Home Network Security US CERTThis document provides home users an overview of the security risks and countermeasures associated with Internet connectivity, especially in the context of always on or broadband access services such as cable modems and DSL. However, much of the content is also relevant to traditional dial up users users who connect to the Internet using a modem. Table of Contents. Introduction. Computer security. What is computer securityWhy should I care about computer security Who would want to break into my computer at homeHow easy is it to break into my computer Technology. What does broadband meanOracle offers a comprehensive and fully integrated stack of cloud applications and platform services. What is cable modem access What is DSL access How are broadband services different from traditional dial up services How is broadband access different from the network I use at work What is a protocol What is IP What is an IP address What are static and dynamic addressingWhat is NAT What are TCP and UDP ports What is a firewallGet started today with Informaticas featured cloud connectors. Filter by industry learn more about connectors through demos documentation. Java Programming Hints and Tips. This site contains free contents about the Java Language. There are Java overview and tutorial, hints and tips, sample Java programs. JDBC+Java+Database+Connectivity+%28JDBC%29+is+a+Java+API+that+allows+Java+programs+to+interact+with+relational+database+management+systems..jpg' alt='Programs Database Connectivity Java' title='Programs Database Connectivity Java' />What does antivirus software do Computer security risks to home users What is at risk Intentional misuse of your computer. Trojan horse programs. Back door and remote administration programs. Denial of service. Being an intermediary for another attack. Unprotected Windows shares. Mobile code Java, Java. Script, and Active. XCross site scripting. Email spoofing. Email borne viruses. Hidden file extensions. Chat clients. Packet sniffing. Accidents and other risks. Disk failure. Power failure and surges. Physical theft. Actions home users can take to protect their computer systems. Consult your system support personnel if you work from home. Use virus protection software. Use a firewall. Dont open unknown email attachments. Dont run programs of unknown origin. Disable hidden filename extensions. Keep all applications, including your operating system, patched. Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in use. Disable Java, Java. Script, and Active. X if possible. Disable scripting features in email programs. Make regular backups of critical data. Make a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised. Appendix References and additional information. Document Revision History. I. Computer security. A. What is computer security Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users also known as intruders from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done. B. Why should I care about computer security We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs. Although you may not consider your communications top secret, you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored on your computer such as financial statements. C. Who would want to break into my computer at home Intruders also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems. Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target. Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data. D. How easy is it to break into my computer Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities informally called holes to exploit in computer software. The complexity of software makes it increasingly difficult to thoroughly test the security of computer systems. When holes are discovered, computer vendors will usually develop patches to address the problems. However, it is up to you, the user, to obtain and install the patches, or correctly configure the software to operate more securely. Most of the incident reports of computer break ins received at the CERTCC could have been prevented if system administrators and users kept their computers up to date with patches and security fixes. Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer unless you change the settings to be more secure. Examples include chat programs that let outsiders execute commands on your computer or web browsers that could allow someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them. II. Technology. This section provides a basic introduction to the technologies that underlie the Internet. It was written with the novice end user in mind and is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of all Internet based technologies. Subsections provide a short overview of each topic. This section is a basic primer on the relevant technologies. For those who desire a deeper understanding of the concepts covered here, we include links to additional information. A. What does broadband meanBroadband is the general term used to refer to high speed network connections. In this context, Internet connections via cable modem and Digital Subscriber Line DSL are frequently referred to as broadband Internet connections. Bandwidth is the term used to describe the relative speed of a network connection for example, most current dial up modems can support a bandwidth of 5. There is no set bandwidth threshold required for a connection to be referred to as broadband, but it is typical for connections in excess of 1 Megabit per second Mbps to be so named. B. What is cable modem accessA cable modem allows a single computer or network of computers to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem usually has an Ethernet LAN Local Area Network connection to the computer and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps. Typical speeds tend to be lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers turn entire neighborhoods into LANs that share the same bandwidth. Because of this shared medium topology, cable modem users may experience somewhat slower network access during periods of peak demand and may be more susceptible to risks such as packet sniffing and unprotected windows shares than users with other types of connectivity. Strat O Matic Football S. See the Computer security risks to home users section of this document. C. What is DSL accessDigital Subscriber Line DSL Internet connectivity, unlike cable modem based service, provides the user with dedicated bandwidth. However, the maximum bandwidth available to DSL users is usually lower than the maximum cable modem rate because of differences in their respective network technologies. Also, the dedicated bandwidth is only dedicated between your home and the DSL providers central office the providers offer little or no guarantee of bandwidth all the way across the Internet. DSL access is not as susceptible to packet sniffing as cable modem access, but many of the other security risks well cover apply to both DSL and cable modem access.