Definitions
Firewall – this is a device that is used to filter access to a network or computer resource. The traffic between two networks will pass through the firewall.
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) – this is an organization that works to ensure that there is enhancement of platform technologies. The organization strives to have firmware that will enable the interfaces and platforms to be standardized so that there is achievement of secure platforms.
Hacker – this is a person who will access a system without authorization of the system administration. The motive of the hacker is to steal important information from the computer system.
Introduction
Computer security is an important concept that is gaining attention because of the damages that it creating. There are efforts that are being put to ensure that computer systems are secure and cannot be accessed by people who do not have authority. There are controls which have been integrated to computer software that are geared at ensuring that the computer systems are secure and will stand the attacks. Software developers have put effort in ensuring that the software they develop will stand security threats (Png, Tang, & Wang, 2006). The controls will ensure that the latest attacks and technologies that are used to develop these systems are secure. It is important to understand this and work to ensure that computer systems are updated so that they are able to work as planned. There are practices that have been put in place to ensure that the software that has been developed will be able to stand the security attacks that are directed at the computer systems. All in all, there are practices that have been put in place that will ensure that the software will be able to prevent any successful hacking and information theft from the system. These features have been integrated in the network and in the computer systems (Png, Tang, & Wang, 2006).
One of the most important aspects of computer security is the effort that is put by users. The effort that is put by users to ensure that there is security and that the computer system will stand security vulnerability is of great concern and helps the computer systems in standing against the attacks. There are controls and features that have been integrated with many operating systems that ensure that the computer operating systems have the security controls installed in them to ensure that users have the mechanism that will enable them to protect the computer systems from any forms of attacks. These features have been developed and continue to be enhanced computer security. Software that is developed is integrated with user-control features that will allow the users to set security controls in the software. Users are now able to update computer systems and computer security controls in their computers so that the systems they use are secured. The user behavior is one of the determining factor that enable hackers to enter into the computer system. From research and literature, user efforts are an important component and factor when undertaking a security effort to protect the computer. This is an issue that should be encouraged. When computer systems are developed, care is taken to ensure that the computer users will find it easier to update the security status of the computer and ensure that the computer is safe and secured from attacks. The computer systems should be equipped with the software and features that will enable them to fight against attacks (Png, Tang, & Wang, 2006). The operating system various security features for ensuring that the individual who accesses the system is authorized. Some operating systems also provide features for updating the operating system security features. For instance, Microsoft has an automatic updating feature in the windows operating system update. This feature enables downloading, and installation of program update to Windows Operating System, outlook express and internet explorer. In addition, all the security updates can be downloaded through the same feature. Another security feature, which comes with the operating system, is patching. This is a feature that categories various system’s application according to their functionality (Png, Tang, & Wang, 2006).
The firewall plays another crucial role in the fight against computer attacks. It is important to understand that computer firewalls that are installed in computer systems play an important role in computer security. Firewalls should be configured so that they are able to protect the computers from attacks. Most operating systems have been developed and integrated with this security feature that enables users to protect their computer systems from attacks. It is an important undertaking that should be integrated in the computer systems. The firewalls and the antivirus programs play a crucial role in the fight against attacks and malware. This is an important component of the computer system and vulnerability. Computer security features enable the computer systems to have the controls and mechanism that enables them to have control over the security of the computer system (Png, Tang, & Wang, 2006).
Firewall technologies are another feature that has been integrated in computer systems that enable them to control access to the systems. With the integration of these controls, it is now possible to understand and have in place the mechanism that will ensure that the attacks are kept at bay. The internal control is the issue that can be controlled by users. The firewall technologies have been developed and integrated in most operating systems (Abie, 2000). With these technologies, it is now possible to have features that enable the computers to be protected from outside attacks. These features enable the computer system to get protection from the packets that are considered to be dangerous to the computer system. With the use of this technology, it is important to understand that the computer system will be vulnerable to attacks if there are no measures taken in place that will enable secure access and protection on the computer system. Network firewalls are computer software that have been developed to ensure that the networks are secure and protected from outside attacks. One way in which this is made possible is with the use of packet-filtering mechanism. This is an important undertaking that make firewalls optimized and able to fight attacks on the network. It is important to understand that the networks and the filtering mechanism are important in developing any security mechanism for the network (Abie, 2000).
Another important development in computer security is the effort by Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) which is a platform that has been developed to ensure that there is secure interaction and use of computer platforms for computer safety. The aim of this organization is to ensure that there is standardization and security with the use of firmware. This will ensure that the firmware is as secure as much as possible. An important development that has been seen with this effort is the development of UEFI Secure Boot; this is a security feature in the boot environment (Wilkins, & Richardson, 2013). This is another effort that is seen to be developed in the booting process of the computer. It enables the hardware, operating system, and the firmware to be protected from potential attacks. This is a development that is seen to be enhancing the security of the firmware so that the booting process and procedures will be secured. It is important to understand that the booting environment should be secured. Without the development and enhancement of the software firmware that aids in the firmware development, there will be the attacks that will be propagated by the attackers and take advantage of the many points of pre-boot process (Wilkins, & Richardson, 2013). One of the points that may be a point of interest for attackers is the firmware for system embedding. Another point of concern for the attack is the point of initialization of the firmware and the loading of the operating system. This is an important point because with the integration of a malware in the process of operating system loading will affect the process of computer booting. Even if the operating system is safe, it will be hard to have it running safely with firmware that is insecure. It will be affected in the long run. This is the effort that has been put up to ensure that there is secure boot (Wilkins, & Richardson, 2013).
Another effort that is done to protect computer system from attacks is to have ethical hackers in place. This is where there are hackers who are hired to try and break into a computer system. This way, if they manage to break into the system, the system developers will develop security measures that will ensure that there will be no hacking possible to the system. This is an important process as it helps computer systems to be secure (Palmer, 2001). Ethical hacking is learning the skills that computer attackers and hackers use to get into computer systems. It is important to understand that computer hacking is an issue and step that need to be taken into place to ensure that it is secure and protected from outside attacks. With ethical hacking, an organization will know what needs to be protected and the assets that mean business to that organization (Palmer, 2001).
Fu, Wu, and Gong (2012) argue that the write and access procedures and permissions form an important aspect of computer security. These controls will prevent systems from being altered and tampered. It is important to have these systems developed and enhanced to ensure that they are secured. Computer security involves ensuring that there is authorized accessed so that the internal system is not damaged. It is important to have measures put in place to ensure that the computer system is secured and protected from attack. One way in which this is assured is to have controls of the write and read privileges and control to the system. This will ensure that the data in the computer will not be compromised by attackers to the system (Fu, Wu, and Gong, 2012).
Conclusion
Computer security has been an issue with many computer developers and many organizations. There are efforts that have been put in place in software to ensure that the software is secure and protected from attacks. There are platform improvements in the boot process to ensure secure firmware. There are control and access mechanism which have been put in place to protect computers from attack. All these have been put in place to ensure that computers are secure.
References
Abie, H. (2000). An overview of firewall technologies. Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Computing Center
Fu, X., Wu, K., & Gong, X. (2012). Implement access control architecture to enhance security and available availability of cloud computing systems. International Journal of Security and Its Applications. 6(2), 245-250.
Palmer, C. (2001). Ethical hacking. IBM Systems Journal. 40(3), 769-780
Png, IPL., Tang, CQ., Wang, Q. (2006). Hackers, users, information security. Workshop on the Economics of Information Security.
Wilkins, R., & Richardson, B. (2013). UEFI secure boot in modern computer security solutions. UEFI
