Internet Security & Privacy Issues

He doesn't wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesn't break a window to get into your house. He doesn't hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same he's a thief. Although this thief is one you'll not only never see, but you may not even realize right away that he's robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal information - such as credit card numbers which he could then use without your knowledge at least until you get that next credit card statement. Richard Bernes, supervisor of the FBI's Hi-Tech squad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl"

Technology, as defined in the New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary of English Language, is "the science of technical processes in a wide, though related field of knowledge”. The technology of the 21st Century is the Internet or cyber space. The Internet was invented in the late 1960s. Back then, the Department of Defence called it ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency network) and it was intended to link research facilities, defence contractors, and government agencies. Today there are millions of computers o

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This has the "advantage" of being able to hack a lot of sites in little time. Cookies are used to identify users, to instruct the server to send a customized version of the required Web page, to submit account information for the user, and for other (unknown) administrative purposes. Worm attacks are rare, but it is still a method used by hackers when a new bug is found on an OS. "A cookie is a unique identifier that a web server places on your computer: a serial number for you personally that can be used to retrieve your records from their databases”

There are simple and advanced methods for ensuring browser security and protecting user privacy. The Asymmetric Cryptographic system uses two keys - a public key known to everyone and a private/secret key known only to the recipient of the message. A trap door is an entry point into a computer system that bypasses the normal security measures, hidden software or hardware mechanism that permits system protection mechanisms to be circumvented. The browser is giving all this information out through “cookies”. Ciphers are divided into two categories, symmetric and asymmetric. However, the public key encryption system is used to send the key of DES encryption to the recipient of the encrypted file. A worm is an autonomous agent capable of propagating itself without the use of another program or any action by a person. Another way is to use secure passwords, which can be verified by using the password cracking programs on the system. A firewall in operation basically sits between the protected network and all external access points. Having a firewall system on our machine is vaccine enough against applications like Trojan Horses, Password Sniffers, Worms and Backdoors/ Trap Door.

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