The Everyday, on the news, we hear about the threat of cyber attacks. From visa centers to government agencies, to personal computers – they are all at risk of an internet intrusion. If you don’t protect, attack is imminent! Purchase ID Firewall to ensure you are safe from cyber attacks.
You’re thinking, well it’s just my home computer, I don’t store anything valuable on it. STOP! Think for a moment. Do you use online banking, do you use Paypal, do you have logins with passwords to some sites, is your name, address, and telephone number on your computer, do you use email, do you surf the web? If you answer yes to any one of these, you are at risk!
Why a cyber attack?
In the electronic age of convenience, we sometimes forget that a hacker requires very little information to steel your identity, obtain credit cards in your name, or do a host of other personal damage. In the past we worried about mail being stolen from our mailbox. These days the threat is much more serious. As you work away on your computer, a hacker could be busy stealing all your personal information.
From the theft of email id to being stalked on the net, cyber attack is a real crime that is growing daily. Its rapid growth is alarming governments, security experts, and large corporations. For the home user, you could be under attack and not even be aware that an attack has occurred. That is why it is so important to protect yourself with software like ID Firewall.
Today there are over 150 million computer hosts worldwide. That’s just hosts not users. The numbers of people hooked into the internet is mind boggling! Users connect to the web by using an open port. Whether you are on dial up or cable, TCP is used to allow you to connect to the web.
Data is then broken down into manageable chunks called IP Packets, which are then sent across the net from one system to another. This is called a hop. At any point during the data transfer it can be intercepted and stolen. This applies to data traveling half way around the world, or traveling between two computers sitting side by side on a local network.
Security risks
Large corporations are aware of security risks and often have an entire IT division devoted to securing their computers, intranets, and web sites. But how do cyber attacks affect individuals? Individual computers are also at risk if they are not protected by a firewall. A firewall makes you invisible to all the other computers hooked to the web. When you are invisible, you are not likely to be a target. Additionally a firewall stops any incoming packets of data that it does not recognize, or that appear to be a threat to the security of your system.
In 1988 CERT reported 6 security incidents, but by 2002 they had reported over 73,000 security breaches. CERT is one of many organizations that monitor security breaches. These numbers are anticipated to grow by leaps and bounds, as more and more hackers initiate cyber attacks.
Cyber attacks come in many forms. We mostly hear about large corporations having their data hacked into, but it occurs at the home level as well. If you are not protected by a firewall, like ID Firewall, you will become a cyber attack victim. The question is not if, but when? Without protection your system is wide open. Like a burglar in the night, anyone can walk in, take your valuable information, and leave, and you will not even know they were there
Cyber attacks are scripts written by hackers to do damage. They run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They scan for connections which are not protected then attack.. Some attacks are geared towards collecting valuable information. Other hackers are out for some fun and a good laugh. These type of hackers are referred to as black hat hackers. They might not steal information, but they can reek havoc.
Email attachments are a form of cyber attack. Malicious scripts are attached to an email and when you open the email you infect your computer. Trojans are another form of attack. These are files that mask themselves as benign application, but they are malicious. One of the most common Trojans is one that offers a free application to remove viruses from your computer, while attacking it instead. Keystroke recording is another form of attack. A small script is dumped onto your computer, which then records all your keystrokes. When you are entering passwords or login names, it records these and sends the information back to the originator. Keystroke recording is very dangerous!
Cyber crime refers to any activity that occurs on the net that has criminal intent. This includes, but is not limited to: Crimes against people such as stealing personal information or files, crimes against property such as hacking into ones web site, unconventional crimes such a peddling porn, cyber stalking such as following your movements on the net, password stealing, installation of Trojans, malware, worms, or any other type of destructive virus program on your system.
Solutions for your own protection
If you are not already protected, it is important that you do so right now!! Give yourself piece of mind by installing ID Firewall. ID Firewall is easy to install and use. Simply make your purchase, download, and run IDFirewallSetup.exe and you’ll be protected in no time at all. No more worries about crooks gaining access to your computer. It’s like have a guard dog at your door 24 hours a day, and you don’t even have to feed it!.