Dangers of the Internet and the online world

I still remember life before the Internet.  It would be very hard to go back to a life without it; the benefits of the Internet are countless.  The Internet has provided us ways to communicate with family and friends anywhere in the world, by the use of email and social networks.  We can pay bills, do our banking and go shopping at our convenience.

But this convenience comes at a cost. The cost is that our sensitive and confidential information is at risk, and in turn so is the privacy of you and members of your family.  Cyber criminals are out there looking for opportunities to get access to you personal information. In 2011, more than 174 million customer or personal records were stolen from computers around the world.  This is why, we as Internet users, must know what the risks are. We start by identifying what sensitive information are we trying to protect, what the threats are, what are our vulnerabilities.  Only then we can identify what we can do to mitigate the risks of a compromise.

Information

Most of our personal information is just that, personal.  Personal information can be names, addresses, financial and bank details, health records, photos, etc. This information can be used to steal your identity and in turn, your money, or to invade your privacy.

Threats

The threats on the Internet are many and have different motives. Most are for financial gain, some are for gratification of disrupting people and others are for the dangerous act of stalking vulnerable people.

The sources of the threats are numerous.  Threat sources can originate from a malicious email containing links to websites containing malware, infecting your computer with sinister software, which can interrogate your computer and look for sensitive information and send it off via the Internet back to the cyber criminal’s location.

Vulnerabilities

One of the main vulnerabilities is not having security software on your computer. Anti-virus applications, Internet security suites are just the start.  Updating of your operating system with the latest security updates is also just as important as the anti-virus software.

Another common vulnerability is you; you can control what you click on. You need to be aware of what email or website is legit and what is suspicious or risky.

I plan to use this blog site to discuss issues with Internet security for the home user. Many sites out there are geared up to a technical or corporate audience.  I will try and keep the information on this blog as simple as I can make it.  I will post links to security news and posts,  and tips and tricks on protecting yourself online.

Take care online,

Regards,

Steve