Another Hole In The Wall Essay, Research Paper

ANOTHER HOLE IN THE WALL

Opinion:

This was a very interesting article because it seems that everybody

That owns a computer has the fear of hackers and viruses. It’s a big issue

Because people are being attacked and it seems that there is no way out.

Many programmers have tried to come up with a game plan so that you can’t

Allow hackers to break in your computer. Some ideas have risen but none really

Seem to totally block the hackers from breaking in your computer. The reason that

Your computer can be attacked is because it’s so easy. One of the main reasons

why viruses are spread so widely is because if you use Windows it is set up in a way

by “default to allow PC’s to share files and printers with other users on a network”.

Once your computer is booted and connected to the Internet you pretty much allow

yourself and your data to be shared. In order for you to block yourself you can solve

it by turning of your computer. I though it was kind of neat how they come up with the

idea of the firewall. It doesn’t totally solve the problem but there is a less chance of you

being attacked.

Summary:

Hacking has become a big issue in the world of computers and also the fear

of getting a virus. Programmers believed that a high-speed DSL line was the solution

to the problem, but as we all no that is incorrect. Sam Trychin a programmer from San

Francisco found out that the DSL line was not enough,he found himself being attacked

By Hackers from Italy and Brazil. Problems with your computer start in “fact with the new broadband connections, unlike dial up modem connections, are always on. The

Dominant PC operating systems for home users, Microsoft’s Windows, has never been

Designed for this kind of networked environment-it’s rife with security holes that hackers are adept at exploiting.” One of the main reasons your being attacked is because in Windows you are allowing your PC to share files with other networks, and that allows hackers to break in. In a way you can solve the problem by shutting down your computer. The problem isn’t just file sharing, it was announced that 2000 PC’s with broadband connections were detected with a so-called “zombie”. There is so much data in the flow and hackers were able to shut down Yahoo!. For this problem to be stopped programmers came up with the idea of a “firewall” program. What the firewall does is that it checks each packet of data and it rejects any data that seems to be “exploit”. Another name for the “firewall” is “Internet sharing hubs” you can purchase for the price of $200. If you would like to purchase a “firewall” some of the best designed are BlackICE defender or the ZoneAlarm. As we all know this is a world of money and competitiveness. Another competitor came up with the idea to “set filters in the cable modems which would block several of the most common PC security vulnerabilities and prompt you to turn off Window’s file sharing utility.” This idea was came from Excite@home.