Beat of Passion

The threat of online security

Anyone that gets online is at risk. Online security threats are one of the biggest challenges on the Internet today and most security threats are made by attackers using a relatively small number of vulnerabilities. Attackers prefer to continue to take advantage of these most common failures, rather than seeking out new exploits or taking advantage of more difficult ones.

Here are several types of threats of the online security:

1. Virus
It is a piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs
against your wishes. Viruses can also replicate themselves and they are all manmade. A
simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce.
Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and
bring the system to a halt.


2. Worm
A worm is similar to a virus by design and is considered to be a sub-class of a virus. Worms
spread from computer to computer. The biggest danger with a worm is its capability to
replicate itself on your system. Instead of sending out just a single worm, it could send out
hundreds or thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect.

One example would be for a worm to send a copy of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book. Then, the worm replicates and sends itself out to everyone listed in each of the receiver's address book, and the manifest continues on down the line.


3. Trojan horse
A Trojan Horse is full of as much trickery as the mythological Trojan Horse it was named
after. The Trojan Horse, at first glance will appear to be useful software but will actually do
damage once installed or run on your computer. When a Trojan is activated on your
computer, the results can vary. Some Trojans are designed to be more annoying than
malicious (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or they can cause
serious damage by deleting files and destroying information on your system.


4. Blended Threats
Added into the mix, there is a threat named blended threat. A blended threat is a more
sophisticated attack that bundles some of the worst aspects of viruses, worms, Trojan horses
and malicious code into one single threat. Blended threats can use server and Internet
vulnerabilities to initiate, then transmit and also spread an attack. Basically it can cause
damage within several areas of your network at a time.

5. Denial-of-Service (DoS attack) or Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS attack)
It is used by those attackers that attempt to prevent legitimate users from accessing
information or services to its intended users. Although the means to carry out a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or persons to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all.


The most common and obvious type of DoS attack occurs when an attacker "floods" a network with information.


6. Identity theft
It is a major form of online fraud, or misrepresentation. Personal identity theft on the Internet is the newest form of fraud that has been witnessed recently. In the online world, electronic commerce information can be intercepted as a result of vulnerabilities in computer security. Thieves can then take this information (such as credit card numbers) and do whatever they want. Identity theft can also be undertaken on a large scale, as in the case of a company or even a city.

For example, in January 2001, the entire municipality of Largo, Florida lost e-mail service for over a week when an unknown company based in Spain compromised its identity.

7. Data theft
It is the term used to describe not only the theft of information but also unauthorized perusal
or manipulation of private data. Examples of data theft abound. In 1996, a 16-year-old British
youth and an accomplice stole order messages that commanders sent to pilots in air battle
operations from the Air Force's Rome Laboratory in New York.

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Latest news on how PayPal enhance their online security




PAYPAL offers extra online security to UK customers

Monday 26 January 2009 10.06


PayPal launches innovative security service via text message

PayPal’s customers in the UK can now opt for an extra layer of security in order to provide them safer online. The PayPal SMS Security Key texts a unique security code to the customer’s mobile phone for them to use to log in to their account. It will give further reassurance against online fraud, especially for customers who use shared computers.

This type of extra security, known as two-factor authentication, is used by several UK financial institutions to protect all their consumers against online fraud such as phishing attacks. PayPal’s SMS version has the advantage that customers who have a mobile phone don’t need to carry an extra device with them and can start using the service within minutes.

Garreth Griffith, Head of Risk Management at PayPal UK comments, “PayPal has always taken online security very seriously and is famous to keep customers’ financial information as private and confidential. As a result, successful fraud attacks on PayPal accounts are becoming very rare. But we know that some people want extra reassurance, and that’s what the PayPal Security Key will offer.

The PayPal Security Key is part of the VeriSign Identity Protection Network.
PayPal works closely with the internet industry in the fight to keep consumers safe from phishing and cybercrime. PayPal is a partner in the UK’s internet safety awareness initiative, Get Safe Online (http://www.getsafeonline.org/). PayPal works with internet service providers to stop fraudulent emails from reaching consumers: Yahoo! Mail and Google’s webmail service Gmail™ both block emails wrongly claiming to be from eBay and PayPal from reaching their customers.