Spam and Viruses

Big business and government can afford to spare no expense when it comes to protecting their networks and systems, but what about home computer users? While it's relatively easy to get on the Internet and enjoy quick and easy ways to share information, it can be just as easy for malicious people to take advantage of the security risks created by this easy and simple access.

Computer security professionals like to repeat the following - you can have convenience, or security - but not both. For a home user, this tradeoff is usually not under your control, but taken care of by your ISP. Large ISP's such as AOL and MSN will attempt to sell enhanced security, spam and virus control, to potential customers. Try as they might, they can't always protect you.

As a responsible member of the Internet community, you need to take control of your own experience - not only will you protect yourself, and your privacy, but you'll also not be a part of the problem. Many attacks on the internet take place from computers that have been taken over by malicious crackers or spammers, and in many cases without any knowledge of the actual owner of the system.

If you think of your home computer as a house, you can visualize many of the issues with network security. This house has many doors. You can think of the rest of the internet as the road on which your house resides. The difference with this neighborhood is that people who, in the real world may be a continent away, are able to access your house as though they were next door.

With that same analogy in mind, for you to be able to share information, send and receive email, visit web sites, any of the myriad things you can do on the Internet, some of your doors need to be open.

However, this doesn't mean you can't watch what comes in and out, or be selective about what you let pass through the doors. Having a greater understanding of your doors is the focus of this series of articles.

First, we'll explore the most newsworthy security risks - viruses, trojan horses, malware and spyware. We'll look at how they work and what you can do to protect yourself.

Next, we'll look at what is likely the biggest single problem on the internet today - UCE, or spam. We'll explore some of the issues surrounding spam, look at some of the newer laws and efforts to fight spam, and we'll look at what you can do to minimize the spam you receive. We'll talk about how home computer users are currently some of the biggest spam culprits today, with the vast majority of those people completely unaware of this fact.

Finally, we'll talk about a more advanced topic when we look at firewalls. We'll discuss how they work, and explore how useful they really are.

It's important to note that we'll be attempting to avoid discussing commercial software products. With the exception of an anti-virus program, you should be able to protect yourself with the tools available on your computer, and we'll strive to prove that you can. In some cases, commercial tools can really help you out and make things easier, but it's also important to know what you really need and not be blinded by hype and misinformation when you set out to purchase something.