A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself[1] 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.[2]
Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.[3][4]
As stated above, the term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, even those that do not have the reproductive ability. Malware includes computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware and other malicious and unwanted software, including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself automatically to other computers through networks, while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions. Worms and Trojan horses, like viruses, may harm a computer system's data or performance. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious or simply do nothing to call attention to themselves. Some viruses do nothing beyond reproducing themselves.
The Top Ten
1. ILOVEYOU - (2000) One of the most widespread and rapidly spreading viruses ever, the ILOVEYOU virus spread via e-mail, posing as an executable attachment sent by a friend from the target's contact list.
2. Code Red - (2001) IIS on Windows servers were the target of this virus. It also launched denial of service (DoS) attacks.
3. Nimda - (2001) Nimda used seemingly every possible method to spread, and was very effective at doing so. Nimda is notable for being one of the fastest spreading and most widespread viruses ever.
4. Melissa - (1999) The Melissa virus is notable because it is a Word macro virus. It cleverly spread via e-mails sent to contacts from the infected users' address books.
5. Sasser - (2004) Sasser exploited a buffer overflow and spread by connecting to port 445 on networked Windows systems. The chaos caused was possibly the worst ever, as systems restarted or crashed.
6. The Morris Internet Worm - (1988) The grandfather of computer worms, the Morris worm infected Unix systems and was notable for its "accidental" virulence.
7. Blaster - (2003) Blaster exploited a Windows operating system vulnerability and let users know of its presence with a system shutdown warning.
8. SQL Slammer - (2003) This tiny virus infected servers running Microsoft's SQL Server Desktop Engine, and was very fast to spread.
9. Elk Cloner - (1982) Despite Apple's marketing that their systems are less prone to viruses that was not always the case. Notable as possible the first personal computer virus, Elk Cloner infected the boot sector of Apple II floppies.
10. Creeper - (1971) This is noted as possibly the first ever computer virus. It infected computers on ARPANET. Mostly harmless, the concept of Creeper has infected the minds of rogue programmers through today.
2. Code Red - (2001) IIS on Windows servers were the target of this virus. It also launched denial of service (DoS) attacks.
3. Nimda - (2001) Nimda used seemingly every possible method to spread, and was very effective at doing so. Nimda is notable for being one of the fastest spreading and most widespread viruses ever.
4. Melissa - (1999) The Melissa virus is notable because it is a Word macro virus. It cleverly spread via e-mails sent to contacts from the infected users' address books.
5. Sasser - (2004) Sasser exploited a buffer overflow and spread by connecting to port 445 on networked Windows systems. The chaos caused was possibly the worst ever, as systems restarted or crashed.
6. The Morris Internet Worm - (1988) The grandfather of computer worms, the Morris worm infected Unix systems and was notable for its "accidental" virulence.
7. Blaster - (2003) Blaster exploited a Windows operating system vulnerability and let users know of its presence with a system shutdown warning.
8. SQL Slammer - (2003) This tiny virus infected servers running Microsoft's SQL Server Desktop Engine, and was very fast to spread.
9. Elk Cloner - (1982) Despite Apple's marketing that their systems are less prone to viruses that was not always the case. Notable as possible the first personal computer virus, Elk Cloner infected the boot sector of Apple II floppies.
10. Creeper - (1971) This is noted as possibly the first ever computer virus. It infected computers on ARPANET. Mostly harmless, the concept of Creeper has infected the minds of rogue programmers through today.
What is Identity Theft
Identity theft is a crime whereby criminals impersonate individuals, usually for financial gain. In today's society, you often need to reveal personal bits of information about yourself, such as social security numbers, a signature, name, address, phone numbers, and even banking and credit card information. If a thief is able to access this personal information, he or she can use it to commit fraud in your name. With this information the thief could do things such as apply for loans or new credit card accounts. They can then request a billing address change and run up your existing credit card without you knowledge. They can also use counterfeit checks and debit cards, or authorize electronic transfers in your name, to wipe out your your bank account.
