Overview of The Common Internet Threats

Malware

It is malicious software that infects your computer, such as computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware. What it does is intimidate your scare-ware, which is usually a pop-up message that tells you your computer has security problem or other false information. They can alter your computer and reformat the hard drive causing you to lose important information.

They can alter your computer and reformat the hard drive causing you to lose important information. Wholeheartedly take control of your computer and all the software running on it. One of the first known examples of malware was the Creeper virus in 1971, which was created as an experiment by BBN Technologies engineer Robert Thomas. Creeper was designed to infect mainframes on ARPANET. While the program did not alter functions, or steal or delete data, the program moved from one mainframe to another without permission while displaying a teletype message that read, "I'm the creeper: Catch me if you can. " Creeper was later altered by computer scientist Ray Tomlinson, who added the ability to self-replicate to the virus and created the first known computer worm. The concept of malware took root in the technology industry, and examples of viruses and worms began to appear on Apple and IBM personal computers in the early 1980s before becoming popularized following the introduction of the World Wide Web and the commercial internet in the 1990s.

Hacking

Criminals gain access to your computer and find weaknesses (or pre-existing bugs) in your security settings and exploit them in order to access your information and also install a Trojan horse, providing a back door for hackers to enter and search for your personal information.

Cyber Bullying

The potential perils of the Internet for children and teens aren’t limited to identify thieves and sexual predators. Cyber bullying and cyber stalking also pose very real threats as more children use technology to connect, communicate and socialize.

The National Crime Prevention Center estimated that 43 percent of children have experienced cyber bullying. This act involves the use of social media, email, cellphone photos, text messages or instant messages to harassing, embarrass, intimidate or bully children. The perpetrators in these cases are generally other children or teens. This fact has given rise to many schools across the country creating policies and pledges meant to address the issue. Cyber bullying is even considered a crime in some areas. As the death of Megan Meier showed, cyber bullying may take place in the online world, but it can have very real and tragic consequences in the online world.

To protect against cyber bullying, parents should discuss the topic with their children take the time to monitor their messages and online activity. It is also important for parents to make sure their children don’t engage in this activity and that they don’t become bystanders to the act by passing along cruel messages they are sent about others.

Phishing

It is fake emails, text messages and websites created to look like they're from authentic companies. They're sent by criminals to steal personal and financial information from you. This is also known as “spoofing”. They can trick you into giving them information by asking you to update, validate or confirm your account. In fact, almost half (48%) the respondents to Wombat’s 2018 State of the Phish survey say that the rate of phishing attacks is increasing.