The Goons of the Internet

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At one point or another, everyone comes in contact with a computer-to do homework, professional work, recreation, gaming and to store useful, vital information. Therefore, it is very important for the information on the computer system to be stored and kept properly. It is also very important for users to protect their computer systems from misuse, abuse and data loss. A good example of this would be how crucial it is for businesses to keep their information secure so that hackers can't gain access to the information. Users at home also need to take precaution to make sure that their credit card numbers are secure when they have online transactions. If not, there might be a computer security risk, which is any action that could cause loss of information, software, date, processing incompatibilities or cause damage to computer hardware. There might also be an intentional breach in computer security via the Internet. This is known as cybercrime, an illegal act based on the Internet that is one of the FBI's top priorities.

Before the user can properly arm himself or herself against Internet security breach, he or she must be aware of what to watch out for in order to have the proper line of defense. There are actually several unique categories for people to watch out for, or people who commit cybercrimes. They are referred to as a hacker, cracker, cyberterrorist, cyberextortionist, unethical employee, script kiddie and corporate spy.

The Hacker is a cybercriminal who accesses a computer or a computer network against the law. The common excuse that these criminals offer is that they only hack computer systems to find leaks in the security of a network. The Cracker on the other hand, refers to a person who intentionally gains access of a computer or a computer network for bad reasons-with the intent of destroying and/or stealing information. Both Hackers and Crackers are very advanced in networking skills. The Cyberterrorist is a cybercriminal who uses a computer network such as the Internet to destroy computers for political reasons. Just like a regular terrorist attack, it requires highly skilled individuals, a lot of money to implement, and years of planning.

The Cyberextortionist is someone who uses emails as a mode of offensive force. Electronic mails that present themselves as originating from millionaires who would give a certain amount of money for a little cash deposit from the user are one of the most common forms of extortion these cybercriminals utilize. Aside from this, Cyberextortionists can also use blackmail, for instance, when they threaten a company that they will release confidential information if the company does not pay them a huge amount of money.

Besides cybercriminals, the user can also fall victim to bugs, viruses and other malicious software that are either planted by cybercriminals, or accidentally activated by the users themselves. For example, if the user clicks on something and screen shots of weird messages or pictures appear, or the disk memory becomes significantly less in a short period of time, or music and sounds play randomly, files get corrupted, unknown files randomly appear and programs don't work properly, then there is a huge possibility that the computer system has been infected with a Trojan Horse.

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