Computer Securities – The Threats to Computer Systems Part 2

The transfer of information over the network has a higher risk compared to the transfer of information within a company or business network. The reason is that masters degree in information security experts and network administrators will take every extreme precaution to protect the information against any computer security risks. The internet has no administrator who can lessen the risk, thus if you are unsure on the security of your computer, then it is much better to have an effective security software or program that will check your computer from any vulnerabilities.

A regular network attack that can be launched from the internet can be viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spoofing and DDoS attacks. An unprotected computer is totally vulnerable to any cyber threats that could potentially harm the data, information, system of the computer or even the computer itself.

A computer virus will infect a certain file or application in a computer and it will alter how the computer will operate without the consent of the user. Once the computer virus is in the system, it will spread into other files that would further damage the operating system and the network. Viruses can enter the computer from any small opening or vulnerabilities and it could spread throughout the computer and also be transferred to other systems or networks.

Another threat is the computer worm, a worm is a code or program that will repeatedly copy itself and is closely similar to the computer virus. The only difference in them is that a virus will attach itself on a file or application, while the worm will not. It will automatically copy itself into other networks and it will eat up huge amounts of bandwidth.

The Trojan horse is named after the Trojan horse of a certain Greek myth. This is a false program that secretly disguises itself into a legit program; a certain user action will trigger the program and perform its task like stealing information or hijacking online transactions. Unlike worms and viruses, a Trojan horse can’t replicate itself; it has to be installed in the system of an unwitting victim via any social engineering ways in the Internet.

Viruses, worms as well as Trojans are classified as malicious programs, programs that could deliberately damage a computer and its system. Although these three are the most common, still there are other variations of malicious programs.

According to a ms in information security expert, a computer may be infected with any of these malicious programs if users will suddenly see weird pictures or messages appearing on the computer screen or a random sound or music is played on the computer’s speaker. The computer has less memory than the expected and the executable files are corrupted or won’t work properly. Sometimes the system properties will fluctuate and unknown files and programs will suddenly or randomly appear on the network.

Nowadays, there three common methods on how viruses, worms as well as Trojans infect computers and networks. Computers can become infected by downloading an infected file or program over the Web; booting a computer with a drive that has been infected or opening a malicious file that came from an attachment on the Email.

There are thousands of new malicious programs that appear in the Internet everyday. Unfortunately, there is no 100 percent guaranteed protection for computers and networks against these malicious and vile threats. However, every user can still perform several precautions to reduce the chances of getting infection from any of the malicious programs available over the Web. So how can one protect his or her computer or companies protect their network?

The best protection a person or a company can use to protect their system or computers is having excellent and reliable internet security software. In order to ensure that the software is updated with the recent software tools to fully protect the computer from outside threats, the software has to be purchased from a reputable and reliable security company.

 A full package in security will not only protect the system against any virus, worm or Trojan horse, but it will also detect attempted breaches on the computer system and bar them from entering the network. Indeed, there is lots of free security software in the Internet, but they do not offer enough protection compared to those software that are purchased from reliable companies. These security software are recommended for everyone’s computer because these software are made by experts with masters degree information security and they know how these malicious threats work.

EC-Council University is a licensed university that offers degrees and master’s degrees on Security Science online. The degrees are recognized worldwide and may be used in any employment worldwide as well as the graduate certificates that they offer. With excellence and dedication as the core values, many professionals and degree holders have benefitted from undergoing the programs in this university.

More information about master’s degrees in information security available at www.eccuni.us.