Online Threats
The Internet is a powerful and useful tool, but in the same way that you shouldn’t drive without buckling your seat belt or ride a bike without a helmet, you shouldn’t venture online without taking some basic precautions.
The good news is that there are effective ways to protect yourself while still enjoying the enormous benefits of the Internet. Learning about some of the existing threats can help you enjoy a safer, happier Internet experience.
Viruses
Viruses are harmful computer programs that can be transmitted in a number of ways. Although they differ in many ways, all are designed to spread themselves from one computer to another through the Internet and cause havoc. Most commonly, they are designed to give the criminals who create them some sort of access to those infected computers.
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Spyware
The terms "spyware" and "adware" apply to several different technologies. The two important things to know about them is that 1) they can download themselves onto your computer without your permission (typically when you visit an unsafe Web site or via an attachment) and 2) they can make your computer do things you don't want it to do. That might be as simple as opening an advertisement you didn't want to see. In the worst cases, spyware can track your online movements, steal your passwords and compromise your accounts.
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Botnets
Although they sound like something out of a bad science fiction movie, botnets have become a very real danger on the Internet. Botnets are made up of large numbers of computers that have been infected by criminals (using some of the tools mentioned above). Often, the people whose computers are controlled by a botnet don't even know that they've been infected. Criminals use these armies of infected computers to attack Web sites by flooding them with massive amounts of traffic or as engines for sending spam. These attacks can devastate companies, and even entire countries in some cases. Victims caught in botnets can also be subject to identity theft as their personal information is compromised.
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