P3

Security Risks:

Hacking – Hacking is getting onto someone else’s computer illegally; most hacking consists of stealing, deleting data and downloading viruses onto the computer. To hack you have to re-programme the system so you can perform functions that the owner did not use to allow.

Identity Theft – Identity theft is stealing or using someone else’s identity and personal information. This is normally done by hacking or creating false websites so you can steal people’s bank details, name and address and phone numbers. Identity theft over the internet happens all the because a lot of people will happily put all there details on the website before checking it’s a safe and secure site.

Viruses – Viruses are made to corrupt or steal data from another computer, they are normally hidden in files downloaded from the internet or in emails. Viruses are dangerous to the computer by performing actions like closing down anti-virus software and stopping the computer from performing basic actions. Having a virus on a website, it can spread to the computer that everyone that uses the site, not just the computer hosting the website.


Security Protection Mechanisms:

Firewalls - A firewall is part of a network that is made to not let people access something. It will not let network transmissions based on set rules. Hardware and software are the two types of firewalls. Firewalls for hardware can be used as a part of a router and firewalls for software are programs that are used on the computer, like Windows Firewall. Firewalls also help to stop the spread of viruses on the computer.

Passwords – Passwords are a good way to keep your data or information safe, it is important to have a good strong password so people won’t be able to guess it easily. It is good to have a combination of numbers and letters in your password to make it stronger.

SSL – SSL stands for secure socket layer, this will provide communications security over the internet, and SSL encodes the data of network connections above the transport layer and the lower sub-layer of its application layer using a message confirmation code for safety. Websites that use SSL will have a certificate to show that their websites are safe to use. This will make more people want to use the website because they know it’s safe to use.