Investigate desktop computer system security and access controls
Discussion board forums for Mission Plan 3
This document contains a list of discussion board forums for the mission plan listed in the title above. Each discussion board forum listed in this document has a matching entry in your Blackboard Discussion Board folder as a forum. Since all that is contained in the Blackboard Discussion Board forum entry is a link to this document, you must follow the instructions detailed here for each discussion board forum assignment.
When you are ready to contribute to the Discussion Board forum, be sure that you make your entry within a new Thread and for the correct forum. To get information on how to use the Blackboard Discussion board, click on the following link: http://screencast.com/t/PQU6znZhIpp
All discussion board assignments are required and are worth 3 points. For information pertaining to the grading detail, please view the rubrics for each discussion board entry within Blackboard.
To access a discussion board topic, click on the appropriate topic link below:
Topic 3-1: Discuss how viruses spread.
Topic 3-2: Discuss various forms of viruses that "sneak" into your computer.
Topic 3-3: Discuss how malicious software (Malware) is used to make the attacker some money.
Topic 3-1: Discuss how viruses spread.
Viruses can get into your system just by you clicking a button. Since viruses attach to carriers (like a human virus), they are installed immediately when a user executes (opens) a file, program, image, or attachment. A virus must have a carrier and it must be initiated by a user!
Also, don't overlook that fact that a virus infected program can also be installed or copied to your computer and does not have to be transferred from one file to another.
How they spread:A virus has to be spread through program (or Macro) execution. In other words, a virus is a segment of code that performs malicious actions. The entire infected program can be transferred to your system by a user or it can be executed by the user from an external source.
What they do:
Once your system is infected by a compromised file or program, it will then re-infect additional files or programs on your system when it is opened because it wants to spread itself. In additional to the virus trying to spread, it may also create some additional headaches, because after all, most viruses are written with this intent! Here are some signs that you have a virus:
- Your comupter crashes for no reason.
- You appear to be missing important files.
- The amount of network traffic going to and from your computer increases for no apparent reason (i.e. stealing important files, injecting additional viruses to your computer, control by a bot-herder).
- Your disk space is being consumed and runs out of free space.
- You have modified access privileges (i.e. user accounts that show up that where never their before).
- Your drive gets reformated.
- You begin getting annoying messages or voices or sounds.
- Your computer programs take longer to load than normal.
- Your hard drive runs when you are not using it.
- New files keep appearing on the system and you don't know where they came from.
- Strange graphics are displayed on your computer monitor.
- Files or processes have strange names you don't recognize.
- Program sizes keep changing.
- Programs act erratically.
- Conventional memory is less than it used to be and you can't explain it.
This discussion / assignment requires you to research some real-life examples of viruses. The list below are our discussion points. Please use the Internet for your research and not your book. Find one real-life example pertaining to one of the topics. To make this discussion more interesting, please report on a topic and an instance of the topic that has yet to be reported on. In your report, please specify a few key points that define the significance of your topic and instance.
- Viruses spread through e-mail.
- Viruses spread through removable media (jump drives, USB hard drives).
- Viruses spread through Internet downloads (software installations, images, files, macros, etc.)
Topic 3-2: Discuss various forms of viruses that "sneak" into your computer.
Some malware can hide itself on a computer system waiting for the opportunity to inflict pain.
This discussion / assignment requires you to research these sneaky viruses. The list below are our discussion topics. Please report on two of these viruses. Please use the Internet for your research and not your book. Find a a real-life example that helps explain the significance of your topics.To make this discussion more interesting, please report on a topic that has yet to be reported on. In your report, please specify a few key points that define the significance of your topic.
- Trojans
- Rootkits
- Backdoors
- Keyloggers
- Buffer Overflows
- Logic bombs.
Topic 3-3: Discuss how malicious software (Malware) is used to make the attacker some money.
Malware certainly has a reputation of being bad, mostly with regards to the distruction that it causes. Malware can also exist to give the attacker a profit.
This discussion / assignment requires you to research various profit oriented attacks that give the attacker a profit. The list below are our discussion topics. Please report on one of these types of viruses. Please use the Internet for your research and not your book. Find a a real-life example that helps explain the significance of your topics.To make this discussion more interesting, please report on a topic that has yet to be reported on. In your report, please specify a few key points that define the significance of your topic.
- Botnet
- Spyware
- Adware
- Scareware