It is a paradox that in spite of the advances in technology that we are witnessing today one's privacy and security of data in the internet is often compromised to a very large extent. Often, personal information of individuals is stolen or financial data of companies are whisked away by elements who could put this information to the wrong use. It is in this scenario that privacy of data has become an important issue for computer users all over the world. Privacy of data becomes more important when one works in a public domain like the Internet. This paper will suggest some of the precautions that an ordinary person needs to take to maintain personal privacy and ensure safety of data while working with emails.
Analysis
The advent of the internet has changed the way in which technology was being used to support businesses as well as personal needs of users worldwide. Little did people realize that the internet would establish itself as a powerful facilitator of the needs of the common man in such a short period of time. However the same facilities that the Internet offers can also be a potential source for dissemination of our private information without us even knowing about it.
Email security threats may be of many different types. Email security can be compromised by spoofing, identity theft, attacks by modifying existing messages, and imposters [Kangas, 2004]. Hackers may use any or all of these methods to break into a user's computer.
Email security
Email is one of the most potent sources for losing our data because most people are complacent about enforcing email security. Email software is also the most used software among computer users. Hence, any vulnerability of popular email software can be easily exploited by unscrupulous elements to gain entry into the private data of a lot of people. Hence, it is very important that every one use secure email clients for receiving and sending emails. A lot of reputed email clients are available and the company that makes them releases security patches from time to time. All these patches from the company must be installed to plug any software vulnerabilities.
It must be understood that the computer architecture that is used to exchange emails are not very secure and does not provide for much privacy for the users. On the other hand, software like 'sniffers' is available in the market, which can effectively capture data that is meant for some other computer.
Email security services will include blocking ransomware and emerging threats with the highest effectiveness and accuracy, stopping new and sophisticated threats such as ransomware, spear phishing, and business email compromise. Spear phishing will be prevented by having a comprehensive defense that includes multiple layers of protection, strong isolation , deep visibility and dynamic security awareness. Attacks will be contained and responses will be orchestrated across endpoint security and web gateways by remediating attacks and blacklisting threats. Dynamically classify impostor email and other threats that don't involve malware. Sender-recipient relationship, domain reputation, email headers, envelope attributes and email content will be analyzed. Custom rules will be integrated allowing group and user level controls to meet the needs of the client. Quarantines will enable the customer to separate email
Treat any emails with respect & confidentiality i.e. do not share with anyone that should. Never walk away from your computer so that someone else can read your emails or even worse be in a position where someone could send an email on your behalf.
Dagar, Anil. “Internet, Economy and Privacy.” Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership. 16 April 2013. Web.
The Internet offers many benefits but it also creates many threats that undermines our personal privacy. Concerns about loss of privacy are not new. But the computer's ability to gather and sort vast amounts of data and the Internet's ability to distribute it globally magnify those concerns [1]. Privacy concerns on the Internet are centered on improper acquisition, improper use of personal information such as intrusions, manipulation, discrimination, identity theft, and stalking of personal information. Today the Internet stretches our geographic boundaries and force us to deal with global ethic based on moral principles held to be valid across the cultures. Due to the nature of the Internet, our personal information may be transmitted over the internet and that the transfer of personal information may be made to any country in the world, regardless of the extent of any data protection laws and regulations in any of those countries.
Part of the allure of the Internet has always been the anonymity it offers its users. As the Internet has grown however, causing capitalists and governments to enter the picture, the old rules are changing fast. E-commerce firms employ the latest technologies to track minute details on customer behavior. The FBI's Carnivore email-tracking system is being increasingly used to infringe on the privacy of netizens. Corporations now monitor their employees' web and email usage. In addition to these privacy infringements, Internet users are also having their use censored, as governments, corporations, and other institutions block access to certain sites. However, as technology can be used to wage war on personal freedoms, it can also be employed in the fight against censorship and invasion of privacy.
Today, many people rely on computers to do homework, work, and create or store useful information. Therefore, it is important for the information on the computer to be stored and kept properly. It is also extremely important for people on computers to protect their computer from data loss, misuse, and abuse. For example, it is crucial for businesses to keep information they have secure so that hackers can't access the information. Home users also need to take means to make sure that their credit card numbers are secure when they are participating in online transactions.
