5. the internet and its uses Flashcards
what is the internet?
is the infacture, a public network of computer systems across the globe.
what are the physical of the internet
Computers
Servers
Switches
Routers
Cables
what is the world wide web
the collection of resources that exist in the network ( inside the internet)
what are types of resources in the WWW
Web pages
Documents
Images
Videos
Music
Emails
what is a unifom resource locator
(URL): is a text-based address for a web page; it
can contain the protocol, the domain name and
the web page/file name
what are the 2 types of protocols
HTTP and HTTPS
how does the HTTP work
uses request codes to send and recieve data
what are the request codes of HTTP
GET:GET request asks the web server to transmit a specific resource, such as a web page, to the user’s web browser.
POST: adds new content
DELETE: removes resources
PUT: modifies source
how does HTTPS work
Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is a secure method of sending data via the world wide web, and was invented to combat the glaring security risk of sending sensitive data via the HTTP protocol.
how does HTTPS operate
using a TLS
a private key and pulic key are used for security
what is the function of bookmarks and favourites
save important pages which user uses a lot- saves time
importance of history
User history keeps a chronological ledger of each site visited. This is helpful if you cannot remember which website you viewed many weeks or months ago, or if you accidentally close a web browser window and would like to reopen the exact same page again.
importance of multiple tabs
allows use of many pages at the same time. his eases browsing between websites, and usually means less computer system resources are used
importance of storing cookies
- Cookies are small files which store small amounts of data on our computer system, usually used to save our login details for certain websites, or provide advertising agencies with our data.
- provides companies with some non-personal information about users, including some of their browsing history, in order to provide more personalised adverts.
importance of navigation tools
reloading, adding tab, closing tab, going back, going forward etc
importance of providing a adress bar
alows browing of web page without a link
how web pages are located, retrieved and displayed on a device when a user enters a
URL
1) user enters URL into the web browser adress bar
2) the URL points to a web page or resouce on WWW.
3) computer connectes to the internet communicate with each other using their IP adresses
4) the DNS server keeps a record of all the domains in existance and maps each of these into a IP adress- looks up domain names and replies request with IP adres
5) the web server will eaither allow or not acess to the source depending on the nature of the request
6) web server returning the resource to the web browser. This is usually raw HTML, which the web browser then translates into a readable format for the user.
what are cookies
HTTP cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on the users’ computer system, and are used by the web browser to retain information
what types of information that cookies retain
- Saving personal details
- Tracking user preferences
- Holding items in a shopping cart
- Storing login details
what are persitent cookies
- provide long term storage for preferences. store login details etc.
- stored in HDD
what are session
cookies
session cookie is stored temporarily in your computer, stored in ram. used for sensetive info.
a request will be sent after every logging in and wont be saved
what is digital currency
A digital currency is one that only exists
electronically. has no physical attributes
eg: bitcoin, ethereum, doge coin
pros of digital currency
- anonymous
- anyone can access
- no taking cut of transaction
cannot be manipulates by large organizations - decentralizes
cons of digital currency
- uses lots of resouces to compute hashes
- some currencies are not accepted widley
- value tends to fluctuate over short and long term
what is block chain
- Blockchain, in its basic form, is a digital ledger,
that is a time-stamped series of records that
cannot be altered
what type of info do blockchain contain
- Sender wallet address
- Receiver wallet address
- Amount sent
- Network fee (the cost of sending the digital currency using the blockchain)
- Timestamp
- Number of confirmations – mutual ‘agreements’ between multiple blockchain nodes adding details of the same transaction
most common cyber security threats7
brute-force attack
– data interception
– distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack
– hacking
– malware (virus, worm, Trojan horse, spyware,
adware, ransomware)
– pharming
– phishing
– social engineering
social engineering
art of manipulating or ‘conning’ individuals into giving away private information or login IDs and passwords eg phishing
phishsing
act of sending a malicious email to a target user, with the intent of stealing information from them
brute force attacks
a hacker may go through a list of the most common passwords until access to an account is gained. This is usually automated using common hacking tools. Alternatively, the attacker may try every combination of characters until the correct password is found
malware
software that can cause harm to a computer system. Malware is a broad term which can include viruses, trojan horses and spyware. As well as harming computer systems, they also cause significant financial damage, denial of service (DOS) and lack of functionality to key infrastructure.
Ddos attack
when a number of computer systems – often thousands – suddenly send an incredible amount of internet traffic towards a single server or system. When this occurs, the bandwidth available for the target system, as well as system resources like CPU and RAM, become strained
hacking
a general term for gaining access to a computer system without authorisation. A hacker is a person who will attempt to gain access to such systems, using various methods
pharming
a form of fraud, and takes place online through malicious websites posing as legitimate businesses, such as banks. The goal of pharming is to trick the user into sharing personal information such as bank details, passwords and email addresses
data interception
when a malicious attacker intercepts data in transit – when it leaves one system to be transmitted to another system – and uses that data for their own criminal activities, or to perform further attacks.
virus
spreads between computers and causes damage to data and software. They aim to disrupt systems, cause major operational issues and result in data loss or leakage.
worm
type of malware with the function to replicate itself and infect other computers, it normally uses a computer network to spread itself relying on security failures.
trojan
a specific malware, which disguises itself and subsquently tricks users to downloading harmful malware, which has many consequences to device.
spyware
a type of malware that keeps track and records a users keystrokes as you type, to later gain access to passwords and other confidential information.
adware
Various pop up advertisments that show up in your computer, with the potential to become harmful or malicous
ransom ware
malicous softawre, which blocks access to a computer system by encrypting files on a device, until a sum of money is paid
what are the most common ways to protect digital data from security threats
ccess levels
– anti-malware including anti-virus and
anti-spyware
– authentication (username and password,
biometrics, two-step verification)
– automating software updates
– checking the spelling and tone of
communications
– checking the URL attached to a link
– firewalls
– privacy settings
– proxy-servers
– secure socket layer (SSL) security protocol
access levels
A user can only access their personal documents, and not others
A user can only access the shared documents that are relevant to them
Other users cannot view, edit, copy or delete data and information that doesn’t concern them
anti virus and anti spyware software
actively scan the computer system and, upon finding malicious files or software, either place it in ‘quarantine’ (a safe place on the system) or simply delete it from the system
automatic software updates
Once a new strain of malware has been identified, software updates are usually very quick to roll out, so having ‘automatic updates’ enabled ensures these protections are automatically downloaded and installed on your system.
authentication methods
-multi factor authentication
-strong passwords with some requirements
-biometrics
firewalls
prevent unwanted network traffic to and from your computer by closing and opening ports on a computer system, which are used by different protocols.
privacy settings
A
This is an effective way to control your visibility and protect you from malicious users looking for your personal information.
proxy servers
A proxy server acts as a service to hide your IP address,Because your IP address is hidden, attackers cannot target your machine directly.
if an organisation uses a proxy server to connect their employees to the internet, they can control what content is allowed to be accessed.
ssl
(Secure Socket Layer) is used to secure credit card transactions and data transfer
The padlock icon in your web browser’s address bar means SSL is in use. When you browse with SSL enabled, all traffic between your computer and the website is encrypted, so anyone who intercepts your data cannot make sense of it
