Home Computer Security.docVIP

Home Computer Security Introduction Your home computer is a popular target for HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l intruder \t new intruders?. Why? eq \o\ac(○,1)Because intruders want what you’ve stored there. They look for credit card numbers, bank account information, and anything else they can find. By stealing that information, intruders can use your money to buy themselves goods and services. But it’s not just money-related information they’re after. Intruders also want your computer’s resources, meaning your HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l harddisk \t new hard disk? space, your fast HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l processor \t new processor, and your Internet connection. They use these resources to HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l attack \t new attack other computers on the HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l internet \t new Internet?. In fact, the more computers an intruder uses, the harder it is for law enforcement to figure out where the attack is really coming from. If intruders can’t be found, they can’t be stopped, and they can’t be prosecuted. Why are intruders paying attention to home computers? Home computers are typically not very secure and are easy to break into. When combined with high-speed Internet connections that are always turned on, intruders can quickly find and then attack home computers. eq \o\ac(○,2)While intruders also attack home computers connected to the Internet through dial-in connections, high-speed connections ( HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l cablemodem \t new cable modems and HYPERLINK /homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/glossary.html \l dslmodem \t new DSL modems) are a favorite target. No matter how a home computer is connected to the Internet, intruders’ attacks are often successful. Many home computer owners don’t realize that they need to pay attention to computer