Question 4:Internet and Computer Security (Virus, Spam, Phishing)
Definition:
virus :A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive.
spam:Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems (including most broadcast media, digital delivery systems) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media
phishing: the activity of tricking people by getting them to give their identity, bank account numbers, etc. over the Internet or by email, and then using these to steal money from them
VIRUS
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES
WAYS TO PREVENT COMPUTER VIRUSES ATTACK
1. Install a reliable anti virus program
2. Install anti-spyware and anti-malware programs.
3. Avoid suspicious
4. Never Open Email Attachments Without Scanning Them First
5. Set up Automatic Scans
6. Watch Your Downloads
7.Update your computer program
8. Know What To Look For
9. Stay Away From Cracked Software.
10. Install a Firewall
Spam
how spamming occurs?
Spammers collect email addresses from chat rooms, websites, customer lists, newsgroups, and viruses which harvest users' address books, and are sold to other spammers. They also use a practice known as "email appending" or "e-pending" in which they use known information about their target (such as a postal address) to search for the target's email address. Much of spam is sent to invalid email addresses.
The cost of spam is far less than postal bulk mailings. An advertiser could spam 10,000 recipients for under $100 versus several thousand dollars for a postal mailing.
effect of spamming:
Receiving spam is actually more like receiving a junk fax or a sales call on a cellular phone because the cost of distributing the advertisement is borne by the recipient (or the recipient's Internet service provider (ISP)), not the sender. (The annual cost of spam to U.S. corporations is currently $9 to $10 billion a year.)
Every ISP pays for the right to operate on the Internet by purchasing bandwidth, the "space" it uses to transmit over the Internet. As the volume of spam directed through an ISP increases, the bandwidth becomes crowded, often slowing down the user's Internet access. To counter this, the ISP must pay for filtering software (which can also slow access) or pay to increase the amount of bandwidth. In both cases the expense is often passed along to subscribers. To get an idea of how much bandwidth is consumed by spam, America Online estimated that one-third of the 30 million daily email messages it transfers is spam.
how to prevent spam:
Overview of Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are just another attempt to get valuable information. Scammers send a mass email to every address they can find. Typically the message will appear to come from a bank or financial institution. The email states that you should update your information for one reason or another, and they usually provide a link that you can click to do so.
This all sounds reasonable and it may look legitimate, but phishing scams are anything but legitimate. The link provided does not take you to the financial institution’s website. Instead, you’ll be submitting your information to a website run by the scammers.
Why People Fall for Phishing Scams
Anybody can be tricked by a sophisticated phishing scam. Simple phishing scams are easy to spot, but the best scammers are actually pretty smart. They use a variety of tricks to make the phishing scam look like a legitimate process. For example, they might include a graphic from the bank right on the email message or website. Or, the link provided in the email may look like it goes to the bank’s website while the victim is actually sent to a very
Advice for Victims of Phishing Scams
If you have been snagged by phishing scams in the past, you need to be vigilant. First, let your financial institution know what happened. They will likely want to pursue the scammer, and they will monitor your account more closely. Next, I always suggest that victims of phishing scams put a fraud alert on their credit report by contacting one of the major credit agencies. Finally, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your mail and your accounts. If statements stop showing up or if you see unusual activity, call your bank immediately.
The Process of Phishing
Planning. Phishers decide which business to target and determine how to get e-mail addresses for the customers of that business. They often use the same mass-mailing and address collection techniques as spammers.
Setup. Once they know which business to spoof and who their victims are, phishers create methods for delivering the message and collecting the data. Most often, this involves e-mail addresses and a Web page.
Attack. This is the step people are most familiar with -- the phisher sends a phony message that appears to be from a reputable source.
Collection. Phishers record the information victims enter into Web pages or popup windows.
Identity Theft and Fraud. The phishers use the information they've gathered to make illegal purchases or otherwise commit fraud. As many as a fourth of the victims never fully recover
How to prevent phishing.
* Never enter personal information in a pop-up screen.
* Do not click on links in a pop-up screen.
* Do not copy web addresses into your browser from pop-ups.
* Legitimate enterprises should never ask you to submit personal information in pop-up screens, so don’t do it.
7. Protect your computer with a firewall, spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software
8. Check your online accounts and bank statements regularly
reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28electronic%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus
Oxford Advance Learning Dictionary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-does-spam-work-30013.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-computer-viruses.html
http://antivirus-software.topchoicereviews.com/11-ways-prevent-computer-viruses_258.html
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page4782.cfm
http://www.identitytheftkiller.com/prevent-phishing-scams.php
http://banking.about.com/od/securityandsafety/a/phishingscams.htm
virus :A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive.
spam:Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems (including most broadcast media, digital delivery systems) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media
phishing: the activity of tricking people by getting them to give their identity, bank account numbers, etc. over the Internet or by email, and then using these to steal money from them
VIRUS
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES
- Resident Viruses
- Direct Action Viruses
- Overwrite Viruses
- Boot Virus
- Macro Virus
- Directory Virus
- Polymorphic Virus
- File Infectors
- Companion Viruses
- FAT Virus
- Worms
- Trojans or Trojan Horses
WAYS TO PREVENT COMPUTER VIRUSES ATTACK
1. Install a reliable anti virus program
2. Install anti-spyware and anti-malware programs.
3. Avoid suspicious
4. Never Open Email Attachments Without Scanning Them First
5. Set up Automatic Scans
6. Watch Your Downloads
7.Update your computer program
8. Know What To Look For
9. Stay Away From Cracked Software.
10. Install a Firewall
Spam
how spamming occurs?
