warranty and you needed to replace it you could not just go to your local computer store and purchase any old part even if it was intended for the same function as the item that failed.

You would be forced to buy the exact same item that came out of the computer or else the computer would more than likely cease to function correctly.

Having to buy proprietary parts usually involves the need to place an order which means you’ll have to wait for the part to arrive or you’ll have to send your computer into the company or an authorized dealer of that company for repairs.

People with a home based business would probably not be too happy with that situation at all.

Integrated/On-board parts- In the computer world when you hear the word integrated or on-board it means that a particular part such as the modem or sound port where you plug in your speakers, is built-in or part of the computer main board (Also known as the Motherboard).

This means that if any of these items should fail, you can’t just remove them from the computer and replace them with a new part. They are usually soldered directly to the main board and are stuck there.

Although, some computers do provide a way to disable a malfunctioning device which will allow you to install your own store bought device to take the place of the broken part.

From a computer technicians point of view this is not always easy to do.

It just depends on what brand of computer you currently have. Meaning some are easier to work on than others.

A “CLONE” computer is a clone or a copy of its brand-name counterpart with the exception that instead of company specific or proprietary parts, the items used to make a clone computer are from several different companies instead of only one.

Let’s say that if you were to go to a local company that builds “clone” computers, and you tell them what you need, chances are they don’t use parts that are specific to only that type of computer like the brand-name computer companies do.

This is a good thing because it means that they will probably use components that are interchangeable with many different brands and are easy to come by if needed.

Some Advantages/Disadvantages of “Clone” computers include:

Today, many people rely on computers to do homework, work, and create or store useful information. Therefore, it is important for the information on the computer to be stored and kept properly. It is also extremely important for people on computers to protect their computer from data loss, misuse, and abuse.