Identity theft can also go beyond this type of a monetary impact. Thieves can use your information to obtain a driver's license or other documentation that would display their photo but your name and information. With these documents thieves could to obtain a job and file fraudulent income tax returns, apply for travel documents, file insurance claims, or even provide your name and mailing address to police and other authorities if involved in other criminal activities.
How to Protect Yourself
The Federal Trade Commission is one of many organizations that provides valuable facts and information to consumers concerning identity theft, including preventative and resolutions to identity theft concerns. For consumers who believe they are a victim of identity theft, the FTC recommends you take immediate steps to protect yourself such as placing fraud alerts on your credit cards, filing police reports, and filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. It is also important to resolve specific fraudulent usage with organizations responsible for your bank accounts, credit cards, driver's license, investment funds, debt collectors and others.
Almost every worldwide government agency responsible for identity theft issues will tell you the same thing. The first step to fighting identity theft is to minimize the risk. To do this they urge consumers to protect their personal information. Start by asking companies how they use your information, and for online transaction, take a moment to review a Web site's privacy policy. In offline tranactions don't provide credit card numbers, financial account numbers, and personal identifying information over the phone unless you know the communication line is secure. Ideally, you should initiate the conversation. For Internet transactions, be sure the Web site offers secure data encryption and other services to protect your personal information.
Lastly, there are recommended everyday practices, such as keeping an eye on postal mail to ensure your bills are arriving when they should be, and taking the time to properly dispose of paper documents that may contain credit card numbers and other identifying personal information. The more private and secure you keep your personal identifying information, the less susceptible to identify theft you are.
Did You Know...
According to two studies done in July 2003 (Gartner Research and Harris Interactive), approximately 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the prior 12 months. That equals 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, 13.3 per minute. [Source Identity Theft resource Center]
According to two studies done in July 2003 (Gartner Research and Harris Interactive), approximately 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the prior 12 months. That equals 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, 13.3 per minute. [Source Identity Theft resource Center]
| Key Terms To Understanding Identity Theft: security In the computer industry, refers to techniques for ensuring that data stored in a computer cannot be read or compromised by any individuals without authorization. cyber forensics The application of scientifically proven methods to gather, process, interpret, and to use digital evidence to provide a conclusive description of cyber crime activities. phishing The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. e-mail spoofing Forging an e-mail header to make it appear as if it came from somewhere or someone other than the actual source. |
Misuse of the Internet
In the general sense, an internet (with a lowercase "i", a shortened form of the original inter-network) is acomputer network that connects several networks. As a proper noun, the Internet is the publicly available internationally interconnected system of computers (plus the information and services they provide to their users) that uses the TCP/IP suite of packet switching communications protocols. Thus, the largest internet is called simply "the" Internet. The art of connecting networks in this way is called internetworking.The creation of the Internet
Main article: History of the InternetThe core networks forming the Internet started out in 1969 as the ARPANET devised by the United StatesDepartment of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).Some early research which contributed to ARPANET included work on decentralised networks (including damage survivability) , queueing theory and packet switching.
On January 1, 1983, the ARPANET changed its core networking protocols from NCP to the then-new TCP/IP, marking the start of the Internet as we know it today.
Another important step in the development was the National Science Foundation's (NSF) building of a university backbone, the NSFNet, in 1986. Important disparate networks that have successfully been accommodated within the Internet include Usenet, Fidonet, and Bitnet. See History of the Internet.
During the 1990s, the Internet successfully accommodated the majority of previously existing computer networks. This growth is often attributed to the lack of central administration, which allows organic growth of the network, as well as the non-proprietary nature of the internet protocols, which encourages vendor interoperability and prevents one company from exerting control over the network.