Spammers collect email addresses from chat rooms, websites, customer lists, newsgroups, and viruses which harvest users' address books, and are sold to other spammers. They also use a practice known as "email appending" or "e-pending" in which they use known information about their target (such as a postal address) to search for the target's email address. Much of spam is sent to invalid email addresses.
The cost of spam is far less than postal bulk mailings. An advertiser could spam 10,000 recipients for under $100 versus several thousand dollars for a postal mailing.
effect of spamming:
Receiving spam is actually more like receiving a junk fax or a sales call on a cellular phone because the cost of distributing the advertisement is borne by the recipient (or the recipient's Internet service provider (ISP)), not the sender. (The annual cost of spam to U.S. corporations is currently $9 to $10 billion a year.)
Every ISP pays for the right to operate on the Internet by purchasing bandwidth, the "space" it uses to transmit over the Internet. As the volume of spam directed through an ISP increases, the bandwidth becomes crowded, often slowing down the user's Internet access. To counter this, the ISP must pay for filtering software (which can also slow access) or pay to increase the amount of bandwidth. In both cases the expense is often passed along to subscribers. To get an idea of how much bandwidth is consumed by spam, America Online estimated that one-third of the 30 million daily email messages it transfers is spam.
how to prevent spam:
- Never, ever reply to a spam message.
- Don’t click any links in a spam email.
- Don’t forward an email from someone you don’t know to a list of people.
- Before you join a list, make sure the list owner or Web master will not sell your address.
- Preview your messages before you open them.
- Use a complicated email username.
- Use a spam filter.
- Make sure your privacy settings are set so you don't receive marketing from other sites in your AOL and Yahoo profiles.
Overview of Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are just another attempt to get valuable information. Scammers send a mass email to every address they can find. Typically the message will appear to come from a bank or financial institution. The email states that you should update your information for one reason or another, and they usually provide a link that you can click to do so.
This all sounds reasonable and it may look legitimate, but phishing scams are anything but legitimate. The link provided does not take you to the financial institution’s website. Instead, you’ll be submitting your information to a website run by the scammers.
Why People Fall for Phishing Scams
Anybody can be tricked by a sophisticated phishing scam. Simple phishing scams are easy to spot, but the best scammers are actually pretty smart. They use a variety of tricks to make the phishing scam look like a legitimate process. For example, they might include a graphic from the bank right on the email message or website. Or, the link provided in the email may look like it goes to the bank’s website while the victim is actually sent to a very
Advice for Victims of Phishing Scams
If you have been snagged by phishing scams in the past, you need to be vigilant. First, let your financial institution know what happened. They will likely want to pursue the scammer, and they will monitor your account more closely. Next, I always suggest that victims of phishing scams put a fraud alert on their credit report by contacting one of the major credit agencies. Finally, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your mail and your accounts. If statements stop showing up or if you see unusual activity, call your bank immediately.
The Process of Phishing
Planning. Phishers decide which business to target and determine how to get e-mail addresses for the customers of that business. They often use the same mass-mailing and address collection techniques as spammers.
Setup. Once they know which business to spoof and who their victims are, phishers create methods for delivering the message and collecting the data. Most often, this involves e-mail addresses and a Web page.
Attack. This is the step people are most familiar with -- the phisher sends a phony message that appears to be from a reputable source.
Collection. Phishers record the information victims enter into Web pages or popup windows.
Identity Theft and Fraud. The phishers use the information they've gathered to make illegal purchases or otherwise commit fraud. As many as a fourth of the victims never fully recover
How to prevent phishing.
- Guard against spam
- Communicate personal information only via phoneor secure web sites.
- Do not click on links, download files or open attachments in emails from unknown senders
- Never email personal or financial information, even if you are close with the recipient.
- Beware of links in emails that ask for personal information
- Beware of pop-ups and follow these tips:
* Never enter personal information in a pop-up screen.
* Do not click on links in a pop-up screen.
* Do not copy web addresses into your browser from pop-ups.
* Legitimate enterprises should never ask you to submit personal information in pop-up screens, so don’t do it.
7. Protect your computer with a firewall, spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software
8. Check your online accounts and bank statements regularly
reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28electronic%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus
Oxford Advance Learning Dictionary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-does-spam-work-30013.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-computer-viruses.html
http://antivirus-software.topchoicereviews.com/11-ways-prevent-computer-viruses_258.html
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page4782.cfm
http://www.identitytheftkiller.com/prevent-phishing-scams.php
http://banking.about.com/od/securityandsafety/a/phishingscams.htm
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