Whenever there is an opportunity to learn more about the people on the other side of the screen you should take it. I am referring to ordinary people with a malicious agenda who have the skills that enable them to get around ordinary security settings. They are continually testing the vulnerabilities of your Operating System. They prey on ordinary computer, especially users who aren’t aware of the danger lurking around the corner. That doesn’t mean attacks and malware intrusion incidents only occur to computer users who don’t know better, they really can happen to anyone.
If you are connected to the internet you are vulnerable. It is possible to put into place monitoring software that detects what it perceives to be suspicious activity. You can put into place Firewalls that prevent basic attacks, and demand that your computer stops every little change from happening on your computer. But… users get annoyed very quickly when they are asked to approve every action they take. After awhile you don’t even notice the box in the corner asking you to approve something with a name you don’t even recognize, but is associated with an action you just took. The best thing to do is to ask yourself if you really did just do something that would require a change in your system.
Unfortunately their are programs that you have installed that update themselves automatically. The problem here is that you may find yourself preventing a normal installation. It can be even worse if you stop the process mid-way through an installation and your program is left hanging.
If you are at work and you are notified by your Virus Protection system that something bad has been detected then you should immediately notify your IT team. They might not be able to save any of your data, but they can stop your computer from spreading its sickness to others. Make sure that you have a regular backup schedule for your important files.
I plan on going to a class that UF is offering on March 23rd called: Cyber Awareness
I recommend everyone going to a similar instructional seminar if it is offered. Do not convince yourself that you know enough already. There is no such thing as knowing too much about internet security.
