Internet Security

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The internet is a tool that can be used for many purposes, such as, to further one's knowledge, e-mail, online shopping, auctions etc. However, there are many reasons why precautions should be taken before connecting your sytem to the internet. Viruses, hackers, spyware, worms, trojans and rootkits are just some of the things that try to temper our internet usage.

The answer, however, is not to completely abandon the internet and let malware creators have their way, but to use a collection of security programs, both free and pay, to protect our computers. The most important defense to malware is, obviously, common sense.

Another way to prevent malware from taking over your computer is to use an open source operating system such as Linux. While viruses and the like are still an issue on Linux, malware is not nearly as prevalent as in the Windows operating system.

This site will attempt to single out the best overall security program in the four main categories of Anti-Virus, Firewall, Spyware and Rootkit. Included in these categories are trojans, worms, and backdoors.

Virus: A virus is a program or code that replicates itself onto other files with which it comes in contact; that is, a virus can infect another program, boot sector, partition sector, or a document that supports macros, by inserting itself or attaching itself to that medium. Most viruses only replicate, though many can do damage to a computer system or a user's data as well
Worms: A worm is a program that makes and facilitates the distribution of copies of itself; for example, from one disk drive to another or by copying itself using email or another transport mechanism. The worm may do damage and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive via exploitation of a system vulnerability or by clicking on an infected e-mail.
Trojan: A Trojan Horse portrays itself as something other than what it is at the point of execution. While it may advertise its activity after launching, this information is not apparent to the user beforehand. A Trojan Horse neither replicates nor copies itself but causes damage or compromises the security of the computer. A Trojan Horse must be sent by someone or carried by another program and may arrive in the form of a joke program or software of some sort. The malicious functionality of a Trojan Horse may be anything undesirable for a computer user, including data destruction or compromising a system by providing a means for another computer to gain access, thus bypassing normal access controls.
Rootkit: A rootkit is a component that uses stealth to maintain a persistent and undetectable presence on the machine. Actions performed by a rootkit, such as installation and any form of code execution, are done without end user consent or knowledge. Rootkits do not infect machines by themselves like viruses or worms, but rather, seek to provide an undetectable environment for malicious code to execute. Attackers will typically leverage vulnerabilities in the target machine, or use social engineering techniques, to manually install rootkits. Or, in some cases, rootkits can be installed automatically upon execution of a virus or worm or simply even by browsing to a malicious website. Once installed, an attacker can perform virtually any function on the system to include remote access, eavesdropping, as well as hide processes, files, registry keys and communication channels.
Firewall: A firewall is simply a program or hardware device that filters the information coming through the Internet connection into your private network or computer system. If an incoming packet of information is flagged by the filters, it is not allowed through.

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