Solving Computer Glitches (Essay Sample)

Solving Computer Glitches
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Solving Computer Glitches
Technology has evolved remarkably over the years. Computers have drastically changed standard social, scientific, economic, and cultural undertakings. For instance, computers have dramatically transformed the business sector through e-commerce; people no longer rely on liquid cash but electronic money to transact. Unfortunately, this race to technological advancement has led to computer glitches being more common in the 21st century than ever before. For example, on 8 July 2015, United Airlines grounded numerous flights globally, the New York Stock Exchange stopped trading for three hours, and The Wall Street Journal went offline for nearly an hour due to computer glitches (Karp, 2015). This paper discusses two of the most common causes of computer glitches: software coding errors and malware and recommends pre-emptive solutions to control them.
Malware is one of the most menacing computer problems today. In 2020, the most reported malware attacks were computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, adware, and ransomware. Data gathered by Statista shows that in 2020, there were over 5.6 billion malware attacks across the world, which led to computer glitches and financial losses of up to $20 billion globally (Johnson, 2021; Jeffrey & Ramachandran, 2021). The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic towards the end of 2018 exacerbated this eruption in attacks as more people were forced to start working online from home. As such, cybercriminals target unsuspecting users stealing their computing power for crypto mining or stealing their personally identifying information, such as medical and financial data. They then hold this information at ransom and defraud these people of their money. The US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (2019) and the UK government’s National Cybersecurity Centre (2020) recommend several measures to mitigate malware attacks. First, computer users should always keep their antivirus, antispyware and firewall software updated; preferably, these should be subscription-based third-party programs with advanced security measures. Second, they should keep their computer operating systems updated since manufacturers release security patches with each update. Third, the system should be backed up, and administrator login passwords kept private. Fourth, computer users should cautiously download files, access links sent via email, and install plugins to block pop-up advertisements to limit adware attacks. The above measures are a few steps people can take to thwart malware attacks and reduce attacks and fraud.
Just like malware attacks, software coding errors are another prevalent cause of computer glitches. They affect millions of computers each day, leading to the loss of unimaginable amounts of money annually. For instance, in March 2019, a software flaw in the Boeing 737 Max autopilot system caused two planes to crash, killing 346 people and the company stock shedding $28 billion in one week (Layne, 2019). Since software developers usually work on a time crunch to roll out new updates, sometimes without sufficient testing, Khanfor and Yang (2017) recommend several coding tactics to avoid software glitches that cause system freezes, downtime, and losses. One, developers should use functional languages, such as Haskell and SML, when coding software to reduce bugs. Besides their cost benefits and improved user experience, these languages offer three security and robustness levels, making it easier to identify software issues early before they mutate into systemwide glitches. Besides, coders should conduct sufficient software testing to determine bugs before roll-out. Users should also report bugs as soon as they spot them to help software programmers update their software to prevent catastrophic glitches. Thus, both users and software developers should work collaboratively to identify and resolve software bugs that lead to system-crashing glitches.
Overall, cases of computer glitches have been on the rise as the number of people working online continues to surge, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Malware and software coding errors are the leading causes of these glitches, which endanger sensitive information and cause substantial financial losses. Fortunately, people can take various preventive measures to avoid these glitches. For example, preventing malware attacks from viruses, worms, and spyware begins by installing and maintaining antivirus, firewall