According to Techopedia, a network is a group of linked computers intended to allow the computers to share information amongst one another, like the internet, local area network (LAN), and wide area network (WAN). These networks can only exist if devices have a medium to transmit data through. This medium connects hardware together which allows the transfer of data and communication.

Today, these hardware components include PCs, intercommunications, switches, routers, WLAN devices, and servers. Without computers to connect to one another, there would be no need for a network. That being said, PCs are a critical component of networks. Each individual computer is referred to as a node in a network.

As the internet has evolved over the past decade, so have hackers. Network security has become one of the most crucial factors companies consider because of the continuous growth of computer networks. Big corporations like Microsoft are constantly designing and building software products that need to be protected against hackers and foreign attackers because these are the kinds of people who will stop at nothing until they get what they want.

There are three ways to better protect a network, these are:

These systems are software programs designed to protect networks. They are intended to monitor server channels and detect malicious programs being sent across these servers. There are two types of systems. The first is known as IPS (Intrusion prevention system), this is a more secure software that not only monitors server channels, but it can also block and remove any malicious programs it detects. This type of system doesn’t need human involvement to protect a computer or network. The second kind of IDS (Intrusion detection system) is less protective in that it only monitors a server and alerts a user to a threat if one is found. These programs will not destroy or quarantine any malicious software. Of these, they eigher are network based or host based.

Wireless protected access, also known as ‘WPA,’ is a form of network encryption. There are two types of this security system, WPA, and WPA2. Both are more secure than the traditional WEP security found on old routers and WPA2 is the most secure, currently. Most modern routers found in stores today offer WPA2 encryption levels. The reason why both security features are useful is because they make it more difficult for an attacker to get into a wireless network. WPA2 offers a higher and more complex security layer by using different key setups for network access. This means that WPA2 makes it harder for an attacker to crack a password for a wireless network. The Preshared key is the wifi key used to access the wireless network. The longer and more complex the password is, the harder it is to crack a wireless network PSK (PreShared Key)

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a form of internet protection provided by encryption. Its purpose is to encrypt any data you send over a network to prevent anyone else on your network from seeing the actual information being transferred. SSLs are very important for anyone entering private information into a website. They work by verifying what is known as a website digital certificate. A certificate is what websites use to verify themselves. When you connect to a website, the server the website runs on sends you its certificate to verify its authenticity. A website can only acquire these certificates by applying for them, and they have to follow a strict set of security guidelines.

Computer security, on the other hand, is the protection of data physically stored on a computer. This includes taking steps to prevent attacks under the triad of information security, also known as CIA (confidentiality, integrity, and availability). 

A few of the basic methods below pertain to computer security and will cover passwords, software updates, firewalls, anti-virus or malware programs, ad-blockers, email encryption, and data backups.

A good password consists of three basic qualities: Its length, the characters used, and the combination of upper and lower case letters. The longer a password is, the harder it is to break. Some hackers try to use algorithms in which they send massive amounts of combinations, hoping that one is a match to the secret password. By increasing the length of a password, its chances of being cracked decreases.  

Software updates are very important as they protect your computer or mobile device. Software updates are used to patch holes or bugs found in an operating system, and this will make your device more secure. Check your operating system often to see if a new update is available. Some operating software update automatically.

Firewalls are great protection for computers because they prevent unwanted data from getting to your computer. They monitor the flow of incoming data and run checks to see if the information that’s about to be received by your computer is harmful or not. For example, anytime a user downloads something from a website, the firewall will scan the file in question and determine if it is malicious or not. Not all firewalls are the same. Most operating systems come with a built-in firewall, so there is hardly a reason to install additional firewalls. Also, these OS companies are constantly updating their security features to make them more reliable. Firewalls prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. 

One of the most effective and common methods of dealing with malware is anti-malware software. Programs such as Windows Essentials, McAfee, and Bitdefender allow a user to run scans on a system to search for infected files. If any files are found to be corrupted, these programs alert the operator, allowing him or her to remove the files in question. This type of software is also very useful as they can scan any downloaded items or email attachments before allowing the user to download them. This is a crucial protective barrier, as it prevents any malicious programs from installing itself on a device.

Most browsers have extensions that can be added to the browser which blocks pesky advertisements. For example, the Google Chrome web store has a variety of additional extensions users can download and run while using the browser (not all being adblockers). Chrome has an adblocker made specifically for the Chrome browsers which limit the number of ads that pop up while you visit websites. Ad blockers can also be downloaded directly onto the computer’s hard drive instead of a web browser. 

Chrome Adblocker in browser

Encryption protects emails by making the content of emails unreadable to any entity, besides the intended recipients. Popular email services such as Gmail have since added encryption of emails to their network. However, it only protects data that’s on their servers. This means that data is still vulnerable while it bounces around on other internet networks unless users implement client- side encryption. Most methods that allow this are complicated processes that require exchanging certificates with everyone who will be receiving or sending emails with one another.

Data backups are an important but overlooked aspect of computer security. By performing regular backups of all important data on a computer, the user protects themselves from the risk of a crash or virus and lose important data. Data backups typically upload data to an outside source, either to a cloud storage server, or a storage device. Any data that isn’t backed up can be completely lost if the computer hardware fails or data is corrupted. Like the old saying, “It is better to be safe than sorry.” There are so many options for backing up data today, there really is no excuse. We have multiple cloud platforms to choose from some which are free like Google Drive, G Suite and Amazon Free tiers.

If both security types fail, what could be put at risk? The types of information hackers may attempt to steal is divided into two categories: personal and financial. Regarding personal information, a hacker could use it to create fake web accounts, social media accounts, or a new identity altogether. The rampancy of identity theft today is fueled by the enormous amounts of information that can be collected from the internet. According to the identity protection service LifeLock, in 2017, 16.7 million people were victims of identity theft, resulting in $16.8 billion being stolen. In 2016, 15.4 million people were victimized, resulting in a loss of $16.2 billion. Over the past three years, the number of people who are victims of identity theft increased by 3.6 million.