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Today,Computer Security Ethics and Privacy Articles many people rely on computers to do homework, work, and create or store useful information. Therefore, it is important for the information on the computer to be stored and kept properly. It is also extremely important for people on computers to protect their computer from data loss, misuse, and abuse. For example, it is crucial for businesses to keep information they have secure so that hackers can’t access the information. Home users also need to take means to make sure that their credit card numbers are secure when they are participating in online transactions. A computer security risk is any action that could cause lost of information, software, data, processing incompatibilities, or cause damage to computer hardware, a lot of these are planned to do damage. An intentional breach in computer security is known as a computer crime which is slightly different from a cypercrime. A cybercrime is known as illegal acts based on the internet and is one of the FBI’s top priorities. There are several distinct categories for people that cause cybercrimes, and they are refereed as hacker, cracker, cyberterrorist, cyberextortionist, unethical employee, script kiddie and corporate spy. The term hacker was actually known as a good word but now it has a very negative view. A hacker is defined as someone who accesses a computer or computer network unlawfully. They often claim that they do this to find leaks in the security of a network. The term cracker has never been associated with something positive this refers to someone how intentionally access a computer or computer network for evil reasons. It’s basically an evil hacker. They access it with the intent of destroying, or stealing information. Both crackers and hackers are very advanced with network skills. A cyberterrorist is someone who uses a computer network or the internet to destroy computers for political reasons. It’s just like a regular terrorist attack because it requires highly skilled individuals, millions of dollars to implement, and years of planning. The term cyperextortionist is someone who uses emails as an offensive force. They would usually send a company a very threatening email stating that they will release some confidential information, exploit a security leak, or launch an attack that will harm a company’s network. They will request a paid amount to not proceed sort of like black mailing in a since. An unethical employee is an employee that illegally accesses their company’s network for numerous reasons. One could be the money they can get from selling top secret information, or some may be bitter and want revenge. A script kiddie is someone who is like a cracker because they may have the intentions of doing harm, but they usually lack the technical skills. They are usually silly teenagers that use prewritten hacking and cracking programs. A corporate spy has extremely high computer and network skills and is hired to break into a specific computer or computer network to steal or delete data and information. Shady companies hire these type people in a practice known as corporate espionage. They do this to gain an advantage over their competition an illegal practice. Business and home users must do their best to protect or safeguard their computers from security risks. The next part of this article will give some pointers to help protect your computer. However, one must remember that there is no one hundred percent guarantee way to protect your computer so becoming more knowledgeable about them is a must during these days. When you transfer information over a network it has a high security risk compared to information transmitted in a business network because the administrators usually take some extreme measures to help protect against security risks. Over the internet there is no powerful administrator which makes the risk a lot higher. If your not sure if your computer is vulnerable to a computer risk than you can always use some-type of online security service which is a website that checks your computer for email and Internet vulnerabilities. The company will then give some pointers on how to correct these vulnerabilities. The Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center is a place that can do this. The typical network attacks that puts computers at risk includes viruses, worms, spoofing, Trojan horses, and denial of service attacks. Every unprotected computer is vulnerable to a computer virus which is a potentially harming computer program that infects a computer negatively and altering the way the computer operates without the user’s consent. Once the virus is in the computer it can spread throughout infecting other files and potentially damaging the operating system itself. It’s similar to a bacteria virus that infects humans because it gets into the body through small openings and can spread to other parts of the body and can cause some damage. The similarity is, the best way to avoid is preparation. A computer worm is a program that repeatedly copies itself and is very similar to a computer virus. However the difference is that a virus needs o attach itself to an executable file and become a part of it. A computer worm doesn’t need to do that I seems copies to itself and to other networks and eats up a lot of bandwidth. A Trojan Horse named after the famous Greek myth and is used to describe a program that secretly hides and actually looks like a legitimate program but is a fake. A certain action usually triggers the Trojan horse, and unlike viruses and worms they don’t replicate itself. Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are all classifies as malicious-logic programs which are just programs that deliberately harms a computer. Although these are the common three there are many more variations and it would be almost impossible to list them. You know when a computer is infected by a virus, worm, or Trojan horse if one or more of these acts happen:Screen shots of weird messages or pictures appear.You have less available memory then you expectedMusic or sounds plays randomly.Files get corruptedPrograms are files don’t work properlyUnknown files or programs randomly appearSystem properties fluctuateComputer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses deliver their payload or instructions through four common ways. One, when an individual runs an infected program so if you download a lot of things you should always scan the files before executing, especially executable files. Second, is when an individual runs an infected program. Third, is when an individual bots a computer with an infected drive, so that’s why it’s important to not leave media files in your computer when you shut it down. Fourth is when it connects an unprotected computer to a network. Today, a very common way that people get a computer virus, worm, or Trojan horse is when they open up an infected file through an email attachment. There are literally thousands of computer malicious logic programs and new one comes out by the numbers so that’s why it’s important to keep up to date with new ones that come out each day. Many websites keep track of this. There is no known method for completely protecting a computer or computer network from computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, but people can take several precautions to significantly reduce their chances of being infected by one of those malicious programs. Whenever you start a computer you should have no removable media in he drives. This goes for CD, DVD, and floppy disks. When the computer starts up it tries to execute a bot sector on the drives and even if it’s unsuccessful any given various on the bot sector can infect the computer’s hard disk. If you must start the computer for a particular re

A computer worm is a type of malware that can replicate and spread itself to other computers via a network. Read this to know how to prevent them.

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Computer technology has helped us to be productive and store our important information. With the introduction of the world wide web,What are computer worms, and how to prevent them? Articles people can now stay connected to their loved ones and carry our work easily.

With the increasing number of people using the internet, it has attracted a lot of threats. Threats that can infiltrate our computer system without our knowledge. One such threat is the computer worm, which we will discuss in brief to know how it can be prevented.

Why Are Computer Worms Dangerous?

Before we jump into the dangers of a computer worm, let’s know a little about it. Computer worms are a type of malware that can quickly infect many computers on a single network. It can copy itself from one system to another rapidly.

