1. Virus Assignment JESS D

2. How viruses affect people and businesses  What is a virus? A computer virus is a code or a program that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge. Computer viruses are man made and are able to replicate themselves. Even a simple virus is dangerous because it can quickly use all available memory and stop the system.  How can a virus harm an individual computer? Viruses will usually cause your computer to slow down or could also have you end up with the loss of important files. Some viruses can issue with allowing hackers to view your personal information resulting in identity theft.  How can viruses affect a business? Keeping your business free from viruses can be expensive and there are some consequences for not having virus protection. This includes lost data, lost time, it can be very costly and may lead to severe highjacking.

3.  How do people protect themselves from viruses? Installing an antivirus program and keeping it up to date can help defend your computer against viruses. Here are some more ways you can protect your computer from viruses: Don’t open email messages from senders you don’t recognize, keep your computer updated, use a firewall use your browsers privacy settings, turn on user account settings, and clear your internet cache and browsing history.  How do businesses protect themselves from viruses ? Businesses can protect themselves from viruses by making sure they install and update security software. Some more simple steps would be to not open any unknown emails, visit unknown websites, or click on suspicious links or attachments, create smart passwords, educate employees, and create a contingency plan.

4. What is a DDOS and what does it do?  A Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with stuff from different sources. They target many important resources like banks and news websites and make it a challenge to make sure people can publish and access information. Why are they so difficult to deal with?  DDOS attacks are hard to defend against because firewalls aren’t designed to handle them. Sites also don’t know where the attacks are coming from. By the time the data gets close to an attack its pretty much impossible to do anything else other than going offline, which is typical for smaller web hosting companies when facing a DDOS attack. DDOS attacks are hard to defend against because the attacker knows where the victim is but the victim doesn’t know where the attackers are.

5. What is a firewall, how can you install one on your computer at home?  A firewall is a software program or a piece of hardware that helps keep out hackers, viruses, and worms that try to reach your computer over the internet. You can turn on your firewall in settings.

6. NortonWebroot Virus bulletin 100 windows 7 ✔ Instant messaging protection ✔✔ Automatic USB detection ✔ Bootable rescue CD ✔ ICSA labs certification windows 7 ✔