Publishing a Magazine on How Secure Your Computer - Essay Example

Publishing a Magazine on How Secure your Computer by Lecturer’s and Number Do you believe that your computer is secure? Well, most of the people will say their computers are secure, others will say no and others will say they do not know. A good number will also say that they do not know what computer security entails. Computer security is a wide topic. It entails keeping your computer safe online, off line and also ensuring that the data stored in the computer is safe and only accessible to those who have been authorized. There are several ways to ensure that your computer is safe. The first thing to ensure that your computer is safe, according to Caldwell, W. R. (2003 is first ensuring that data stored in the computer is safely stored and only accessible to the people who have been authorized. This can be done by ensuring that your computer is locked with a not only a password but a strong password. A strong password is a password that is at least eight characters long. It should include a mixture of numeric, alphanumeric and symbols. Alphanumeric should include both uppercase and lowercase letters (Caldwell, 2003). The second thing to ensuring that your computer is safe is employing the use of an anti-virus. The anti-virus will according to Kaspersky lab, ensure that your computer is safe from viruses, worms, malicious codes and any suspicious software that are likely to affect the normal functioning of your computer (Caldwell, 2003). The anti-virus is capable of removing the malicious software from your computer. Not only should you ensure that you have an anti-virus, but also ensure that the anti-virus you choose to incorporate in your system in compatible with the computer programs installed. You should ensure also that the anti-virus’ performance is capable of reaching up to your personal needs and specifications. Ensuring that your computer programs and the operating system are up to date is also another way of ensuring that your computer stays safe. By keeping your operating system up to date for example, this will have the effect of ensuring that the security flaws that were present in the previous version are patched up. One should also ensure that their anti-virus software are up to date. This will give the computer users the confidence that their system will be free from any emerging viruses in the internet (Caldwell, 2003). In order for one to ensure security on-line, (Shneiderman, 2000) they have to ensure that their firewalls are turned on. A firewall is software that controls the traffic being received and being transmitted by a computer. It will help the user in ensuring that traffic from unrecognized computers and or suspicious files are kept off your computer. This will also help you monitor what you want to share with the public and what not to share. It will ensure security from outside the computer. Another way for ensuring online security for your computer is by ensuring that you practice safe browsing over the internet. This will be made possible by the computer users ensuring that they are keen on what they click on while they are on the internet. This will help them be free from spams that are mostly available on the internets and also be free from malicious codes that are mostly embedded under links by the cyber criminals. This shall also ensure that the computer users are not vulnerable and ensure they are keen not to download something they do not know about. While on the internet, the users should know that security should not come from within their systems alone, but also by them being keen and careful while on the internet. (Shneiderman, 2000). The final way of ensuring security to your data, files and documents in your computer are safe is by ensuring that you conduct regular back up of your data. Back up usually protects you in an event of a computer crash or disk problems. A back up ensures that your system (computer) is back to where it was originally before the loss occurred. Now, with the above techniques, you will be guaranteed of a particular percentage of safety and security of your computer. Although it is said that you will never achieve optimum security with IT, implementing the above techniques will ensure you are not that vulnerable. You can also check out on new ways to ensure computer security over the internet. Publishing Plan The company I have selected for the publishing of the magazine is Kibasui Publishers Limited. The manuscripts shall be submitted to Kibasui Publishers Limited in an unsolicited way. The manuscript shall be reviewed for possible publication. It shall go through a staff of first readers who shall check for occurrences of poor author credentials, weak writing, or problematic research. It will then go through the editor, Rhoda Sawaan, and the peer review boards who are subject matter experts. The peer review boards shall be the information and technology technicians of the journalism and mass media department who shall ensure that the magazine is relevant and that the information in the magazine is relevant and true to the computer users. The manuscripts shall now be edited. During the editing process, some information may be added to the original manuscript or either the editor or the authors may delete some contents. During this process, the manuscript will have to be fact checked to ensure that the information is found in several credible sources. This is where out dated or untrue information shall be changed or deleted. The editor shall also correct all the spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes present in the manuscript and later proof read to ensure that the final copy of the manuscript is now fully edited. (Ruberg and Michelle, 2005) The proofread magazine will then be typed and laid out for publication by Kibasui Publishers Company. Some artistic works shall be added on the cover page of the magazine. The editor shall be the one also to ensure that the artistic works are done and also the design and layout of the magazine pages. After the art and graphic work, the manuscripts shall be returned to the author for thorough proof reading and final look before publishing. The editor, Rhoda Sawaan, shall then publish the manuscript admitting the mistakes and revealing the correct information as soon as possible. (BarNir, Gallaugher and Auger, 2003) The magazine shall be printed by the publisher, Kibasui Publishers Limited. They shall design the magazine size, page count and also the stock count that will simplify the printing process and reduce costs while at the same time delivering a quality magazine. Ensure the printing company utilizes state of the art technology, in that they shall ensure that the magazine being printed shall be up to the standards expected by the market. (BarNir, Gallaugher, & Auger, 2003) The distribution of the magazine shall be done timely. The magazine shall also be available for mailing to subscribers both locally and internationally. Mailing of the magazine to the subscribers shall ensure that there is minimization of costs and also there will be speed in delivery of the magazines to the subscribers and shall be done from the printing company that is the publisher Kibasui Publishers Limited. The editors