Answer 1: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is not a very robust and secure protocol. There are many free tools available which even naïve hackers can use to crack the security where WEP is used. Thus, with very simple programs and tools WEP keys can be cracked. Once done, the hackers can connect to the Wi-Fi network and even decode the traffic on this network (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 2: Instead of WEP, we should use Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) or Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2). The encryption which this protocol uses is AES/ CCMP which is very robust and very difficult to crack (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 3: Yes, it is very important to keep our private wireless network secure. It is a known fact that hackers attack the private wireless networks the most due to ease of cracking. There is a lot of important and personal information which flows as traffic on personal networks. We do online transactions for retail, banking, payments etc. which is the most targeted traffic by hackers (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 4: Microsoft windows operating system is the largest used operating system in the world in personal computers. It is easiest to use with a very good graphical interface. For a common user, Windows is the favorite choice. It is available as one time buy or as perpetual license. UNIX/ LINIX on the other hand are open source which is POSIX OS. It was built for tech savvy users. With the dominance of android phones, it is most widely used in handheld devices apart from Apple products (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 5: In terms of security, UNIX or LINUX are clear winners in comparison to Microsoft Windows. There are many reasons for the same however the most important factor is the very basic and simple architecture of windows for customization for users which makes it very weak and vulnerable to security attacks. Another reason in windows is the poor SSL security. UNIX/ LINUX on the other hand is more secure than windows because it is for tech savvies who get the security options with the OS and can customize with some programming (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 6: If I have to make a choice between windows and UNIX/LINUX, then the latter is more secure. However if I have an open choice, I will choose MAC from Apple as the most secure OS. Based on the basic idea of Apple, it is a much closed operating system in terms of the source code. We can run MAC machines without antivirus as it is most difficult to crack. It uses multilayer architecture to protect against viruses and other malware. For any risks with applications and software, MAC is always continuously updated with patches (Stobing, 2014).
Answer 7: The most important features are closed architecture, multilayer security architecture against malware, quick and frequent updates and patches, Safari’s inbuilt anti-phishing feature, and a very strong integration between OS and hardware because it is customized for each version of device (Stobing, 2014)
Answer 8: Spyware is a name given generally to programs or software which performs certain tasks without our consent such as collecting user’s personal information, changing something on a computer like configuration, advertising etc. These can range from simple programs to very harmful software (Gilbert, 2012).
Answer 9: We should use good anti-spyware software on all the machines and regularly keep a check on the machines by observing any performance changes or unidentified activities. Firewalls are another way to keep the network safe from spyware. We should not install any software from untrusted sources and before opening any attachment or connecting an external drive to our system, we should always scan (Gilbert, 2012).
Answer 10: No matter how much precaution we take, there is always a threat of spyware entering our machines. Once that happens, we have to use spyware removal software which most antivirus companies like Norton etc. provide at a cost. Even companies like Microsoft have some products for the same. If nothing works, the last resort is to format the disk drive and reinstall operating system (Gilbert, 2012).
References
Gilbert-Knight. A. (2012). Protecting Your Organization from Spyware, Viruses, and Other Malware. Retrieved from http://www.techsoup.org/support/articles-and-how-tos/protecting-your-organization-from-spyware
Stobing, C. (2014). OS Security Shutdown. Retrieved from
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/decrypt-os-security-showdown/
