Safety and security - Chap 8 Flashcards
List the health risks posed by computer systems.
- Back and neck problems/ strain
- RSI (Repetitive strain injury)
- Eyestrain
- Headache
- Ozone irritation
What causes back and neck problems and how can they be reduced?
Caused by sitting in front of computer for a long time
• Use adjustable ergonomic chairs and workstation
•Maintain correct posture and use footrests
•Use screens that can be tilted so neck is at the right angle
What causes RSI and how can it be reduced?
It is the damage to finger and wrists caused by continuous use of mouse or keyboard.
• Take regular breaks and do exercise
• Use voice-activated software wherever possible
• Use ergonomic devices
• Use wrist rest
• Maintain correct posture of arms
What causes eyestrain and how can it be reduced?
Caused by staring at a screen for too long or incorrect lighting.
• Change from CRT to LCD so there is less flickering
• Use antiglare screens
• Use window blinds to reduce sunlight entering
• Get regular eye check-ups or use glasses
• Take regular breaks
What causes headache and how can it be reduced?
Caused by incorrect lighting, flickering screens and screen reflections. • Use LCD screens • Use anti-glare screens • Take regular breaks • Test your eyes
What causes ozone irritation and how can it be reduced?
Caused by laser printers (dry skin and respiratory problems).
• Use a separate room for printers
• Switch to inkjet printers
• Have proper ventilation in the office
List the safety risks posed by computers.
- Trailing wires (trip hazard)
- Electrocution
- Fire hazard
- Heavy equipment falling and causing injury
List ways of reducing risk of electrocution.
- Check equipment regularly
- Don’t bring drinks/ fluids near computers
- Use an RCB (residual current breaker)
- Insulate wires
List ways of reducing risk of tripping over trailing wires.
- Tuck away wires and cover them
- Use wireless wherever possible
- Use cable ducts
List ways of reducing risk of injury by heavy equipment.
- Use strong desks and supports
- Use large desks
- Don’t place equipment near edge as they could fall
List ways of reducing risk of fires.
• Check equipment regularly
• Don’t overload sockets with too many items
• Have a CO2 extinguisher in the office
• Ensure there is good ventilation to prevent
overheating
• Don’t cover equipment or any vents
•Use low voltage hardware (LCD instead of CRT)
What are few precautions home users can take to prevent health and safety risks?
• Don’t bring drinks near electronic equipment
• Fix wires or tuck them away to prevent chance of people coming in contact with wires
• Don’t cover computers with cloth, etc as that can block vents
• Don’t plug too many devices into sockets
Exercise and take regular breaks
• Use ergonomic workstations
What is personal data?
Data concerning a living person who can be identified directly from the data itself or by a data conjunction.
Examples of personal data.
- Name
- Address
- DOB
- Medical history
- Banking details
Examples of sensitive personal data.
- Ethnic origin
- Sexual orientation
- Criminal activity
- Religion
- Political views
List the Dos and Donts of e-safety.
- Don’t give out personal information to unknown people
- Don’t share pictures of yourself with other people
- Always maintain your privacy settings
- Use only trusted websites (padlock symbol or HTTPS)
- Open emails from known sources only
- Use and ISP that has an effective email filtering feature
List the Dos and Donts of social networking sites.
- Block or report anyone who acts suspiciously or inappropriately
- Use appropriate language
- Always use nock names ( never reveal your real name)
- Don’t share personal data
- Never enter private chat rooms, stay public
- Don’t meet anyone alone on the first time and tell someone before meeting
- Avoid the misuse of images
- Respect people’s confidentiality
- Use a private account
Risks of online gaming.
- Predators who attack vulnerable people
- Misuse of webcams and other video-related threats
- Use of voice-masking technology
- Violence in the game can lead to violence in real life
- Cyberbullying
- Cyber attacks like viruses, phishing or spyware.
List the security risks associated with any device that connects to a network.
- Hacking
- Phishing
- Vishing
- Smishing
- Pharming
- Spyware
- Viruses
- Spam
Hacking
- Act of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system.
- Can lead to identity theft, misuse of personal data.
- Data can be deleted, corrupted or changed.
- Use a firewall
- Use IDs and strong passwords and frequently change them
- Use intrusion detection software.
Cracking
Editing a source code of a program for a malicious purpose like sending a user to a fake website.
What is phishing?
A recipient receives a legitimate-looking email from a seemingly trustable source. The email has links that redirect them to a fake website where they are asked to enter personal data which is then stolen.
Threats and methods of preventing phishing.
• People can gain your personal data (bank account data, etc)
• Identity theft and fraud
PREVENTION:
• Use an ISP that has an effective phishing email filter feature
• Be careful while opening mails and attachments
• Don’t click on attachments that end in:
.exe , .bat , .com or .php
Smishing
• Recipients recieve legitimate SMSs from seemingly trustable sources that contain a URL or telephone number. They are asked to open the website or call the number and are asked to give personal data that is then stolen and misused.
Vishing
Recipients receive legitimate-sounding voicemails from seemingly trustable sources that trick the user into calling a telephone number where they are asked to give personal data that is stolen and misused.
Pharming
A malicious code is installed on a user’s computer which redirects them to a fake website where data is stolen.
• Identity theft, fraud and misuse of gained personal data
• Use anti-spyware to identify and remove any pharming codes
• Look for clues that you are being redirected to a fake website- Check for padlock symbol or HTTPS
Spyware and key-logging software
Software that monitors the key presses on a user’s keyboard and sends compiled data back to the person who sent the software.
• Data typed in is stolen (passwords, etc)
• Software can change the user’s default browser settings and read cookie data
• Use and regularly update anti-spyware software
• Enter passwords with pointing device and use dropdown options
• Use OTPs
Viruses
A program code or software that replicates itself with the intention of deleting or corrupting files on a computer to cause malfunction.
• Fills up hard drive with data and computer crashes
• Can delete/ corrupt files
• Can corrupt OS files and make the comp run slowly and crash
• Use anti-virus software and update it.
• Don’t use software or open emails from unknown sources
Spam
Junk emails that a recipient on a mailing list/ group receive. Spam clogs up bandwidth and this leads to denial of services. It floods the network with useless traffic. It can be linked to phishing or virus attacks.
• Use an ISP that can filter out spam email
• Junk email filter
• Block images in HTML massages that spammers use as web beacons
• Untick already selected check boxes for email lists
• Don’t sign up to mailing lists
• Unsubscribe from mailing lists
What is a web beacon?
A graphic image in a website/ webserver that can be used to verify email addresses when the image is opened.
What is a moderated forum?
An online discussion forum in which all posts are checked by an administrator before they are allowed to be posted. An administrator can filter inappropriate and irrelevant posts and prevent spam.
Cookies
- Small files/ code that is stored on the user’s computer
- Stores small lookup table with values
- Webserver reads this table and customizes web pages
List ways of additional security of data online.
- Firewalls
- Authentication
- Encryption
- Security protocols
What is a firewall?
Hardware or software that sits between a user’s computer and an external network (like the internet).
