Making a Case for Computer Internet Security

So what is the big deal about having computer Internet security? Most people simply fail to comprehend how much of their life revolves around computers and in recent years, the Internet. Chances are that if you own a computer, which more and more people do, then you also spend some time visiting the Internet, either for recreation, shopping, education or for communication purposes. We should not be surprised to learn that along with the many benefits to be derived, there also is the sinister side of computer and Internet use. This is represented by the criminal elements, who see the Internet as a huge opportunity to make personal gain through illegal activities designed to steal and cheat innocent users. Some of these more common methods include:

1. Computer Hacking or breaking into your computer content illegally. These people known as “hackers” spend most of their working hours trying to find ways of defeating your computer internet security to be able to access the contents of your computer, without you knowing about it. Using a wide range of sneaky techniques they can find unsecured areas in software programs, add malicious codes to computer programs, send out infected e-mails and more. With the end goal of being able to gain access to private and personal information stored on your computer. Most valued is bank account information, credit card numbers and private passwords that the hacker can then use to steal your money and more.

2. Scams and fraud schemes online are becoming more and more common. In recent years a scam called “phishing” has become very popular. This consists of cyber-criminals pretending to be employees from genuine financial institutions, such as major banks and credit card companies, who send out very authentic looking e-mails asking for individuals to confirm their passwords and bank account information. Most people are by their very nature quite trusting of established institutions such as banks, and are very willing to comply with such e-mailed requests. Even the online gaming community has been hit hard by this kind of scam or fraud. This helps to explain the sharp rise in phishing schemes in the past several years.

3. Identity theft is also on the rise. Once the hacker has access to all of your confidential information it is very easy for someone else to assume your identity, especially in online transactions, where there is no face to face contact required.

4. Virus infections may not seem as dangerous as some of the computer Internet security threats already mentioned, however these can range from being simply annoying by slowing down your computer’s operating speed to being a major disaster when it wipes all the information stored on your computer’s hard drive storage system. Imagine the damage it could do to a major company if all their stored information within their corporate computer system suddenly was lost!

5. Spyware, as the name suggests, are programs used to spy on you and obtain confidential information illegally. Unless you have adequate protection to prevent this, you will not even know that a spyware program has infected your computer. Once there its main job is to gather information, especially sensitive data such as credit card account numbers, bank account information, passwords, etc. and secretly transmit this information back to its creator, who then uses it to steal money and anything else of value with this private information. So secretive is this type of a program, that some reports proclaim that 92% of people who have spyware on their computer did not realize it until it was too late.

6. Adware infections on their own are simply very annoying as they allow unwanted ads to appear on your computer. Often shareware programs, which are free to download, are major sources of adware infections. The bad news is that adware programs will often also contain spyware as well, which as we seen is much more dangerous to have on your computer.

So back to our original question. Why do you need computer Internet security? Well given our discussion thus far it should be abundantly clear the consequences you face if you do not invest in any type of good computer Internet security. So the next step is to find some good computer internet security software that will offer you the protection you need, at a price you can afford.

This is a task that the Internet is perfectly suited for since you can visit review and product websites to find out what is available, at what price, and easily see the best and the worst computer internet security products based on rankings and user reviews.