FOR JOYMERCY ONLY

Bowles (2013) defines spyware as, “malicious programs, installed without your consent, that monitor your activity [and] is often done for marketing purposes” (3.4). The Microsoft Safety and Security Center expands on this definition by stating that spyware is often used to collect a person’s personal information and can even be used to change the configuration of your computer. Detecting spyware is often impossible because it is designed to be complicated to remove. While some spyware can be installed without the user’s knowledge, users often agree to this invasion of their computer or information without realizing how it can be used against them, to steal their identity, slow down or crash their computer, or just add annoying programs or pop-ups.

It is important to safeguard against spyware to protect yourself and your computer. I don’t have a lot of issues with spyware anymore, but when I owned a PC, I definitely found myself fighting this problem a lot because I didn’t have spyware software. I remember downloading free font software I needed for image editing, and ended up with an entirely new web browser and so many pop-ups, I couldn’t use my internet. I had to call a friend who is computer savvy to uninstall the spyware. Apple seems to be a lot better at preventing spyware, or I just got smarter.

Anti-spyware is important to your online security because anyone with the knowledge and malicious intent could steal your identity. A perfect example of why this is so important is my husband. He had his banking information stolen twice in one year due to spyware being installed on his information. Someone cleaned out his account from France and he didn’t know until his debit card got declined at the gas station. Luckily, our bank, USAA, has fraud protection and credited his account but it took 10 days. He now has awesome spyware protection and doesn’t save any account information or passwords on his computer or online.

Bowles, M. D. (2013). Introduction to computer literacy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Microsoft. (2014). What is Spyware? Microsoft Safety and Security Center. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/spyware-whatis.aspx

What should you know about website privacy?

You have none specially when using public networks such at McDonalds WIFI. We have grown used to browsing through our bank statements and buying things online using public networks or our own networks. Public networks have no security whatsoever. The wrong people can get their hands on your information with the simple help of a few softwares and some basic knowledge about hacking. You can easily help yourself decrease the level of vulnerability by using your own data plan or adding proxys. Also you should avoid saving passwords while on public WIFIS or browsing sensitive information.

How do you know when an online transaction is secure?

To make sure an online transaction is secure the user has to make sure to use websites that at least use HTTP, these are websites that encrypts anything the user sends and receives. If the user wants to be a little more secure they can use a VPN service that encrypts all the information you send. Also Network settings should be configured to not sharing any files to make a hackers life a little bit harder.

Why is Anti-spyware software important to my online security?

Anti- spyware security acts as another layer of defense. Spyware is exactly like it says a spy. It is design to steal your identity and watch everything you watch on your computer to include your credit card information. It seems that PCs are more vulnerable to be infected than macs are. Macs have all these extra layers of protections that make our lives easier. Mac users still have to be as prepare to prevent malware and spyware just as much as PC users.

 

QUESTION:

The author of your text suggests that the ability to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi is available everywhere Bowles, (2013). As such, there are risks to your data and personally identifiable information. These considerations are especially important when we consider connecting our home network to the Internet. We may take for granted such functionality as online banking, e-commerce, and other transactions where we share personally identifiable information. Refer to the Siles (2012) article for more information on securing your home wireless network.

 

Based on this week’s readings, what are some of the important measures you can take to ensure that your home wireless network is safe and secure?

After your primary post, respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts

Week 3 Discussion 2 Janet Knudson 3/10/2015 6:33:23 PM

Based on this week’s readings, what are some of the important measures you can take to ensure that your home wireless network is safe and secure? Change the default administrator login and password. Use something only you will remember. The administrative access to Wi-Fi access point should be changed to a physical network connection. Use an Ethernet Cable to physically connect to the Wi-Fi system. If using a wireless administrative access disable HTTP and require HTTPS.  HTTPS supports encryption (Siles, 2012). Make sure only people you know and trust have access to your Wi-Fi.  By applying a security mechanism WPA2 a password is required and connections will be encrypted. Use strong passwords with at least 20 characters. Disable WPS. Vulnerabilities have been found that may allow hackers full access to your wireless network Configure your Wi-Fi network to use OpenDNS as your DNS servers. This will allow you to manage what websites are assessable.     week 3 discussion 2 Carmen Rivera 3/10/2015 10:03:47 PM   Based on this week’s readings, what are some of the important measures you can take to ensure that your home wireless network is safe and secure? It is impossible to warranty that your home WIFI will never be breach. However, it is very possible to try to make it as hard as you can for someone to break in. Here are some simple steps that The Monthly Security Awareness Newsletter for Computer Users recommends. ·      Have a login and password set up for your WIFI access point. It is like locking your door so only people you want in your house get in. ·      It is recommended to use an Ethernet cable to connect to the network over WIFI. If WIFI is a must have then Require HTTPS over HTTP. HTTPS support encryption for everything you send and everything that comes in. ·      Enable WPA2 as a security option. WPA2 requires you to enter a password to enter the network. ·      It is recommended the password is 20 characters long. It is recommended to use Caps, lower case, numbers and special characters to make the difficulty of guessing higher. Even if you set all these steps to the best of any ones knowledge there is till that one chance that because you took all these precautions a hacker did not bother accessing your WIFI.