INFORMATION SECURITY

v A Computer Virus is a computer program or code

that can replicate itself and spread from one

computer system to another system. A computer

virus has the capacity to corrupt or to delete data on

your computer and it can utilize an e-mail program

to spread the virus to other computer systems. In

the worst case scenario, it can even delete

everything on your hard disk. The purpose of it is to

disrupt the operation of the computer or the

program.

v Some examples of Computer Virus are Trojan

viruses. stealth viruses, worms, malware

(malicious software), Disk Killer, Stone virus,

Sunday, Cascade, Nuclear, Word Concept, etc.

v Malware, short for malicious software, is any

software used to disrupt computer operation,

gather sensitive information, or gain access to

private computer systems. It can appear in the form

of executable code, scripts, active content, and other

software.

v Antivirus Software is used to scan the hard disk to

remove the virus from them. Some of the famous

anti – viruses available are Avast!, Norton, Avira,

Kaspersky, AVG, etc.

v A person who uses his or her expertise to gain

access to other people’s computers to get

information illegally or do damage is a Hacker.

v Authorization is the function of specifying access

rights to resources related to information security

and computer security in general and to access

control in particular. More formally, "to authorize"

is to define an access policy.

v Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of

an attribute of a single piece of data or entity. It

might involve confirming the identity of a person by

validating their identity documents, verifying the

validity of a website with a digital certificate,

tracing the age of an artifact by carbon dating, or

ensuring that a product is what its packaging and

labelling claim to be. In other words, Authentication

often involves verifying the validity of at least one

form of identification.

v Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive

information such as usernames, passwords, and

credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly,

money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in

an electronic communication.

v A Spoofing attack is a situation in which one

person or program successfully represents oneself

as another by falsifying data and thereby gaining an

illegitimate advantage.

v The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI)

is a conceptual model that characterizes and

standardizes the internal functions of a

communication system by partitioning it into

abstraction layers. The model is a product of the

Open Systems Interconnection project at the

International Organization for Standardization

(ISO).

Seven layers of OSI Model are:

· Application Layer

· Presentation Layer

· Session Layer

· Transport Layer

· Network Layer

· Data link Layer

· Physical Layer

v Network topology is the arrangement of the

various elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a computer

network.There are two basic categories of network

topologies:

» Physical topologies and logical topologies.

Physical topology is the placement of the various

components of a network, including device

location and cable installation, while logical

topology illustrates how data flows within a

network, regardless of its physical design. 

For information on computers stay tuned.