Computer Security

Computer security threats

Studies show that a large percentage of people have the belief that computer security is an issue that only affects organizations. Many people believe that, at a personal level, hackers have little interest with their information. In contrast, there is a lot of useful informational that a third party may obtain from a personal computer that the user may not even realize (Barrett, 2009). For instance, a user may be having sensitive information that would lead to his or her private life secrets, or even crucial financial information. Such information can be used by attackers to monitor their internet activities. The victim’s sensitive information can be shared over the internet, or sold to third-parties such as advertisers and criminals among others (AmeComputers, 2012). As such, it is important that serious security measures are taken to protect one’s personal computer from such security issues.

There are numerous security threats that an individual on a personal computer is exposed to, provided they are connected through a local network or the internet (Barrett, 2009; Gregg, 2006). Therefore it is necessary that an individual establishes a sufficient level of security on his or her personal computer. The main potential security threats; Viruses, Trojans and hackers/crackers are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Computer viruses are usually the most common security threats on a personal computer; they are usually comprised of codes that are designed to implement and perform certain functions without your consent (AmeCpomputers, 2012). Viruses are a key threat since some of them can wipe out data on your hard drive or replicate itself so many times that it renders your system useless. Viruses can embed themselves in files and spread very quickly over a network, infecting other files on the system. Even a single virus can cause havoc on your personal computer either by compromising your stored data, or by crippling down your...