Internet Security - Overview

With the usage of Internet, a number of activities take place in your computer which can be for good or bad and varies from identity thefts to people who hack into computers and steal private passwords, documents and files. The fact is that everything is online and opens us to these frauds and makes us victims, unless you have taken the necessary steps to protect your computer.

It is quite strange that till date, a lot of people don’t give much importance to Internet Security. They think that their computers are invisible, but as soon as they start using their computers for anything that involves logging onto the Internet, they are an easy prey, even for a teenaged hacker.

The following image gives you an idea of how things have changed over the years.

Impact from an Internet Breach

The potential losses in this “cloud” are discussed as follows.

Here is a list of some losses that can have a direct impact on you and others −

• Losing Your Data − An Internet breach can swipe away all the data that you have gathered over the years.

• Reputation Loss − Just think your Facebook account or business email have been hacked by a social engineering attack and it sends fake information to your friends, business partners. You will need time to gain back your reputation after such an attack. Or your webpage has been hacked and the hacker puts up an ugly picture on it, so a new customer that is visiting your webpage to get some information will see this picture named “HACKED” and the chances that he will go away without contacting you will be too high.

• Identity Theft − This is a case where your identity is stolen (photo, name surname, address, and credit card details) and can be used for a crime like making false identity documents or anything else.