Unit 4 IT Security

1. Unit 4 IT Security

2. Security issues that threaten systems • A virus is a simple program designed to cause harm to someone else's computer. A virus spreads by duplicating and attaching itself to other files. The extent of the damage depends on the virus. There are tens of thousands of viruses. • Software designed to collect information about what you are doing on the computer. For example a 'key logger' is a type of spyware that monitors and stores a record of every keystroke made on the computer. This data may then be sent to a remote server without your knowledge. Used to harvest passwords. • Spam means sending massive amounts of electronic junk mail that people haven't asked for. In legal terms it means to send 'unsolicited commercial email' This term is used because the vast majority of spam is sent in order to try and persuade you to buy something.

3. Security precautions to protect systems • There is free antivirus software that you can have installed on your computer/laptop. You don’t have to pay for software to protect your computer or for an annual subscription to maintain the latest virus protection. For Windows users, Microsoft Security Essentials is free. You can also get a firewall which acts as a barrier to viruses this will notify you if a virus appears. • Programs such as Webroot Spy Sweeper and eTrust Pest Patrol are offered for a small yearly subscription fee. These programs can help you prevent future attacks, scan for suspicious programs, and remove spyware and malware from your computer. • It is advised you install a separate anti-spam filter to ensure only legitimate messages arrive in your inbox. E-mail spam is not just a nuisance but can be a real danger as a significant amount of phishing attacks and viruses originate from emails (such as links to infected sites that are embedded within an email).

4. How to protect yourself • You can get a firewall which acts as a barrier to viruses this will notify you if a virus appears. • Everybody who uses a computer should be assigned their own user account so that only they can access their files and programs. Each user account should be accessible only by entering a username and password in order to safeguard users’ privacy. Other user account features can also be set up in user accounts – including parental controls (Windows Vista and Windows 7 only). • Hardware security is vulnerability protection that comes in the form of a physical device rather than software that is installed on the hardware of a computer system

5. Backing up data • It is essential that you always back up your important information and have a plan for recovering from a system failure. An attacker could crash a computer's operating system or data may be corrupted or wiped out by a hardware problem. Computers can be lost, stolen, or destroyed in a fire or other catastrophe. • The simplest method is to manually back up your files and settings to removable media or a network location. You can specify the files and settings that you want to back up and how often you want to perform a backup. • 1.Click Start button , click Computer and then double-click the drive where you currently have Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 installed. • 2.Open the Users folder, and then open the user folder that contains the files that you want to back up. • 3.Copy the necessary folders from the user folder to a network location or to removable media.

6. Being Safe online Don’t be putting irrelevant information online sites such as bank details because if you do your in danger of being hacked or scammed. You should use filters and passwords, have child locks on certain websites or search words.in schools they have locks on websites containing the key word ‘games’ this stops children from being distracted and makes them focus on their work. A 'proxy' is a word meaning substitute or stand-in. A proxy server reduces the bandwidth required for internet access. It does this by keeping a copy of often-used web pages in its local 'cache'.