Protection from Harmful Content
With millions of web pages out there in the World Wide Web, and thousands more coming online every moment, there is a big need for parents to monitor the sites their children are visiting. However, it is not just the children who need to be wary. Adults, who are as voracious in consuming content online as children, must also be careful, especially with the content they are downloading into their computers.
There are so many restrictions being put out to block children and adults alike from consuming unnecessary and potentially harmful sites. In workplaces, firewalls and site blockers are set up to prevent workers from using work time in surfing the Internet. This is not only to ensure workers are doing work when they are at the office, but also to protect the integrity of the office’s files from external access and even destruction from spammers, spies and viruses.
At home, site police programs are available. These programs, when installed in personal computers that are being used by children, automatically block pornographic, violent and psychologically disturbing sites. One of the features of this program is its capability to; continually update its database of sites. Their web crawlers and human teams continually scour the Internet for new sites that are dangerous and add it to the database of the site police.
Children with their young, fragile and developing minds need extra attention in their web surfing. Since they are still absorbing information and knowledge as well as forming their personalities and character, it is important they do not absorb content that are still beyond their understanding and worse, imbibe in them wrong values and lessons, which will be far more destructive in their later life.
Consuming online content is dangerous enough. Even more dangerous is downloading content from unknown sources into the computers. The most destructive computer viruses in history came from files from unknown sources that had been opened by computer users. The files as soon as they are saved in the computer’s internal hard drive, spread its destructive virus into the computer and destroys other programs and important files and in some instances leaving computers useless.
With so many Internet users giving so much time in viewing photos, videos and downloading programs – games, trial programs and software – there is a huge potential that a computer virus can get inside the personal computers. If people are not careful, not only will their programs be destroyed but important files like school homework, office files, and personal records will be destroyed for good.
It is very important that adults safeguard their children and themselves from dangerous content from the Internet. With so much work and our personal lives now dependent on the computer, we have to protect it as much as we protect our property or even our home. We do not want other people prying into our personal life much more for virus and scammers to destroy our lives through our computers.
Much Ado about Internet Security
Countless articles have been written on the subject of internet security. The topics vary. They range from highly technical journals to lucrative, meaning, for advertising and selling purposes. The vast world of cyberspace remains unexplored, thus, like all realms that remain undiscovered, people still feel a sense of vulnerability when logging on to the worldwide web.
How secure is the internet?
What measures should one take in order to avoid all the hacking and phishing, credit card frauds, worms and virus attack?
Are the available tools trustworthy?
How can we protect ourselves from them?
Internet security is an essential tool for users when they go online. Ensuring that your computer is protected will give you better satisfaction while surfing, meaning, users can log on to websites faster and most importantly, it lessens the risk of damaging your PC. It is also an effective tool when you transact business online, like credit card purchases and online inventories for your enterprise.
On the technical aspect, one should understand the terms involved when we speak of internet security. Knowing is half the battle as the saying from GI Joe goes, so here are some basic terms when talking about internet security:
VIRUS – The most common term we hear when we talk about internet issues. A virus is a program designed pretty much like a “disease virus”, this program attaches itself to files in your computer causing it to become corrupted and affecting other files or programs in your PC.
MALWARE – is short for malicious software. This program is designed to spy, infiltrate or damage a computer program or even a whole network of computers, even cellphones are susceptible to this attack.
SPYWARE – as the name goes, this program checks on the user profile. It monitors user activity on the internet like frequently visited sites, commonly used programs and then reports it to the hacker without your consent.
WORMS – these programs work like the virus and malware except that it can damage an entire network. Worms usually get in to your system by posing as a “safe” program, and once it gets activated or installed, it starts its damaging effect. Worms aka Trojans are extremely dangerous because it can even bring down an entire economy.
PHISHING – this is not a program or a software like the terms mentioned above. Phishing is an activity that targets users who transact business online. This is a fraudulent activity which has criminal implications. This process works by acquiring personal information like username, passwords, credit card information thru advertising, emails, or instant messages. These commonly come out as spasm or message pop-ups.
To address the proliferation of these damaging activities, antivirus software’s are sold in the market. They can also be downloaded for free on the internet.
An antivirus detects worms, malwares, Trojans and removes them from your system. Having an antivirus program installed in your computer is very helpful for your PC’s protection. However, installing this program also has its drawbacks. The most common issue that most users complain about regarding antivirus is that it degrades the performance of the PC or slows down the computer. The program is intricate, that inexperienced users tend to make mistakes in activating or making decisions in using the tool that it may cause PCs to crash. It is therefore, critical that one understands how the program works before installing and using the software. It is also advisable to regularly check for updates so the computer is still protected from new virus or worms that are created by hackers.
The most important form of internet security is still user discretion. This is often overlooked. As a computer user surfing the internet, always be on guard. Do not visit websites, which are suspicious. If you receive an email from an unknown sender, delete it immediately. If you receive an instant message from an unknown person, do not respond to it. No matter how gorgeous her/his profile picture looks like. Keep yourself internet safe by being a smart user.