and the publishers shall ensure also that the magazine is distributed to the bookshops regularly and ensure that there is constant supply of the magazine to the bookshops and the magazine stands by ensuring that there will be no time lags and or double shipping. The advantage of having the editor and the publisher as the distributing agents is in order for the author to ensure that the magazine is distributed directly from on facility, which shall be Kibasui Publishers Limited. The suppliers, the editor and the publisher, should ensure that bulk permits and labels of the supplied shipping are supplied to the author. The publishing of the magazine for distribution shall only be done when need arises in the market that is the bookshops and the magazine stands. Critical Reflection How safe is your computer is a magazine that helps computer users to be able to know the different ways of ensuring that their computer and the data and files stored in the computer are safe and secure. The magazine is authored by Chatur, a student undertaking a Degree Grade education level edited by Rhoda Sawaan and published by Kibasui Publisher Limited. The target groups for the magazine are the computer users who need to ensure that their data and their system are safe. The author by the word safe means ensuring that ensuring the computer is secure with the data stored in it. The magazine specifies different ways of ensuring security. These include the use of passwords, where the user should ensure that the computer is protected by a strong password not less than 8 (eight) characters long. It also specifies the use of a firewall which is used to monitor traffic coming and going from a computer. The use of an anti-virus that is compatible to the system and ensuring that it is updated regularly is another option. Ensuring that the programs installed and the operating system installed is regularly updated can also ensure data and computer safety. The author has also identified safe internet browsing as another way to ensure security to their data and also to their computers. The last option is for the user to ensure that they conduct regular back up for their data. The magazine has achieved its goal of passing knowledge to the computer users on how they can ensure that their computers are safe together with the data stored in them. By reading the magazine, the computer users will be able to reduce their risk to data loss and malicious attacks from cyber criminals. The article has achieved its goal of passing information on computer security (BarNir, Gallaugher and Auger, 2003). However, with the diversified use of computers with different operating systems, the author ought to have given the different ways of implementing the ways mentioned in his magazine to the different operating system users present. This would have had the effect of ensuring that no one is disadvantaged because of the operating system that they are using. The author also left out some critical information about computer security. For instance, in his article, they did not specify how one can ensure that they practice safe online surfing. Apart from showing the users how to prevent the act of being attacked by cyber criminals by implementing a firewall, the author would have been expected to also show how the computer users can recover from an attack that had been posed to them. The author has clearly shown how the user can be able to incorporate a strong password into his system. He has done this clearly by explaining to the computer user what a strong password entails, whereby he specifies to the computer users that it should be at least 8 characters long. He also encourages the user to incorporate upper case and lower case letters, symbols and numeric in their password. The author has also brought about the point of anti-virus. He has been able to explain it although he would have gone a step further by trying to help out the users with the dilemma i=of determining which anti-virus is best in terms of performance. This would have had the effect of the users being able to make choices quickly and easily as to which antivirus to incorporate in their systems. He could have also given examples of antivirus software that are free and the ones that are to be purchased by the users for them to be able to decide which ones they fine appropriate for their systems (BarNir, Gallaugher and Auger, 2003). Under the point of regular updates to the programs installed and the operating system, the author seems to be up to date with the emerging trends on computer security, whereby most of the operating system providers have had the opportunity to fix the security issues that have been previously present in the previous versions of their programs. He has been able to explain the importance of conducting regular updates to the computer users. The author has been able to enlighten the computer users on the importance of ensuring they incorporate the use of a firewall. Although he has not explained to them of how to ensure it is working, he has been able to show its importance clearly by ensuring that he explains that it has the capability of keeping the computer free from cyber criminals. On ensuring regular backup, the author would have explained to the computer users on how to conduct backups regularly and the most appropriate time to conduct backup. However, this can be viewed on a positive perspective whereby the author wants the computer users to ensure that they subscribe to his magazine for emerging trends on computer security (BarNir, Gallaugher and Auger, 2003). The author has also been able to warn the computer users about safe internet browsing. This is a major problem to the current computer users because cyber criminals have invented a new way of embedding their malicious codes under links present in the internet and computer users who are not careful or who do not practice safe internet browsing are vulnerable to the malicious code. The author has clearly brought out the risk, which is a current emerging trend over the internet (BarNir, Gallaugher and Auger, 2003). Generally, the magazine has been able to explain the various ways of security to one’s computer and also to the files stored in it. With it in the market, it is expected that the computer users will be able to ensure that their systems are safe and secure. It has emerging trends of ensuring security to computers apart from the general ones that are known to most of the computer users. The magazine by Chatur, is considered to be of a very great impact to the computer users in the market. Bibliography BarNir, A., Gallaugher, J. and Auger, P. (2003). Business process digitization, strategy, and the impact of firm age and size: the case of the magazine publishing industry. Journal of Business Venturing, 18(6), pp.789--814. Caldwell, W. (2003). Computer security sourcebook. 1st ed. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. Eames, D. and Moffett, J. (1999). The integration of safety and security requirements. Springer, pp.468--480. Parker, D. (1981). Computer security management. 1st ed. Reston, Va.: Reston Pub. Co. Ruberg, M. (2005). Writers Digest handbook of magazine article writing. 1st ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writers Digest Books. Read More