The Importance of Internet Safety
Being safe on the Internet requires understanding the kinds of software that can attack your computer, and knowing how to avoid being tricked by other kinds of attacks, which attempt to fool you into releasing private information to the attacker. The right combination of strong security software, and knowing when it's a scammer contacting you, will keep you safe.
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Categories
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There are two broad categories of Internet-based attacks. Technical attacks target your computer, usually without your knowledge. Social attacks attempt to convince you to provide passwords or other account information to the wrong person.
Terms
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The word "virus" is used as a catch-all term by the general public, but computer security experts mean something more specific: A piece of software that rides along with other software or data, such as a damaging program included as a macro in a Microsoft Word document. A "Trojan horse" is software that advertises itself as one thing but does another, such as a downloaded game that erases your hard drive. A "worm" is similar to a virus in that it is self-replicating and invisible, but like a Trojan horse, it is a standalone piece of software. The word "malware" is used to encompass all kinds of dangerous software.
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Prevention
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Technical attacks can be prevented with security software. Malware attempts to take over your computer with invisible background programs; antivirus software can identify these rogue programs and prevent them from running. Network firewalls block certain kinds of network activity, by closing off traffic lanes to the Internet, called "ports," that you aren't using. Another way to prevent attacks is by keep your operating system and applications upgraded to their latest versions.
Social attacks are harder to prevent, because their entire aim is to make you believe you are emailing a trusted party, or using a trusted website, when you are actually communicating with your attacker. These are called "phishing" attacks. Be careful when clicking a link in email, and check your browser to ensure that you are on the website you think you're using. Read your email carefully for grammatical and spelling mistakes; poor language is a common sign of a social attack. And be leery of emails addressed to "Dear Customer" rather than your name---your bank and credit card companies know your name, so you should expect them to use it when they contact you.
History
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The first large-scale virus attack on the Internet was the "Morris worm," which was released in 1988. Robert Morris, a student at Cornell University who did not anticipate how dangerous it would be, wrote it. Infected computers slowed to a near-halt, and network transactions were slowed by the activity of the worm as it looked for new victims. Techniques used by the Morris worm are standard in malware attacks today.
Time Frame
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The computer security industry monitors new kinds of malware and social attacks, and tries to identify potential avenues for attack before malware authors are able to exploit them. Malware is most dangerous on "zero day," the first day it is released, before the industry can mount a defense. Computer users should set their software updates to run often, so they can prevent malware as quickly as it is identified.
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