The computer is considered one of the most important technological advances of the twentieth century. Security and privacy issues have been in existence long before the computer became a vital component of organizations' operations. Nevertheless, the operating features of a computer make it a double-edged sword. Computer technologies with reliable error detection and recording capabilities, permit the invasion of a supposedly secure environment to occur on a grand scale and go undetected. Furthermore, computer and communications technology permit the invasion of a persons' privacy and likewise go undetected. Two forces threaten privacy: one, the growth of information technology with its enhanced capacity for surveillance, communication, computation, storage and retrieval and two, the more insidious threat, the increased value of information in decision making. Information has become more vital in the competitive environment, thus, decision makers covet it even if it viol!
As can be seen, from the information presented, the need for laws and restrictions concerning internet data collection is greatly needed. Moreover, the government can search private citizens data without warrant or cause. Also, companies are not only collecting internet user data but also selling it. The companies and agencies who commit such crimes should be fined or either closed down. In closing, the privacy and security of individuals on the internet should be upheld by the United States government.
In recent times we might consider that the right for privacy in one of our major achievements in our society. Unfortunately the same does not apply for the Internet. The Internet once considered a place for free information exchange and sharing, has the potential has becoming the biggest threat to its users. The commercialization of the Internet is one of the major reasons why the chances of a compromise of our privacy have increased. Customer profiling, address trading or simple lack of care with sensitive customer information are just some of the threats that this commercialization has bought to our ‘free’ Internet. Another reason being that with the increase of threats there is a regular change in technology to counter these threats. These changes make it harder for the already overstrained users to cope with the ever changing technology.
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
Electronic Mail, a means of communication that is growing at a very rapid rate. In this paper, I will write about introduction of e-mail, the advantage and disadvantage of e-mail, mailing lists, sending an e-mail message, sending attachments, e-mail improvement, and security features. Introduction of Electronic Mail Electronic mail (E-mail) has become popular and easy way of communication in this decade. E-mail is a method of sending and receiving document or message from one person to another. E-mail is not only replacement for postal mail and telephones, and also it is a new medium. E-mail send plain text, images, audio, spreadsheets, computer programs can attach to an e-mail message. Using the e-mail, you must have a computer on a network. The computer must require a modem and phone line. Sending and receiving e-mail needs an e-mail program. Every e-mail user requires an e-mail address. This e-mail address is similar to a postal address. E-mail address is written as username@domain, for instance, PCLEE@juno.com. The username is used for sending and receiving e-mail.
Today, society is affected by the many advances in technology. These advances affect almost every person in the world. One of the prevalent advances in technology was the invention and mass use of the Internet. Today more than ever, people around the world use the Internet to support their personal and business tasks on a daily basis. The Internet is a portal into vast amounts of information concerning almost every aspect of life including education, business, politics, entertainment, social networking, and world security. (idebate.com) Although the Internet has become a key resource in developing the world, the mass use of Internet has highlighted a major problem, privacy and the protection of individual, corporate, and even government security . The argument over whether or not the Internet should be controlled by the government has developed into a controversial issue in almost every country in the world.
Many people in to days world do a great deal of their finical business on the Internet. Yet who is to say that people who the message is being sent are the only ones who will be reading it. You must remember that when you log on and send a message to someone that it could go through many systems before it gets to its final destination. While being sent through the system any one can read what was sent, and it is not illegal if it is readily accessible to the public. As you are looking at other peoples computers they can be looking at your computer.
New technologies are allowing us to do things faster, easier, and more efficiently than ever before. Almost every new innovation in technology improves the speed and productivity of any task at hand. Electronic mail (E-mail) is possibly one of the greatest things to happen to the world. Despite this, there are people who find difficulties in using either E-mail or conventional mail. To help decide whether to use E-mail or the United States postal Service, a comparison of each one’s speed, ease of use, reliability, and cost is a helping factor.
Email (electronic mail) was one of the biggest breakthroughs in communication when the internet was commercialized. With email, it became possible to send messages and letters across the world in a matter of seconds to the recipients address. Email was used as an alternative to conventional mail or snail' mail, as the term was introduced to describe its speed. As technology improved, it became possible to attach' documents, photographs and even sound clips or songs to emails which made mail by post redundant. Emails used packet switching software whereby the email was broken down into packets' and sent via the internet to the recipient.