Methods to Stop Different Cyber Crimes - Essay Example

Methods to Stop Different Cyber Crimes Cyber crimes are illegal activities done by individuals over the Internet. These illegal activities include fraud, hacking, phishing, committing identity theft, and infecting computers with viruses and worm. Further, cyber crime also involves the sale of drugs through the Internet, cyber stalking and child pornography. Although many Internet users end up being victims of these illegal activities, there are ways by which these criminal activities can be stopped or prevented (Ehow, 2012).

The password used to secure one’s online accounts or information can determine whether an individual is likely to fall victim to cyber crime or not. Internet users should chose passwords with that consist of at least five characters. These passwords are not easily guessed by the criminals. Passwords that are made based on names, nicknames, telephone numbers, and other obvious words should be avoided. Passwords should consist of both uppercase and lowercase character. However, such passwords may be difficult to remember.

Internet users should aim at creating the most unique passwords that do no appear in dictionary entries (Standler, 2004).Internet users are required to activate their spam blocker whenever they use the Internet. Spam blockers enable individuals to block messages that are not needed from getting into the inbox. In addition, a spam blocker ensures that phishing emails that may be used to defraud Internet users are prevented from getting into the inbox. Most Internet providers have spam blocking features (Ehow, 2012).

Antivirus software such as McAfee, Norton, Kasperskey and Avast should be installed on computers. The installation of an antivirus alone is not an adequate measure in preventing viruses from infecting the computer; the anti virus must be updated on a regular basis. Malware, spyware and viruses can only be eliminated from the computer if the antivirus is allowed to scan the whole computer system (Ehow, 2012).Further, Internet users can stop cyber crime by using their computer’s firewall protection feature.

Firewall is a digitally created barrier that enables Internet users to prevent cyber criminals from accessing their computer systems. The Firewall should always be turned on in order to prevent the illegal activities of cyber criminals (Ehow, 2012).Also, cyber crimes can be prevented if Internet users constantly encrypt useful information as they send it to intended recipients. This can be done through the use of encryption software which ensures that personal and confidential information are not affected by criminals.

The software ensures that personal data are made unintelligible to criminals who hack into computer systems (Ghosh, 2010).Internet users are advised against providing personal information on Internet sites that ask for such details. Personal information such as name, email address, bank account and social security number should never be provided to Internet sites that demand such information. Personal information will be used to access the bank account thereby leading to financial loses (Ehow, 2012).

In some cases, cyber crimes are committed when Internet users decide to shop online. It is advisable to only perform online shopping on secure Internet sites. Secure Internet sites can be recognized by Internet users if they start with “http”. The Internet “url” that is regarded to be secure should also have a TRUST or VeriSign seal. Internet sites that lack these seals should be avoided by Internet users because they can submit credit card information to cyber criminals who actually use the data to defraud the users (Kizza, 2005).

Finally, Internet users are advised not to participate in common scams. Cyber criminals often lure Internet users into lotteries and other sweepstakes in order to get access to their personal information. Personal information is used to get access to money from the banks. These lotteries and sweepstakes often look too good to be true (Ehow, 2012).ReferencesEhow (2012), How to Prevent Cyber Crime, Retrieved on 26th June, 2012, from: http://www.ehow.com/how_4967690_prevent-cyber-crime.htmlGhosh, S (2010), Cyber Crimes: A Multidisciplinary Analysis, New York: Springer.

Kizza, J (2005), Computer Network Security, New York: Springer.Standler. R (2004), Tips for Avoiding Computer Crime, Retrieved on 26th June, 2012, from: http://www.rbs2.com/cvict.htm.