Essay/Term paper: "computer security" by time life books

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Information Technology

"Computer Security" by Time Life Books


The book Computer Security written by Time Life Books, explains what
computer security is, how it works, and how it affects peoples lives. Without
computer security peoples private information can be stolen right off their
computer.

Computer security is exactly what it sounds like. It is security on a
computer to prevent people from accessing a computer. It is very difficult to
secure a computer for a computer is like a mechanical human brain and if one has
a real human brain they can operate it. In other words if one knows how a
computer works they can make it work. If they do not then they cannot do
anything at all. This is what computer security is meant to do. It is done by
making it only possible for someone to access a computer by using a password or
by locking it up.

Computer security works by many ways of password use or by locking it up.
The password method is enforced by prompting a computer user to enter a password
before they can access any programs or information already contained within the
computer. Another password security method would be to have the computer user
carry a digital screen that fits in your pocket. This digital screen receives
an encrypted message and displays numbers that change every few minutes. These
numbers make the password one needs for the next few minutes in order to access
the computer. This password method is somewhat new. It is also better, for the
previous password method is not totally fool proof. This is because the
passwords are stored in the computer and if a computer literate person was to
access this information, they could get into a computer and enter it looking as
if they were someone else for they have obtained someone else's password. In
the future when technology increasingly gets better there are possibilities that
a computer could use you hand, inner eye, or voice print. Currently these
methods are not used but they are right around the corner. The only other way
to absolutely secure a computer would be to lock it up but with computer
networks these days that cannot be easily done unless dealing with a single
personal computer.

Computer security has become such a big issue due to the huge amount of
loss in profits by businesses. This happens because the computers were not
totally secure from unwanted visitors. An example of how this could happen is a
big business was to spend millions of dollars on research and development that
would only stolen by another to profit themselves. Businesses lose three
hundred million to about five billion dollars yearly due to these computer
criminals called hackers or computer information thieves.

Computer security has come a long way since the creation of computers.
But still we cannot fully believe our computers are fully secure and safe from
unwanted snoopers. Computer security is very hard to create presently for
anyone can get in if they know what to do. Right now what to do is easy but if
you need someone's hand to get in a computer that may be a little more difficult.