Today's Internet
The Internet is held together by bi- or multilateral commercial contracts (for example peering agreements) and by technical specifications or protocols that describe how to exchange data over the network. These protocols are formed by discussion within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and its working groups, which are open to public participation and review. These committees produce documents that are known as Requests For Comments (RFCs). Some RFCs are raised to the status of Internet Standard by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). Some of the most used protocols in the Internet protocol suite are IP, TCP, UDP, DNS, PPP, SLIP, ICMP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP,HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, Telnet, FTP, LDAP, and SSL.Some of the popular services on the Internet that make use of these protocols are e-mail, Usenet newsgroups, file sharing, the World Wide Web, Gopher, session access, WAIS, finger, IRC, MUDs, and MUSHs. Of these, e-mail and the World Wide Web are clearly the most used, and many other services are built upon them, such as mailing listsand web logs. The internet makes it possible to provide real-time services such as web radio and webcasts that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
Some other popular services of the Internet were not created this way, but were originally based on proprietary systems. These include IRC, ICQ, AIM, CDDB, and Gnutella.
There have been many analyses of the Internet and its structure. For example, it has been determined that the Internet IP routing structure and hypertext links of the World Wide Web are examples of scale-free networks.
Similar to how the commercial Internet providers connect via Internet exchange points, research networks tend to interconnect into large subnetworks such as:
Internet culture
The Internet has a large and growing number of users that have created a distinct culture, Internet dynamics. seeNetiquette, Internet friendship, Trolls and trolling, Flaming, Cybersex, Hacktivism or Hacker culture, Internet humor, Internet slang, and Internet art.The Internet is also having a profound impact on knowledge and worldviews. Through keyword-driven Internet research, using search engines, like Google, millions worldwide have easy, instant access to a vast amount and diversity of online information. Compared to books and traditional libraries, the Internet represents a sudden and extreme decentralization of information and data.
The most used language for communications on the Internet is English, due to the Internet's origins, to its use commonly in software programming, to the poor capability of early computers to handle characters other than western alphabets.
The net has grown enough in recent years, though, that sufficient native-language content for a worthwhile experience is available in most developed countries. However, some glitches such as mojibake still remain troublesome for Internet users.
Legal and moral issues
There is much public concern about the Internet stemming from some of the controversial material it contains.Copyright infringement, pornography and paedophilia, so called "identity theft," and hate speech are common and difficult to regulate (see cyber law). "Sex" remains one of the most frequently searched terms on many Internetsearch engines (cf. sexual morality). Some of the concerns, which many argue are not rationally based, have even approached the level of moral panic, similar to the British one over video nasties in the 1980s.The Internet has been blamed by some for the death of some people. Brandon Vedas died after overdosing on a mixture of legal and illegal drugs while other IRC chatters egged him on. Shawn Woolley shot himself after his life was ruined by an addiction to Everquest, according to his mother. Bernd-Jurgen Brandes was stabbed to death and eaten by Armin Meiwes after responding to an Internet advertisement requesting a "well-built male prepared to be slaughtered and then consumed."
Internet access
Countries with the best internet access include South Korea (50% of the population has broadband access) and Sweden, according to [1] "Web-savviest nation".- Dial-up access
- Broadband access
Public places to use the Internet
Public places to use Internet include libraries and Internet cafes, where computers with internet connection are available. There are also internet access points in public places like airport halls, sometimes just for brief use while standing. Various terms are used, such as "public Internet kiosk", "public access terminal", "web payphone".Alternatively there are Wifi-cafes ("hotspots"), where one needs to bring one's own wifi-enabled notebook or PDA, for which the cafe provides wireless access to the Internet.The services may be free (possibly in connection with paid services such as buying coffee) or for a fee (metered access or with a pass for e.g. a day or month).
A hotspot may also be larger, e.g. including the piece of street in front of the library, a whole street, a campus including outdoor areas, a town part or, as is under construction in some places, a whole town; see alsoMetropolitan area network, Wireless community network.
Advantages of using one's own computer include more upload and download possibilities, using one's favorite browser and browser settings (the preferences menu may be disabled in a public computer), and integrating activities on internet and on one's own computer, using one's own programs and data. (Using public computers one can use one's email box as storage area for data. For programs one may do the same, but the size of the mailbox and restrictions on the public computer limit the possibilities of running one's own programs.)
Source
Wikipedia.com
Google.com
Yahoo.com
Knowlegerush.com
