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  • Essay / How to Stay Safe Online: Protecting Against Internet Threats

    Table of ContentsIntroductionEncrypted Messaging: Online Safety and RisksDangers of PhishingKeeping Children Safe OnlineThe Threat of ClickjackingConclusionReferencesIntroductionInternet users face many threats, including the encrypted messaging mentioned in the article. However, preventive measures can be taken to counter these problems. These threats include phishing, child online safety, and clickjacking, which will be explained in more detail in this essay on how they can lead to the revelation of personal information and data breaches. A threat is defined as a potential risk to its assets resulting in a loss of value. This essay will explore other Internet threats that can be avoided through the use of certain programs. Internet safety should be in place to prevent any harm or danger that presents itself when you use the Internet and to learn how to stay safe online. It relies on specific resources to protect data transferred online. The following paragraphs will explain in more detail the threats and strategies that can be adopted to prevent these problems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Encrypted Messages: Online Security and Risks Encrypted messaging is one of the threats mentioned in the article that people do not have in-depth knowledge about. This is to prevent theft or loss of email data, text files and images. Encryption does not allow unauthorized access to your data, from emails to WhatsApp messages, ensuring communications security and maintaining confidentiality between the parties involved, as any information circulating on the Internet can be intercepted and read by strangers (Lee, 2017). It disguises a message to hide its content, involving a set of complex algorithms that transform data into blocks or streams of random alphanumeric characters. However, it can be decrypted using a password or recovery key to convert it back into a readable form called decryption. Encryption can be classified into 2 types: symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric encryption uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt electronic messages and information held by both the sender and recipient. Using algorithms supported by symmetric encryption, data is converted into a form that cannot be understood by a third party who does not have the key. Once the intended recipient who has the key receives the message, the algorithm restores the message to its original, readable form (Smirnoff and Turner, 2019). Asymmetric decryption, also called public key cryptography, uses two different keys, a public key and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt the data while the private key is used to decrypt the message (Almeida, 2019). Asymmetric encryption is said to be more secure than symmetric encryption because it reduces the need to send the key over the Internet where it could be intercepted. However, there are several limitations and the downside is that it is a slow and complex encryption process. As mentioned earlier, encryption and decryption require a password. If you forget, you have to recover the password, which is a very tedious process. In the worst case, the password cannot be recovered and the data cannot be recovered. You can use a very simple password so as not to forget it, but this makes the dataless secure encrypted ones (Vandersteen, 2019). Ransomware, which is a type of malware, can also be embedded in encrypted messages that would bypass firewalls and antivirus software. This malware targets your personal files which in turn become inaccessible. Dangers of Phishing Another threat that Internet users face is phishing. Phishing is a form of social engineering that disguises itself as an email or website and allows the attacker to harvest sensitive and personal information. The attacker can use information about social networking sites, such as users' interests and hobbies, to create an attractive email, tricking the victim into clicking on the attachment or the website the victim is on. will enter their login information which can be used to hack a system or account. In 2016, three University of Kansas employees did not receive their salaries after falling victim to an email phishing scam. Victims were asked to update their payroll information via email, which allows fraudsters to change account numbers in the university's payroll system (Lowry, 2016). In addition to disclosing sensitive information, fraudsters aim to infect the victim's computer or device with malware such as ransomware. An estimated 93% of phishing emails contained ransomware attachments (Fruhlinger, 2019). The number of phishing emails reached 6.3 million in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 789% compared to the last quarter of 2015 (Korolov, 2016). This drastic growth is due to the fact that ransomware is becoming easier to deliver and provides a quick and easy return on investment. How it works is that it encrypts the important data of the device which can only be decrypted by paying a small fee which can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, also payable in Bitcoin. The attacker can also disguise themselves as a law enforcement officer to shut down the victim's computer because of pornography or pirated software. A fine is normally required to reactivate the computer. This makes victims less likely to report it to authorities. Defensive measures should be taken to prevent ransomware infections. Some examples of such practices include keeping your operating system up to date, not installing programs or granting them administrative privileges unless you are very familiar with their intentions, and antivirus software that detects malware like ransomware. When it comes to defensive actions against phishing, companies can educate their employees about different types of malware, deploy a web filter to deter malicious websites, and encrypt all sensitive company information (Lord, 2019). Ensuring child safety online. Another Internet threat is the child's online safety. which can be avoided by applying certain measures. Most children in the modern world spend most of their time on the Internet and are exposed to many threats that can be found on the Internet. Some common internet risks include pornography, social media, and cyberbullying. These types of exposures pose a risk to their mental health and well-being. Nowadays, pornography is easily accessible by simply searching on a search engine. Adolescents going through puberty may be encouraged to watch pornography as their bodies change and may be curious aboutbodily changes that occur during this time. Parents may be able to tell if their children are watching arousing channels when their child quickly switches their computer screen when the parents enter the room. This can also be observed from their behaviors like depression and loss of interest in things. Cyberbullying on social media may also be a plausible cause. Unlike in the past, when internet and devices were rare and children interacted face to face, today's children rely on social media to interact and follow trends. This allows for cyberbullying rather than face-to-face confrontation. One survey showed that 25 to 30 percent of young people admitted to being victims of cyberbullying or participating in cyberstalking, but only 12 percent were involved in traditional bullying (Lohmann, 2012). Anonymity is also another problem on the Internet. An individual may feel embodied or powerful because they are masked by anonymity which can turn the nicest people into bullies (Tai, 2014). The bully may think they won't get caught since their identity is not revealed online, allowing themselves to bully for fun. This shows the risk of using the Internet and compromises the safety of children online. However, security measures can be put in place to protect your children from online threats. On the one hand, parental controls can be set up when opening a computer account for your child, such as web filtering to block certain websites, time limits to control the amount of usage and App restrictions to define which apps your child can use. This allows more control over your children's computer and internet use and most importantly reduces the risk of your children accessing pornography or inappropriate content. Parents should educate themselves about cyberbullying and encourage their children to report any inappropriate behavior they see online. They should take immediate action and ignore the online predator, avoid logging into the website where the bullying took place, block their email, and delete their social media account if it gets out of hand. A trusted third party can also be asked to mediate the situation if their children do not want to speak to them. Such strategies can be adopted for the safety of children online. The Threat of Clickjacking The latest threat internet users face is clickjacking. This is when the cybercriminal tricks them into clicking on a link that takes them to one location but diverts them to another destination chosen for malicious purposes. Most often, clickjacking attempts have often targeted online shopping sites. For example, the scammer may create an attractive link or website promising the user a free trip to the Bahamas. The scammer checks if the user is logged in to their banking site and loads the screen that allows the transfer of funds. The funds transfer is displayed in an invisible frame in front of the gift page with the "confirm transfer" button above the "receive gift" button visible to the user. The user then clicks on the “receive gift” button but in reality, they are clicking on the invisible “funds transfer” button. The funds are then transferred to the fraudster. The user is then redirected to a page displaying information about the giveaway but is unaware of what happened. There are two mitigation methods: the client-side method, also called frame