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Internet Security

Cost-Effective IT: Internet Security, by Richard Sonnier

Houston Business Show "Advisor" Richard Sonnier, of the Information Technology Services firm Nimble Services, Inc., provides weekly information on our show about business technology issues. He can be reached at 281-445-4800 x250 or rsonnier@nimbleservices.com.

This week I will discuss Internet security including SPAM and Malware.

History of Internet Security

When the Internet began it was largely a Department of Defense project so security was a large part of the design. The Internet was designed to survive an attack on the communication infrastructure. If any part of the network is destroyed or goes down, then the Internet switches all communications to whatever parts of the network survive. As long as there is any possible path between the two computers, the Internet will keep them talking. Technically, this capability of the Internet is called routing and it works exceptionally well.

When the United States government released the Internet to allow commercial use, the Internet exploded in usage and this core routing technology kept everything working. The Internet might have slow down some days, but there has not be a complete shutdown of the Internet EVER! If part of the Internet has a problem, the rest of the network routes around it and keeps on going.

However, there certain activities on the Internet that might not the appropriate to the public or certainly for children and so governments around the world have tried to regulate and control Internet communications. These attempts have failed miserably. The problem is that the Internet treats censorship, regulation or any act that attempts to limit or disrupt communications as a failure and ROUTES AROUND IT. This is very frustrating to governments and to world citizens. The fundamental strength of the Internet, keeping everyone communicating, makes it very difficult to prevent undesirable communications. As a side note, many regard this as a free speech issue as well.

SPAM: Unsolicited Bulk Email

Everyone hates SPAM so why can't anyone do something about it? We have all this advanced technologies. Why can't we get rid of SPAM?
Email is a creature of the Internet and design to enable communications. Now, some people are abusing it to send email that user don't want. Here at Nimble we trap about 50,000 SPAM messages a day for our customers and the problem has steady worsened over the past 18 months. However, no one wants to turn email off. Email is incredibly useful!

Luckily, the Internet is designing a new email structure that will slowly eliminate the worse of the SPAM. Be patient the answers are coming but it will take a few years to implement. Meanwhile, they are lots of stopgap solutions to lessen the SPAM problem. I recommend you implement some in your business. If you need any help, just give me a call.

Malware

Malware is little bits of software downloaded to your PC without your knowledge or permission. Usually, they come attached to web pages while you browse the Internet or via email. They are somewhat like computer viruses and more like SPAM in their usage. Most malware is commercial in that it is trying to sell you something via popup ads. It can render your PC useless for your regular work and therefore is considered harmful.

I recommend installing malware or adware prevention software. Check with your existing virus vendor. Many are offering this as an upgrade or an add-on. Consider using two different products, as we find no single product is catching all of the problems. Some products to consider are Adware by Lavasoft and Spybot Search & Destroy.

Next week, I will answer the question "Are PC's getting easier to use?"

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