Initially, Worms were executed through emails, Melissa worm, Sobig, and MyDoom; all were spread in the form of email attachments. The worms were installed in the email attachments; they spread themselves when the user opens them.

MyDoom worm spread itself through a file-sharing program; in the end, it shows their capability of rapid spread, which is dangerous. Another deadly feature of a computer worm is the ability to delete and modify files.

When the worms inject themselves into the computer system, they can modify, delete files and install extra malicious software. Every computer worm’s intention is different, some may copy itself, and others eat up the system resources.

Additionally, they can also install a backdoor, steal data, and give hackers the ability to control a computer’s system and settings.

Are Worms and Viruses Same?

No, computer worms and viruses are not the same, but their purpose to disrupt an individual’s computer system. Viruses are designed to damage the victim’s computer by corrupting or destroying the system’s data.

On the other hand, worms are designed to copy themselves and spread. Their main purpose is to manipulate data and the computer system. But a large-scale worm replication can cause a huge amount of damage to the entire network of computers.

When it comes to execution, viruses require human action. Actions like download an infected file after getting tricked through a malicious email. Viruses may also get inside a computer after the download and using suspicious software.

Worms, however, don’t require human actions. When it gets access to your computer system, it will start copying itself and spread to as many computers as possible.

Look Out for these Computer Worm Symptoms

Being familiar with the computer worm symptoms can help in making an immediate decision for worm removal. Quickly removing the worm prevents further damage to your system, so look out for the following computer worm symptoms:

• The system freezes or crashes unexpectedly. • Unexpected slowdown of computer performance. • Automatic opening and closing of the installed computer programs. • The web browser irregularly slows down in performance. • The computer shows unusual behavior. • A lot of warning from the Firewall. • Files are missing or getting modified. • The appearance of desktop icons or files that you’ve never seen before. • Operating starts showing error messages. • Without your knowledge, emails will send to different users.

Well, some of the issues may be due to other problems, but if you’re experiencing most of the listed symptoms, chances are high for computer worm infection. The best solution to stay safe from worms is to prevent it, and if you’re infected, immediately remove it using antivirus software.

How to Protect Yourself from Computer Worms

Prevention is better than cure, so you must always regularly protect your computer, networks from worms. Following are some tips using which you can prevent computer worms from infecting the system.

• Install robust antivirus software.

Comprehensive antivirus software can help to prevent computer worms as well as viruses. Antivirus is designed to protect your computer against threats. To prevent damage to your computer, it will scan all the files in the computer. But make sure you go for premium antivirus software. As free antivirus software doesn’t offer additional and premium protection to your computer, a little investment can fetch you complete computer security. • Never open unknown email attachments. Worms are usually executed through emails. So, when you receive any emails from an unknown sender, make sure you don’t open the attachment; it may contain a malicious worm. If you open the suspicious email attachment, the worm will be executed, resulting in a computer worm infection. • Keep the installed software up-to-date. Software updates include the latest security patches that can eliminate loopholes of vulnerabilities. So, make sure that you immediately download it whenever the latest version of the installed software is released. It will help to protect the system from the latest computer worms and viruses. Don’t let your software and system outdated, as they may contain bugs and vulnerabilities. • Frequently scan your computer. Scanning your computer not only helps in identifying hidden viruses but also in removing them from the system. Scanning your computer with antivirus software is one of the best and easiest ways to prevent computer worms and viruses. So, make sure that you install effective antivirus software and frequently run scans. • Use/Enable Firewall. A firewall is a security tool designed to keep an eye on incoming and outgoing network traffic. It helps prevent any program or files trying to get unauthorized access and protects the system from suspicious files. Windows comes will a built-in firewall; make sure it’s enabled. Also, there are third-party antiviruses that offer firewalls, don’t forget to take the benefit.

Conclusion

Computer worms are sneaky; if you’re not careful, they can easily infect your computer. But by gathering knowledge on computer worms, their symptoms, and taking preventive measures will help keep computer worms away.