2.2 Security Aspects Flashcards
Features of a strong password
- Mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters
- Combination of letters, numbers and special symbols
- At least 8 characters
Virus
How to minimise the risk
- Software that replicates itself
- Intends to delete or alter data stored on a computer
- Can make the computer “crash”/run slow
Minimise risk:
- use of anti-virus software
- do not download software/data from unknown sources
Spyware
How to minimise the risk
- Software that gathers information by recording key presses on a user’s computer/keyboard and relays the information back to the person who sent the software
- User activity/key presses can be analysed to find sensitive data eg. passwords
- a common pattern/word in the key logs could allow a password to be identified
Minimise risk:
- use anti-spyware software
- use data entry methods such as drop-down boxes
Hacking
How to minimise the risk
The act of gaining illegal access to a computer system without the owner’s consent/permission
Minimise risk:
- use of passwords / user IDs
- use of firewalls
- encrypt data
How does anti-virus software protect the user?
- Scans computer system for viruses
- Removes any viruses found from computer
- Checks data before it is downloaded, and stops download if virus found / warns you may contain virus
Firewall
Software that filters data coming from the Internet, to stop malware and hackers and block unsuitable content
5 ways that data could be accidentally damaged or accidentally lost
- human error eg. accidentally deleting a file
- hardware failure
- physical damage eg. fire/flood
- power failure
- misplacing a storage device
Methods to prevent data entry errors that can accidentally cause data corruption
- Using checks on data entry such as check digits, range checks, etc.
- Entering data twice
Explain what is meant by a denial of service (DoS) attack.
- designed to deny people access to a website
- a large number of requests is sent to a server all at the same time
- the server is unable to respond to ALL the requests
- the server fails/times out as a result
Proxy server
A computer that acts as an intermediary between a web browser and the Internet
Advantages of a proxy server
- Helps to improve web performance by storing a copy of frequently used web pages
- Can help improve security by filtering out some web content and malware
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
The TLS security protocol checks that the website you are using is real and then establishes a private link between two devices that are communicating, using encryption
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
SSL security protocol has different methods of encryption to TLS and is less secure; uses public and private keys, uses https
*purpose is the same as TLS (check authentication of website, establish private communication between devices using encryption)
Encryption
The process of converting plain text into cypher text
Decryption
The process of converting cypher text into plain text