International Journal of Computer Science and Electronics Engineering (IJCSEE) Volume 1, Issue 5 (2013) ISSN 2320-401X; EISSN 2320-4028

Information Security Issues Facing

Internet Café Users
Alfred Thaga Kgopa

Abstract-- Information security threats destroy the value of e- According to Reference [7], if one is using an Internet café,
business. The owners of Internet cafés extend the freedom of use of there is always the possibility that some malicious café owner
Internet access to the community but they fail to tighten their will capture one’s confidential information. Moreover,
computer security to safeguard the private information of their Reference [6] believes that one should never trust the person
customers. The aim of this study is to provide information for next to you when using sensitive information such as login
improving information security in the Internet Cafe strategically to
ensure data privacy, data integrity, risk management and security details and entering or viewing private data on the Internet.
compliance. The study investigates the information security issues This shows that users face a serious problem and need to be
that are faced by users of Internet cafés and explores the effects of extra vigilant when using the Internet in public spaces.
these issues. It shows how users can improve their physical security The following statement from one of the Internet café study
to reach higher standards of information privacy over the Internet. participants supports Reference [7] assertion that one has to be
Much research has been conducted on the subject of information careful regarding malicious café owners:
security but this research presented here focuses mainly on the issues
that face users of Internet cafés and the improvement of public “There was someone who logged on the banking webpage
computer securities to safeguard users’ information from hackers and to do online banking. After a few days when he tried to
malware. The study focuses on Internet cafes and users located in withdraw money he found that there is nothing on his account.
Pretoria, South Africa. When he went to the bank they said he transferred his money
The studies found that majority of users are affected by to two different accounts on the certain day, when he checked
information security issues such as viruses, scam, online harassment, he knows only one transfer that he did in the Internet café, the
information privacy and many more. The study also found that the
users were also responsible to those issues due to their behaviour other transfer he doesn’t know it happened on the same day.
towards information security technologies such as antivirus software, When the guy goes to the Internet café that he used, to check
password and physical security. User where not using strong what might have happened he found that there is a webcam
password, they were forgetting to logout from their accounts, some that is installed on each and every computer of the Internet
were working on computers that the antivirus software was turned café and the webcam is hanging on the computer screen
off. facing the computer keyboard, then he realized that this
webcams are used to capture every key you are using on the
Keywords--- Information, Information Security, Internet, Internet
Cafe, South Africa
keyboard.”

So, this shows that is true that malicious café owner can
I. INTRODUCTION
capture one’s confidential information.
HIS research deals with information security issues that
T are faced by Internet café users. The study will identify
those issues and challenges that Internet café owners face in
II. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Users of Internet cafés face serious challenges when it
terms of implementing security tools in order to cover all
comes to information security in Internet cafés. The Internet
angles of data integrity.
café owners usually fail to cover all angles of information
Whether one is sending messages by email, uploading or
security, and in this way they breach the trust of their
downloading information, making online hotel and flight
customers. Although they increase the freedom of customers
bookings, checking or updating online banking details, making
to use the Internet, they don’t improve their computer security
online account payments or conducting research via the search
to protect customer information from hackers and malicious
engines, there is a need of privacy for one’s information [10].
damage.

III. RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of this study is to provide information for
addressing information security issues in Internet cafés
Alfred Kgopa was with telecommunication company Telkom SA, A. Research Objectives
Centurion 61 Oak Avenue. He is now employed and study at Tshwane
University of Technology, in South Africa (SA), Pretoria. Phone: +2782 094 Below are the objectives of this research:
6339; email: [email protected]. His study leader is Prof Ray Kekwaletswe
who is currently with Witwatersrand University, in SA.  To identify issues facing Internet café users.

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 To identify factors contributing to issues of TABLE I

