Personal Security – Chapter 4

For me this chapter was all about the potential vulnerabilities to my personal computer and available safeguards that can be utilized to thwart off intruders. However it was pointed out that today’s attacks are not so much for destroying data on the computer but to steal personal information for financial gains. That is pretty scary!!!

The first few sections talk about the methods used to acquire personal information through deceptive tactics. The first is spyware which is defined as a general term to describe software that violates a user’s personal security. The following chart lists some of the effects.

It goes on to talk about Keyloggers which can be either in the form of software or hardware. Both methods collect information by recording the keystrokes in a text format. The information is retrieved by the attacker to a remote location. This is all done without the owner aware of what’s taking place. Browser Hijackers is a program that changes the Web browser’s home page and search engine to another site. This prevents the user from navigating to another site. Weak passwords are a key area for attack by using a method called dictionary attack. A dictionary attack compares a prebuilt file with the words stolen from a password file. This can be successful because users often create passwords that are single word. Phishing is consider sometimes the easiest way to attack a computer system as it requires no technical ability and if is highly successful. It relies on what we know as social engineering which is to deceive someone of some information. The next few sections talk about social networking attacks and identity theft.

The last half of the chapter talks about preventive measures to address the topics discussed above. It explains the importance of antispyware and using strong passwords. The chapter goes into how to recognize phishing attacks, social networking defenses, and how to avoid identity theft. It concludes with explaining cryptography, encrypting files and disks, and digital certificates.

I found the chapter to be enlightening as well as reaffirming the importance of password security and having proper and up to date spyware monitoring one’s computer. I believe an individual has to take all the steps they can to protect their personal information.