Computer Security

Computer Securityis the protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics, some of them quite complex. The most basic means of protecting a computer system against theft, vandalism, invasion of privacy, and other irresponsible behaviours is to electronically track and record the access to, and activities of, the various users of a computer system. This is commonly done by assigning an individual password to each person who has access to a system. The computer system itself can then automatically track the use of these passwords, recording such data as which files were accessed under particular passwords and so on. Another security measure is to store a system’s data on a separate device, or medium, such as magnetic tape or disks, that is normally inaccessible through the computer system. Finally, data is often encrypted so that it can be deciphered only by holders of a singular encryption key.

The Concerns of Computer Security

Computer Security is concerned with four main areas:

• Confidentiality:- Only authorized users can access the data resources and information.
• Integrity:- Only authorized users should be able to modify the data when needed.
• Availability:- Data should be available to users when needed.
• Authentication:- are you really communicating with whom you think you are communicating with

Computer Security Threats

Computer security threats are possible dangers that can possibly hamper the normal functioning of your computer. In the present age, cyber threats are constantly increasing as the world is going digital. The most harmful types of computer security are:

• Viruses: Virus is a malicious program which is loaded into the user’s computer without user’s knowledge. It replicates itself and infects the files and programs on the user’s PC. The ultimate goal of a virus is to ensure that the victim’s computer will never be able to operate properly or even at all.
• Computer Worm: Worm is a software program that can copy itself from one computer to another, without human interaction. The potential risk here is that it will use up your computer hard disk space because a worm can replicate in greate volume and with great speed.
• Phishing: Disguising as a trustworthy person or business, phishers attempt to steal sensitive financial or personal information through fraudulent email or instant messages. Phishing in unfortunately very easy to execute. You are deluded into thinking it’s the legitimate mail and you may enter your personal information.
• Botnet: A botnet is a group of computers connected to the internet, that have been compromised by a hacker using a computer virus. An individual computer is called ‘zombie computer’. The result of this threat is the victim’s computer, which is the bot will be used for malicious activities and for a larger scale attack like DDoS.
• Rootkit: A rootkit is a computer program designed to provide continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence. Once a rootkit has been installed, the controller of the rootkit will be able to remotely execute files and change system configurations on the host machine.
• Keylogger: Also known as a keystroke logger, keyloggers can track the real-time activity of a user on his computer. It keeps a record of all the keystrokes made by user keyboard. Keylogger is also a very powerful threat to steal people’s login credential such as username and password.

These are perhaps the most common security threats that you’ll come across. Apart from these, there are others like spyware, wabbits, scareware, bluesnarfing and many more. Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself against these attacks.