Security-
Dangers of a virus, Trojan Horse, or computer worm are real, but I just thought they were the same thing. The three are considered to be malware, with the difference being in how they come in contact and where the attack or spread.
The worm is generally embedded within emails and just waiting for someone to ‘click’ to allow its spreading. This form then spreads to the next computer and generates more emails
My dad had a hiccup with this just the other day, where his entire list of contacts received an email that he was out of the country and had been mugged.
Trojans attack your computer system and allow information to be exposed. Trojans are looking to access information from one source and not generate out to others.
A virus is like a worm, in that it can go from computer to computer. It is spread from files being shared that have a virus connected. It can actually shut down your computer, making it inoperable.
How will you protect?
In looking into security software, there are so many out there to choose from. When it comes to an employer, they choose the appropriate one for the company and everyone just follows the protocol. The home is a different story. The protection needs to be there. There is no IT dept at your home to call when something is missing or your system has crashed. Some of the latest technology purchases come with security. It is provided in the cost of the new product. If you already have a desktop or laptop though, more than likely the software will expire and a choice needs to be made. Norton, AVG, F-secure and more were just a few that I saw on-line in looking up the top anti-virus software. Many of them offer a free-trial and then once the 30 days is up, you can purchase. It seemed that the average price was $50. That is a small price to pay to be protected.
Our Schools-
In our county, each school has their own specialized technology person in the building. This aids in any addition of devices, trouble shooting current pieces and insuring security is at its highest. I am not aware of which program we are running to ensure this, however the entire county just went through a new email change. To create a more secure email system, we were shut out for the weekend to close out the old, and bring our new into a new interface. Your typical, don’t open unless you know it is a trusted site, don’t give our your passwords and don’t respond to ‘all’ when emailing your class are a few ways to stay secure. There is also the changing of the passwords routinely to create a tighter security…. frustrating, but more secure. As much as our technology changes, so does the malware and we need to stay on top of the dangers as well as the positives. That is what is so nice about having a designated department just for technology within a company. This doesn't however, take away from what each person needs to do to keep threats out.
We are constantly teaching our children that they need to be sure to pay attention to what we post and that it’s permanent. We talk to them about not just copying others work and how to type things correctly. I don’t know that the security taught is as high as it needs. Their maturity level, trust and comforts of being at home or school when on the computer gives a false sense of security and we need to do a better job at explaining what and how to protect in technology. So many things we teach them about being safe tend to be what they can see. With technology, they can't see what is going on behind the screen.
I remember in one of our earlier lessons, students were singing a technology security song and had created these great visuals regarding technology and etiquette. It was really cool to see it truly put into place where the students to see it, hear it and understand the whole picture of technology. There are several great websites out there to help teach our students proper netiquette.
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