Internet Security Essays - Hacker, Computer Network Security

Internet Security Introduction/Summary The Internet has become a greater medium of communication, data exchange, and entertainment over the past 5 years. With this widespread growth of Internet access, there come growing pains. These growing pains come in the form of people who are up to no good and want to ruin everybody else's experience on the net. High-speed connections also make it a very easy way for ?hackers? to attack your pc in your daily life. In this report, I will discuss the types of Internet connections that are commonly used by consumers. I will also talk about the kinds of hackers that are out there. Each hacker has his or her own reason for doing it and by knowing that, prevention can be made simpler. I will discuss the types of Internet security programs that are available to everyday users. There are also hardware devices that aren't as common in the home, but I will discuss their importance also. Finally, I will tell you how easily these programs can be implemented. Outline for Internet Security I. Types of internet connections a. Dial-Up connections b. Permanent all-the-time connections c. Wireless Connections II. Types of hacking/hackers a. Remote access hackers b. Trojan horse hackers c. Out-for-fun, ?harmless? hackers III. Types of internet security a. Hardware ?firewalls? b. Turning off PC's when not in use c. Software programs 1. Norton Internet Security 2. Norton Anti-Virus IV. How to implement security a. Methods of installing b. Calling in professionals to help Internet Security The Internet was a very unknown term to people ten years ago. This new ?information superhighway? was reserved only to those who had the income or the need for data exchange between corporate locations. In the mid 1990's, companies like America Online and Prodigy created a easy connection to the Internet. These connections were called dial-up connection. They made use of a modem connected to your pc and by using your phone line, connected you to their services. In this early age of dial-up connections, the availability and ease for people to obtain access to your information was enormous. Bank records, shopping habits, and credit card information became common ground for people who ?hacked? into personal computers. As the Internet spread to locally owned ISP's, or Internet Service Providers, the backing of huge companies like AOL and Prodigy fell away to cheap local connections. With the widespread growth of mom and pop ISP's comes an increased security risk. People became responsibl e for their own Internet security. Companies like Microsoft and Netscape, who were the original creators of the Internet ?browser?, had to take matters into their own hands. The creation of high-encryption Internet surfing had begun. As soon as the late 1990's rolled around, these two companies had come up with ways to prevent unauthorized use of personal data such as credit card and social security numbers. This new technology was called SSL, or secured socket layer, technology. This technology made it possible for a pc to transmit encrypted data from one point to another. If it was intercepted mainstream, the information would be useless to those who grabbed it. When this new technology was made public, a great sense of security plagued the Internet public. Banks and many merchants rushed to put their presence out on the web. With this security came an increased interest to those who were not yet on the Net. This technology is still with us today, but has been overhauled over the past few years. Hackers have found away though each SSL technology, but with constant monitoring by both businesses and software developers, this security is here to stay. To date, this innovation has made the dial-up connection one of the most popular ways to get on the Internet. The next type of connection is the ?all-the-time? permanent connection. This new type of Internet connection was reserved just recently for the people who could afford it of those businesses that had a lot of stake in the Internet. College campuses have made this a must in all on-campus housing and classrooms. With this need for all-the-time connectivity, many risks and security loopholes are present. Permanent connections come in many forms. In the corporate and educational environments, the internet is piped in usually with a frame connection, which can be up to 500 times faster that a modem.