Biggest security threat - Phishing, Virus, Spyware, etc?

[cech]

Nowadays internet has become an integral part of our life. It is obvious that we cannot survive without internet. From ordering electronics to communicating with friends to find data, we use internet to find everything nowadays. But internet is not controlled by single person or single organization. It is like a bog open network where anyone can enter and upload, download and view content. But with so many people on internet, is it safe to use. Is the data that people upload or download safe. Nowadays there have been many complaints of people getting phished or being tracked by spyware. What do you people think is the biggest internet threat you think?

[AliyaK]

I think that spywares are the biggest threat present on internet nowadays. Once they enter the computer they keep tracking the data that goes in and out of the computer and keeps sending it to the server of the person who wants to misuse it. This kind of threat might seriously hamper the working of person in corporate world as the data that is used in big industries is of great importance and can change many aspects of an organization. A small leak of data can create huge losses for the organization. I think this is why the spywares are most dangerous threat on internet.

[Suigetsu]

I find viruses as most dangerous thing on internet. They get into computer from most unsuspecting sources and mess up whole system to the core such that one will find it irritating to work on its own computer. Last time my computer was attacked by some virus, it would go on destroying the execution files on my computer. This would render the whole system useless as I couldn’t even start basic programs like Notepad or Microsoft Paint. I thought that some anti-virus would make it proper but later on I found that anti-virus was detecting .exe files as virus and trying to delete them.

[Chopfyt]

I think spywares that open the backdoor to our computer are the biggest threat. I work in company which makes anti-virus and we have to often deal with various new kinds of viruses and spywares that can open backdoors which can be used by the malicious users to enter the computer and track data.

These backdoors can also be opening for insertion of malicious code that can interrupt the normal working of the computer and also get important data from the computer. This technique is mainly used by hackers to get into another person’s computer and misuse it.

[Beatricef]

Phishing too can be considered extremely dangerous. Phishing can directly harm the personal lives and bigger parts of one’s life if affected. A person wants to perform an online transaction and so he goes on the website of the desired bank where he has an account. He enters his log in password and username but the site gives problem. Later he realizes that his account has been compromised and he has lost his money.

This has happened many times to many people who have been fooled to log in to fake websites. These websites look like the original websites and thus people get fooled to enter their details. These details are then misused and to harm the corresponding person.

[Rhesa]

Another type of phishing that I think is most dangerous is that of sending fraud e-mails to people claiming that they have won some expensive prize and they will soon receive it. But for receiving the price, they will need to send transfer fee which is required to pass the customs or complete other formalities set by government or some other organization. This price of getting the price is very high and person who gets fooled by it sends the money. To make the situation look real they keep posting fake statuses like your prize is bound towards your country in plane. Then they will send email to send more money because the people at customs won’t complete formalities without depositing money. The prize never comes and the money is also lost. I think this type of phishing is most dangerous.

[Elazar]

I think that hacking can be the most dangerous threat on internet. A hacker will get an unauthorized access to a person’s account and he can misuse or steal data he wants to. There have been many cases of hacking in past. There was news of Sony’s servers getting hacked and the data of all the people who were logged in was compromised. I think this is the most dangerous threat on internet. Hackers have made life hell for internet users as one doesn’t know who will get into one’s computer.

[FarhaS]

Many people say that Facebook helps to get the world closer and help people communicate with friends and relatives who live far away. But many people fail to realize that Facebook can also turn out to be a dangerous place if the information we put on it is misused by some notorious person. Facebook asks for various details like contact number, personal details, our hobbies, likings and other such personal things. We insert the required data and think that it is for viewing of our friends. But no one realizes that this data can be used for bigger purposes like identity theft. It is not like every person on Facebook is ready to bad things by using the data we put on Facebook, but we can’t even trust every person.

[Deverell]

Many people say that Facebook helps to get the world closer and help people communicate with friends and relatives who live far away. But many people fail to realize that Facebook can also turn out to be a dangerous place if the information we put on it is misused by some notorious person.

I too agree that Facebook is as dangerous as much it is helpful. I think people should take care when providing personal information on internet and on social networking websites like Facebook. There have been many cases of stalking and misbehavior against females due to some data that is tracked by some notorious person. I think people should use the privacy settings to keep certain data under wraps so that only specific people can read it and access it. Also there are many options to secure one’s account and data on Facebook. One can set limitations to let only specific people see what you share and what you post. According to me Facebook is providing safety features enough to make Facebook users feel safe, but they are not making people aware of them.