Basic fundamentals of Internet Security

Within a very few days Internet has become one of the most popular platform of business and communication. Internet unlike any other medium of communication has given on globalized or international dimension to the whole world. It has become a universal source of information for most of all people at work, at school or at home. But there also comes the pain along with growth or success. May be it is your increasing pains as a child or the development and growth of this section of our culture that is called the Internet.  

Before discussing more we need to explain first where the Internet was originated. Internet is actually the progeny of a military project that is called Arpanet. It was intended to offer reliable communication during the global nuclear war. A huge interconnected computer network was built up through out the world to let the different branches of the NATO and US forces to communicate with each other.

But thankfully the nuclear war never took place and the world had got a vast inter connected computer network which was become completely useless. Universities and colleges started using those computers to share their research works internationally. Eventually it spread out side universities and colleges and made entry into home and business sector. Finally a guy named Tim Berners Lee introduced World Wide Web (WWW).

When you use Internet you share the network with a number of other people. This network offers the resources, which were not possible even fifteen years ago. But sadly something, which is shared, may be subjected to abuse. This abuse comes on the Internet from virus creators and hackers. The only intention of them is to create chaos or/and harm to the computer system of yours as well as the others throughout the world.

As an Internet user if you want to prevent such things from entering in your computer you need to have an Internet security system in your PC. Internet security system, which is the combination of 2 or 3 Internet security products, is not at all complicated as it sounds. The products, which are offered in the Internet security systems, are:

Antivirus software – The most critical and primary element of Internet security system should be anti virus software. If you do not want to invite trouble to your PC you should up to date anti virus software regularly. Approximately 300 viruses emerge every month and if you do not take preventive measures properly your PC may get infected within a minute with at least one of them surely.

Anti virus software only protects your PC from viruses, which constantly try to infect it through CD-Rom, word documents, floppy disk, email and the other kinds of computer files. But anti virus software cannot ensure 100% safety to your PC. You need firewall software too along with anti virus software.

Firewall software - Home PC users using firewall software is relatively a new concept. All kinds of Internet connections are 2way process. Data should be sent as well as received by your PC. These data are sent via something that is called ports. Theses things are not physical rather features of the technique your PC communicates online.

Firewall software observe these ports to take care that only secure communication is taking place between your and others computers online. If anything wrong happens it simply blocks the port of your computer to keep you safe from the person who attempts to hack into the system of yours.

It would be easier to understand the function of a firewall if you compare your PC with that of an apartment complex. At the entrance of the complex you may find a security guard who checks every person who are going to enter into the complex. He simply let the person to enter into the building if he knows him/her. But if any unknown person tries to enter he asks for identification. If he/she fails to show a valid reason for entering into the complex he just shows the door to them. Firewall works exactly in that way.

If you are still not using firewall software the time will soon come when your PC will be the favorite destination of the hackers.

PopUp Blocker – You can install a good quality pop up blocker for free. You just have to install them either from Yahoo or Google tool bar. Both of them come with inbuilt pop up blocker facility. Though popups are not extremely harmful but create nuisance.

The simplest rule of exercising online safety is: “If in doubt then don’t”. If you are unable to recognize an email address, a website or any file or if you have any doubt then do not click the button.