Unit 5: The internet and its uses

Question 1

What is the difference between the internet and the world wide web

Answer 1

Internet:
* Users can send and recieve emails
* Allows online chatting (via text, audio and video)
* Makes use of transmission protocols (TPC) and internet protocols (ITP)
* It is a worldwide collection of interconnected networks and devices
World Wide Web:
* It is a collection of multimedia web pages and other information on websites
* http(s) protocols are written using HTML
* Uniform resource locations (URLs) are used to specify the location of web pages
* Web resources are accessed by web browsers
* Uses the internet to access information from web servers

Question 2

What are web browsers

Answer 2

Softwares that allow users to access and display web pages on their device screens

Question 3

Which is the protocol, domain host, domain name, domain type and country code of this website: https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/ict

Answer 3

Protocol: https
Domain host: www
Domain name: Hoddlereducation
Domain type: .co
Country code: .uk

Question 4

What is HTTP

Answer 4

Hypertext transfer protocol (http) is a set of rules that must be obeyed when transferring files across the internet.

Question 5

When is the s added to https

Answer 5

When some form of security (e.g SSL or TLS) is used, http changes to https

Question 6

What is Blockchaining

Answer 6

• A decentralised database. All the transactions of networked members are stored on this database.
• The blockchain consists of a number of interconnected computers but they are not connected to a central server
• All transactional data is stored on all computers in the blockchain network

Question 7

What are some properties of web browsers

Answer 7

• They have a home page
• They can store a users favourite website/web pages
• They keep a history of websites visited by the user
• They have the ability to allow the user to navigate forwards and backwards through websites/web pages already opened
• Many web pages can be opened at the same time by using multiple tabs
• They make use of cookies
• They make use of hyperlinks that allow navigation between websites and web pages

Question 8

What are cookies

Answer 8

Cookies are small files or codes stored on a users computer. They are sent by a web server to a browser on a users computer. Each cookie is effectively a small look-up table containing pairs of (key,data) values.

Question 9

What are session cookies

Answer 9

They are used for example when making online purchases. They keep a users items in a virtual shopping basked. This type of cookie is stored in temporary memory on the computer and doesn’t actually collect any information from the users computer

Question 10

What are persistent cookies

Answer 10

Persistent cookies remember a users log in details. They are stored on the hard drive of a users computer until the expiry date is reached or the user deletes it.

Question 11

What is digital currency

Answer 11

Digital currency exists purely in a digital format. It has no physical form unlinke conventional flat currency

Question 12

What is cryptocurrency

Answer 12

• Cryptocurrency uses cryptography to track transactions
• Cryptocurrency has no state control and all the rules are set by the cryptocurrency community itself
• Cryptocurrency transactions are publicly available and therefore all transactions can be tracked and the amount of money in the system is monitored

Question 13

What is data interception

Answer 13

A form of stealing data by tapping into a wired or wireless communication link. The intent is to compromise privacy or to obtain confidential information

Question 14

What is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack

Answer 14

An attempt at preventing users from accessing part of a network, notably an internet server. This is usually temporary but may be a very damaging act or a large breach of security. It doesn’t just affect networks; an individual can also be a target for a target for such an attack. The attacker may be able to prevent a user from:
* Accessing their emails
* Accessing websites/web pages
* Accessing online services

Question 15

What are brute force attacks

Answer 15

If a hacker wants to crack your password, they can systematically try all the different combinations of letters, numbers and other symbols until eventually they find your password

Question 16

What is malware

Answer 16

Malware is one of the biggest risks to the integrity and security of data on a computer system

Question 17

What are viruses

Answer 17

• Viruses are programs or program code that replicate with the intention of deleting or corrupting files, or causing a computer to malfunction.
• Viruses need an active host program on the target computer or an operating system that has already been infected, before they can actually run and cause harm
• Viruses are often sent as email attachments, reside on infected websites or on infected software downloaded to the users computer

Question 18

What are worms

Answer 18

• Worms are a type of stand-alone malware that can self-replicate. Their intention is to spread to other computers and corrupt whole networks; unlike viruses, they don’t need an active host program to be opened in order to do any damage.
• They remain inside applications which allows them to move throughout networks
• They arrive as message attachments and only one user opening a worm-infested email could end up infecting the whole network

Question 19

What is a Trojan Horse

Answer 19

• A program which is often disguised as legitimate software but with malicious instructions embedded within it
• They replace all or part of the legitimate software with the intent of carrying out some harm to the users computer system
• Once installed on the users computer, the Trojan horse will give cyber criminals access to personal information on someone computer, such as IP addresses, passwords and other personal data

Question 20

What is Spyware

Answer 20

• Spyware is software that gathers information by monitoring a users activities carried out on their computer
• The gathered information is sent back to the cybercriminal who originally sent the spyware

Question 21

What is adware

Answer 21

• A type of malware. At its least dangerous it will attempt to flood an end-user with unwanted advertising
• Although not necessarily harmful, adware can:
  » highlight weaknesses in a user’s security defences
  » be hard to remove – it defeats most anti-malware software since it can be
  difficult to determine whether or not it is harmful
  » hijack a browser and create its own default search requests.

Question 22

What is Ransomeware

Answer 22

• Programs that encrypt data on a users computer and ‘hold the data hostage’
• The cybercriminal waits until the ransome money is paid, and sometimes, the descryption key is then sent to the user.

Question 23

What is phishing

Answer 23

• Occurs when a cybercriminal sends out legitimate-looking emails to users. The emails may contain links or attachments that, when initiated, take the user to a fake website

Question 24

What is pharming

Answer 24

• Malicious code installed on a users computer or on an infected website.
• The code redirects the users browser to a fake website without the users knowledge.

Question 25

What is social engineering

Answer 25

Occurs when a cybercriminal creates a social situation that can lead to a potential victim dropping their guard. It involves the manipulation of people into breaking their normal security procedures and not following best practice.

Question 26

What are the two main anti-malware

Answer 26

• Anti Virus
• Anti spyware: detects and removes spyware programs installed illegally on a users computer system

Question 27

What are biometrics

Answer 27

Biometrics can be used in a number of applications as a security device

Question 28

How do fingerprint scans work

Answer 28

• Images of fngerprints are compared. against previously scanned. fingerprint images stored in a database
• If they match, then a user has been correctly recognised
• The system compares patterns of ridges and valleys that are unique
• The accuracy of the scan is about around 1 in 5000

Question 29

What are the advantages and drawbacks of fingerprint security

Answer 29

Advantages:
» fingerprints are unique, therefore this technique can improve security since it would be difficult to replicate a person’s fingerprints
» other security devices (such as magnetic cards to gain entry to a building) can be lost or even stolen which makes them less effective
» it would be impossible to ‘sign in’ for somebody else since the fingerprints would match with only one person on the database
» fingerprints can’t be misplaced; a person always has them!
Drawbacks:
» it is relatively expensive to install and set up
» if a person’s fingers are damaged through an injury, this can have an effect on
the scanning accuracy
» some people may regard any biometric device as an infringement of civil
liberties.

Question 30

How do retina scanners work

Answer 30

They use infrared light to scan the unique pattern of blood vessels in the retina

Question 31

What are the benefits and drawbacks of retina scans

Answer 31

Advantages:
* very high accuracy
* there is no known way to replicate a person’s retina
Drawbacks:
* it is very intrusive
* it can be relatively slow to verify retina scan with stored scans
* very expensive to install and set up