The Internet Security (Essay Sample)

The Internet Security
Name
Professor
Course
Date
The Internet Security
Introduction
The computer technology has, over the past few decades, advanced at a very alarming rate. In the 1970s, only a few individuals possessed computers. The computers were very large and hard to operate and maintain. As the world moved towards the 21st century, things began to change. More individuals started investing in the man8facture, sale and supply of computers leading to their availability in many countries worldwide. Currently, there are very many different makes, variations and sizes of computers, thanks to Microsoft and Apple. These computers have proved their worth in creating, storing and mainta9ning data. They have also been used to conduct research in all fields. One other factor that has enabled this is the provision of internet services. However, there are challenges that the internet poses to the individual users of the computers leading to a series of threats that range from simple acts such as eavesdropping to serious terrorism threats and attacks. This research focuses on the challenges that tend to cripple the internet security and how they can be either avoided on controlled.
The Internet Security Threat
Recently, there were cases of internet security breach all over the world. This came into the limelight after the National Security Agency discovered a series of security threats they named the Heart bleed. This threat posed a serious problem to all users of the internet worldwide. President Obama, in his speech, addressed this security breach and gave a stern warning to the website hackers and other individuals who are directly involved in the project. He then gave out directives on how the National Security Agency should handle the problem to protect the internet and computer users from facing such a threat in the near future. Not only did the Agency carry out this directive, but they also provided guidelines for the users to guard themselves against security threats on the internet.
As an internet user, one must understand the risks of viruses and other threats that are available in the various websites. Most sites are always not secure and when opened in the computer, can lead to infestation of the hard disk with many kinds of viruses. These viral threats are dangerous as they lead to the deletion or corruption of files. They can also lead to severe damages to both the software and the hardware of one’s computer. It is, therefore, recommended that each and every individual takes care of his computer ion order to avoid the occurrence of the problems mentioned above. Again, it is important to note that internet security threat is also caused by hackers and other unscrupulous individuals whose aim is to steal documents and other important stuff from the consumers. Often, the hackers get to eavesdrop on important conversations thereby putting the national security and intelligence at risk (Claypoole and Payton, 2012).
As stated above, the recent internet security threat was known as the Heart bleed bug. This is a software vulnerability that was found to exist within the OpenSSL software library for cryptography. It could be manipulated by criminal hackers to access passwords, user names, software keys and other important data and files from the internet. The worst thing is that this could be achieved without any trace. The hacker can use it by accessing a 64KB memory from any encrypted data or software. By doing this, he makes the data vulnerable and easily accessible. As a security threat, it makes web servers vulnerable (Donnelly, 2014).
Flanagan (2014), in his report, states that security flaws that the government does not disclose threaten the national security. When disclosed in time, important measures can be taken to fix them and make data in the computers safe. He advises that the individual internet users must, therefore, make it their duty to protect their own data and other documents in their computers safe. He proposes four measures that the users can implement to achieve internet security. First, he says that the software update must be run in the computers. Keeping software updated at all times is a very crucial step that can help prevent criminals and other hackers from accessing personal documents using unfixed flaws. Secondly, he advises that individual internet users must adopt and apply the password manager to help prevent hacking of passwords in the various websites. It had been noted that the password manager is a very useful tool that helps the user in storing the passwords that are created. It is also useful in generating newer passwords for the benefit of the user (Aminu, 2008). He also advises the internet users to learn how to use the Virtual Private Network. This helps the user in protecting his data and documents from being viewed by other internet users in the public places especially when he is using hot spot or a shared network system. Lastly, he recommends that all internet users should download and use the Tor Browser. This browser helps in securing data and personal information on the internet. The data that the user feeds into his computer gets encrypted before it can be sent over the internet to another location. Again, the Tor Browser helps in generating traffic that bounces the information that the user has sent all over the world before it finally reaches its destination. As can be expected, it helps in protecting data and documents from prying eyes of the hackers. Again, the information is not easily tracked and this is essential in securing data on the internet (Flanagan, 2014).
Internet security breaches have increased over the last few years and most people are blaming the website operators for them. Flanagan argues that it is high time that all the website ...