Protection
Once a user understands some of the potential
security risks that can accompany online activities, he
or she can begin to make better use of some simple security
precautions. These precautions range from easy tips that
every Internet user can remember each time he or she logs
on, to sophisticated software programs that can be bought
in a local computer store.
Identity Theft
There are many ways to avoid identity theft online. One
of the most important is to never give out personal information
such as credit card numbers when doing business online.
Of course, if a user is making an online purchase, he or
she may have to use their card. In this case, the user must
make sure that the site is secure, either by the image of
a lock at the bar at the bottom of the window or by with
the address saying “https” instead of the standard
“http.”13
Virus Protection
Every book, article and television report that talks about
virus will tell people that the easiest way to combat against
viruses is simply to use their common sense. People should
not open attachments in e-mails if they do not know the
sender. Additionally, if they do know the sender, if could
still be a virus, so a good habit would be to verify with
the sender that the attachment is virus-free. File extensions
such as .exe, .html, or double extensions are more likely
to contain viruses than files such as jpegs.
14
Students
especially should be very careful about using their disks
in more than one computer. Public computers at schools,
libraries or Internet cafes are not as tightly monitored
as home computers and can therefore easily have an undetected
virus within one of the programs. Saving a program on a
disk and then using it on a home computer makes it possible
for a virus to spread.
Many anti-virus programs are available on the market today
that will keep most viruses from invading a user’s
system. Programs such as Norton
15
or McAffee
16 are
commercially
sold programs that combat viruses. A user must remember
to constantly update the virus definitions in order for
the programs to perform most efficiently.
Firewall
Firewalls can also aid in keeping unwanted people and programs
from accessing a user’s computer. A firewall is software
program that serves as a data filter. It sits between a
computer and the network it is on. A firewall is usually
set up between local networks and the Internet. The device
basically monitors what data is coming through the firewall,
and, if it is necessary, the data can be
blocked.17 The firewall
can be used to block out data going through certain ports
or from certain programs therefore a firewall can be used
to block outgoing spyware signals. If a user has an Internet
connection, people or programs trying to gain access to
a user’s system can’t use open ports and back
doors to scan the computer in question.
Cookies
and Spyware
In general cookies can be easily stopped by configuring
a web browser to reject and block or accept them. There
are also several programs available that will block cookies,
such as Adsubtract.18
Similarly, several programs sell anti-spyware
programs, such as Ad-aware.
19 Unfortunately web browsers do
not yet have a simple way to block spyware. Until that time
comes, Internet users will have to make due with buying
and installing specific programs, and using their common
sense to try to avoid some of the dangers of Internet security.
