Internet Security and You
How to defend yourself against the hacker menace
Barrett Gordon
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Features
"On the Internet, the world is flat."
Said by Mark Yanalits, an information network engineer, who is a security and malware professional. He has been in the field of Internet security for 15 years.
"You can have a conversation with someone you've never met, in another country just by virtue of having the right type of cell phone or browser can pull up a site from Russia, wirelessly," Yanalits said.
The Internet is a resource, an entertainer, a bridge to other places and even our friends; but people often forget that it can be used by those for ill will as well as good. Those individuals are called hackers.
Hackers are the ones who write malicious software that turns a PC and Mac from a highly efficient machine to a twisted shell of its former self.
While hackers were always a blight on computerized civilization, at their beginnings they were nothing but cyber thrill seekers.
When the Internet was just beginning to form and where desktop computers arrived at the workplace, they interconnected with other companies in other states and countries, the stakes increased.
This marked the arrival of small hacker communities in both America and Europe; with only one purpose, to see if they actually could hack a company system.
Hacker notoriety and personal reputation gained persistence through the '80s and '90s
When the millennium set in, desktop computers became really powerful and complex but vulnerabilities became more and more apparent. The vulnerabilities were exploited and hackers were able to gain full control of computer systems.
During this time, the Internet had become more accessible by the masses, and complex computer commands were being simplified by new programs, applications and easy user interfaces.
"Thanks to the speed, density and reach of the Internet and the powerful yet simplified abilities of the new desktop computers; when hackers attacked they did massive damage," Yanalits said. "You can hack into a main frame computer inside a giant organization in a few seconds"
Said by Mark Yanalits, an information network engineer, who is a security and malware professional. He has been in the field of Internet security for 15 years.
"You can have a conversation with someone you've never met, in another country just by virtue of having the right type of cell phone or browser can pull up a site from Russia, wirelessly," Yanalits said.
The Internet is a resource, an entertainer, a bridge to other places and even our friends; but people often forget that it can be used by those for ill will as well as good. Those individuals are called hackers.
Hackers are the ones who write malicious software that turns a PC and Mac from a highly efficient machine to a twisted shell of its former self.
While hackers were always a blight on computerized civilization, at their beginnings they were nothing but cyber thrill seekers.
When the Internet was just beginning to form and where desktop computers arrived at the workplace, they interconnected with other companies in other states and countries, the stakes increased.
This marked the arrival of small hacker communities in both America and Europe; with only one purpose, to see if they actually could hack a company system.
Hacker notoriety and personal reputation gained persistence through the '80s and '90s
When the millennium set in, desktop computers became really powerful and complex but vulnerabilities became more and more apparent. The vulnerabilities were exploited and hackers were able to gain full control of computer systems.
During this time, the Internet had become more accessible by the masses, and complex computer commands were being simplified by new programs, applications and easy user interfaces.
"Thanks to the speed, density and reach of the Internet and the powerful yet simplified abilities of the new desktop computers; when hackers attacked they did massive damage," Yanalits said. "You can hack into a main frame computer inside a giant organization in a few seconds"
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