No Truly Secure System

“The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards.”– Gene Spafford

Now that technology is "as important as breathing", many more people are using the internet as compared to the past. However, the internet is both good news and bad news.

While it may be of help socially, politically, and economically, technology also allows hackers to take control of the whole system. Because of this, cyber crimes are on the rise.

There are three main programmes that causes damage to our computers: the virus, the worm, and the Trojan Horse. And even though most of us may mix them up thinking all are viruses, there are actually vast differences among them.

While worms do not require host files, viruses do. They have the ability to replicate themselves thereby infecting other programmes. They spread throughout the computer systems and are a "destructive payload".

Worms, on the other hand, spread through emails and replicates themselves without infecting other programmes.

Trojan Horses are a more serious kind of attack. "It's like putting spy on a computer". They may appear to be normal and useful softwares, but when downloaded onto the computers, they can do a lot of harm. While some may be harmless but annoying, such as changing desktop, others may not necessarily be so. In the worst cases, they may delete files and destroy information. This gives rise to phishing, a type of identity theft in which deceptive mails asking for personal information are sent.

I never used to bother a lot about such viruses, worms and Trojan Horses. I didn't even care about virus scans and getting computer protection such as anti-spyware. But now that I know about the damaging effects I guess it's time to start caring about my computer practices.

One way to start doing so is to always use the internet firewall. Another is to get computer updates and use up-to-date anti-virus software to detect and remove viruses. Never open attachments from strangers, and even if those are emails are friends or family, double-check the content if the title looks weird. I once opened the attachment from the email that said it contained my photos but it turned out to be a worm.

Lastly, do not leave your password around or use easy passwords. My cousins always tease me that my passwords are easy to remember and are universal. I guess it's time to change my password.

Like what Chris Pirillo said, “Passwords are like underwear: you don’t let people see it, you should change it very often, and you shouldn’t share it with strangers."