INTERNET SECURITY

The connection of most computers in the world to theInternet, coupled with the growth of cloud computing, has inevitably broadened significantly the scope of computer security and control vulnerabilities.

Before the widespread adoption of personal computers, rogue programmers with malicious or criminal intent would try to "hack" into big computing facilities via the phone network. Then, once personal computing really took told, the focus for many such malicious programmers shifted to writing computer viruses that could be unknowingly distributed on floppy disks, and which could hence disrupt the operation of those millions of computers not connected to the telephone network. Today, this situation has evolved again, with many personal computers having an "always on" broadband connection which makes them potentially prone to unauthorized access via a computer network. And on top of this, the virus writers are still at work, the fruits of their corruptive programming labours now distributed both online and via physical storage media.

Whilst there are very real security risks associated with both the consumer and business use of the Internet, it is also the case than many such security concerns are perceptual. To an extent, all that has really changed over the past few years has been the willingness of people and organizations to conduct their affairs over the world-wide web. The sensible use of a credit card over the web is not that much more secure that it was five years ago. The fact that it has become the norm is therefore due to the fact that the risk/benefit ratio of doing e-business has shifted significantly in favour of the "benefit" side in the eyes of the value-seeking majority.

Care, of course, does need to be taken. For a start these days it is foolish in the absolute extreme to run any computer with an Internet connection without antivirus software. Such software -- such as the range of Norton security software available from www.symantec.com -- is most usually commercially purchased with a yearly subscription for regular updates to its virus definition database. However, it is possible to obtain antivirus software for free. Indeed, my own current recommendation for PC owners is to install Microsoft Security Essentials. For most people this is a very good option, does not hog resources, comes from a reputable organization -- and is free!

In addition (though often bundled with) antivirus software, all computers with a potentially always-on Internetconnection should be protected via a firewall. Whilst antivirus software is intended to detect and prevent infestation with malicious software (including viruses and other "malware"), the job of a firewall is to regulate the network communications a computer receives, permitting or denying such communications based on how trusted the communications source is considered to be.

Firewalls can be implemented via either hardware orsoftware. A personal computer firewall will almost certainly be software based, although increasingly some form of hardware firewall is being incorporated into wireless ADSL routers (wireless access points). Like antivirus software, a firewall needs to be regularly updated with the latest threat information to be most effective. Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 all include a software firewall, although many people choose to adopt third party firewall software as an alternative to this.

In addition to antivirus software and a firewall, user vigilance and even plain common sense provide one of the most effective defences against potential Internet-related security vulnerabilities. For example, users should be educated never to open unsolicited (spam) emails, and doubly-so never to open any e-mail attachments included with such e-mails (and as may be automatically opened by some configurations of e-mail software). Viruses and other malware (such as "sniffer" software intended to record and communicate usernames and passwords) can be attached as "Trojan" (horses) to e-mails. However, it is only when the user opens such messages and executes their attachments that corruption or security risks can occur.

Users also need to ensure that they use strong password (as above) when setting up accounts for web transactions. They should also never permit their browser software to remember their login details for a website unless they are absolutely certain of who else may have access to the computer they are using. Indeed, it is still potentially unwise to let even a single-user PC remember passwords for activities such as online shopping or online banking. This is because the theft of the PC would permit direct access to the user's bank and other online accounts.

 to using antivirus software, a firewall, strong passwords, and uploading regular operating system and browser updates, it is doubly important for users of the cloud to ensure the security of the computer they use to access their chosen online services. In particular care needs to be taken to make certain that they never leave active accounts on a device that may be stolen or otherwise accessed by inappropriate users. For example, files held in Google Docs or indeed another other SaaS application are not at all secure if a user leaves their netbook or smartphone in a public place and all anybody has to do to gain access is to boot up the machine and visit the appropriate web address. SaaS users who share desktop PCs -- or who for example use public desktop computers in cyber cafes -- ought also to be very careful indeed to ensure that they log-out from cloud services whenever they finish using them.

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