Computer Security Threats - Article Example

Task 1 Brief review of security threats Computer security threats Viruses These usually are programs infected by viruses. A virus is computer software that alters the way the computer function without permission of the user. Once the viruses are on the computer program files they replicate themselves thus affecting the whole system. In most cases they damage, delete files or cause abnormal system behavior. Macro Viruses These are simple computer programs that can be created to automate recurring tasks in a document. They are malicious macro programs that are formed to replicate themselves from file to file and they can therefore cause damage to many files. Trojan Horses These are programs that pretend to serve some useful purpose such as entertainment and as such inducing the user to run them. However, when they are run they serve a covert purpose, which may be to damage files. Trojan Horses by their nature are not viruses since they do not replicate. Worms These are software programs that once on program files replicate and spread, often opening a back door to allow hackers to gain access to the computers. They usually spread through the internet. Zombies These are inactive programs on the computer. The programs typically do not damage the computer on which they reside but can damage other computers that get contact with the infected computer. They also spread through the internet. Virus Hoaxes These are usually messages sent by email. They pretend to alert the user to the latest "undetectable and protection" virus and simply waste your time and Internet bandwidth. Computer protection A number of antivirus programs lack heuristics built-in. Programs which rely exclusively on their built-in virus definition files ca not protect themselves against various new & emerging threats which appear on daily basis. Furthermore, for antivirus software that has connectivity problems or operability issues, and can not download updated antivirus definition files to maintain itself current, then its antivirus program is not working properly or is damaged and cannot protect the computer system against harmful threats. For those doing a lot of surfing on the internet they have to make sure that their antivirus program and other security protection software like firewall, antispyware among others are protecting the computer against threats originating from those websites. For example, a malicious website owner or operator can put malicious code on their website so that when individual surf onto it, it can cause problems with the computer especially if the computer is operating unshielded version of the Windows operating system that does not have security updates installed. Normally, there are various viruses & worms which attack the Microsoft Address Book such as in MS Outlook, and after which they sends a malicious payload to each contact to the computer address directory. As result of this virus type in existence, and the ubiquity of the Microsoft platform, it has become necessary to have email and program security protection in place. Flaws in code can be used as vulnerabilities. There have been recorded cases of persons being able to take over a computer remotely because to these security vulnerabilities. A computer that does not run any form of anti-spyware software, then it is susceptible to being infected by tracking software and advertising programs that get installed to it by advertisers could be tracking its web surfing behavior and its inclinations, and possibly transferring this data back to their control bases. Phishing attempts are different susceptibility which exists on the internet. That is a case where illegal website is pretending itself to look as a legitimate website. For example, a corrupt website user at abc.com can pretend to look like ebay.com. A reliable firewall can safeguard the entry to the computer. Without firewall in place, the doors of the computer are clearly opened to different persons. Firewall hard wares can not safeguard the computer against all threats. This is because they often protect it from outside threats coming in, but not inside threats going out. Therefore if an unauthorized individual whose website puts malicious software on its hard drive; then the other thing that follows is that its data goes outbound from it even though the firewall for inbound attempts is in place and protecting its outbound activities are unsecured. Whenever a computer is connected into a network, it ought to be concerned about others computers using the same network. These network computers can steal its files if they are not protected. Accidentally installing the wrong software of security can affect computer system performance. Therefore, it is crucial to have smooth levels of security which are compatible and stable additions to its system. Another essential factor is whether the security installed is carefree or whether it requires manual participation to download and apply updates on an ongoing basis. It is not always advisable to get involved in performing continuous updates. Programs should update themselves on their own without requiring intervention. If those programs can update themselves automatically without requiring the input then it is a less obtrusive method of the system keeping up-to-date security. Task 3 F(x) = 5sin (2x) 2(x+1) F(x) x 0 0 0.044 1 0.058 2 0.065 3 0.069 4 0.072 5 0.074 6 0.076 7 0.077 8 0.0773 9 0.0777 10 Graph To do this task, I evaluated the values for F(x) with respect to x. The table above is the values for F(x) and x. after this I took these value to excel and drawn the graph for F(x). The graph above represents the graph of F(x). F(x) = cos (2x) e-x/4 F(x) x 1 0 0.778 1 0.605 2 0.470 3 0.364 4 0.282 5 0.218 6 0.169 7 0.130 8 0.100 9 0.077 10 F(x) = tan(x/2) sin2x F(x) into 10-3 F(x) x 0 0 0.305 1 1.22 2 2.74 3 4.86 4 7.58 5 12.00 6 15.00 7 19.00 8 24.00 9 29.90 10 To do this task, I evaluated the values for F(x) with respect to x. The table above is the values for F(x) and x. after this I took these value to excel and drawn the graph for F(x). The graph above represents the graph of F(x). Task 4 F(x) = ( x + 1 ) x3 + sin ( x + 2) x +1 ex –sin x2 Derivative F(x) Let (x + 1 ) be X x +1 and x3 + sin ( x + 2) be Y ex –sin x2 Derivative F(x) = X 1 Y + X 1 Y 1 X X 1 = U1V –V1U V2 Y1 = U1V –V1U V2 Solving for the above We get Derivative F(x) = ( x2 +2x) * (x3 + sin ( x + 2) ) + (x2 + x +1) * (x+1)2 ex –sin x2 x +1 (3x2 +cos(x+2))( ex –sin x2)- (ex-2xcosx2)(x3+sin(x+2) (ex – sinx2)2 Graph F(x) x 0.035 0 0.58 1 2.57 2 4.42 3 4.96 4 4.37 5 3.29 6 2.23 7 1.39 8 0.82 9 0.46 10 To do this task, I evaluated the values for F(x) with respect to x. The table above is the values for F(x) and x. after this I took these value to excel and drawn the graph for F(x). The graph above represents the graph of F(x). Task 5 Plan of my office The procedure I started drawing using the AutoCAD template, by activating the Spaces and Space Boundaries toolbars. This was followed by selecting the Space Styles icon from the Spaces toolbar to bring up the Style Manager Dialog box. At the Style Manager Dialog box, I purged the existing styles and created new space styles for the spaces in my program- office. From there I double-clicked each space style, which opened the Space Style Properties dialog box for that space, and set its target area This was then followed by creating a new layer called Total Space and which I used as the current layer. Then I chose the rectangle icon from the Draw toolbar, and placed a 50'x 45' wide rectangle for the total space for this design. Then I selected the Add Spaces icon from the Spaces toolbar to bring up the Add Space dialog box. Then chose a Small Office style from Add Space dialog box from where I added the rest of the spaces to complete my office plan. Read More