SAMPLING OF PARTICIPANTS
information security in Internet cafés.
Sampling of Users of Internet Cafés in Pretoria
 To identify the challenges that Internet café owners
Internet café Day 1 Day 2 Sample Size
face in implementing IT security.
Pretoria Central
12 15 27
1
IV. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Pretoria Central
Methodology that was used for this study has been chosen 9 17 26
2
in order to acquire information and deduce conclusions about
how information can be secured in the internet café and how Pretoria
19 0 19
Sunnyside
user can secure their sensitive information while surfing in the
internet. On this research it was deemed appropriate to use the Total Size 40 32 72
interpretive research method. And the strategy is to collect
The questionnaire was thus distributed randomly at the
data from users who accesses Internet in the Internet cafés
Internet cafés, and a total of 72 users participated in the
around Pretoria central, in South Africa.
survey.
V. DATA COLLECTION METHOD VII. DATA ANALYSIS
The data was collected from a variety of sources to ensure During the data analysis some of the questionnaires had to
that the researcher had enough information to work from. For
be discarded because they had been completed incorrectly or
the purpose of this research and in order to achieve the the important questions had not been answered. For instance,
objectives of this research, both primary and secondary data the participant answered only relatively minor questions
was collected. The secondary data provided a backdrop for the
relating to the number of hours they spend in Internet cafés,
researcher in order to find the major issues facing Internet café their age, gender and so forth, which are of minor importance
users and for the reader to get a thorough understanding of the in this research study. The researcher thus decided not to
survey outcome, and also to understand the ultimate findings include questionnaires that were not properly and fully
of the research. The following data collection method has been completed. There were 9 questionnaires that were discarded,
used.
bringing down the sampling population to 63 participants. So
the questionnaire findings of this research paper reflect the
A. Questionnaires
results of 63 users who participated in the survey.
The questionnaire was typed out using Microsoft Word and
printed to be distributed and collected physically by the VIII. FINDING AND DATA ANALYSIS
researcher at three Internet cafés around Pretoria central. Most
of the questions included multiple-choice questions, as well as
yes or no, true or false questions. Some of the questions asked
similarly-worded questions in order to cross-check answers,
e.g. if the answer to a question such as “Have you ever been
affected by any issues when using the Internet café?” is NO,
and yet the user indicated some issues in the list of categorized
issues related to the use of Internet cafés, this shows a
discrepancy and may imply that the user was not always
entirely accurate in their responses.

B. Observation
Participant observation was used, and the features such as
visual observation were applied to observe things such as how
the physical security in the Internet cafés is implemented and Fig. 1 Users affected by issues of Internet cafe
also how the physical network of computers was connected.
Not only was there visual observation, but the researcher also
Fig. 1 results show that users of Internet cafés in Pretoria
visited two Internet cafés as a customer in order to verify some
have been affected by issues of information security. Almost
findings from the questionnaires.
86% of the participants agreed that they had experienced
VI. SAMPLING information security issues.
A follow-up question was used for users who replied “Yes”
The researcher delivered the questionnaires at three Internet
to “Are you comfortable using your confidential information
cafés in Pretoria. The aim of the researcher was to get at least
in the computers of Internet cafe?” In their answers they had
20 users per Internet café to make up a total of 60 users. The
to specify what they have been doing with confidential
table below provides a summary of the sampling results.

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information they had ever used in the Internet cafe. Below are tips or guidelines need to be given to users and Internet Café
some of the answers: owners on how to avoid these issues.
A. Analysis of Issues and the Tips to Stay Safe
 Issue no 1: Viruses
According to the findings of this study, a large percentage
of users (86%) complained about viruses. It is common
knowledge that computer security is a major problem and that
if not taken seriously, customers or important information
stored on the computer or storage device can be lost.
Moreover, lost data is not replaceable unless you have a
backup.
For example, some users said that, “when they open their
USB in the Internet café they get some files that they never
save and all the folders appear as short-cut and when they
open them they don’t open.”
Fig. 2 Comfortable of using personal information Another users said the following: “When they use their USB
User: “I connect to the SARS website for e-filling to apply in other computers after using them in the Internet café, files
for a tax return.” that are saved on the USB turn to white icons sort of setup file
and when they scan the USB those file are deleted.” In other
User: “I was purchasing the car and the car dealer asked words, they have lost their information.
me to email my pay slip and bank statement to apply for
finance, then I mailed them from the Internet café.”  Issue no: 2 Information Privacy

Some Users said: “They used to attach their CV, The result about uncomfortable of information privacy from
qualifications and ID on career junction and other vacancies the questionnaire responded by Internet Café user in Pretoria
website, and email them from the Internet café.” is high by 86% and this almost 100% of users who said they
were affected by this issue. So this shows that users need
information privacy in the Internet Café

 Issue no: 3 Online Harassment

Users had different views about online harassment, for

example:

User 1: “I forget to logout my Facebook account and the

next thing my friends phone me and ask why I type such stupid
message on Facebook. I was surprised then I immediately go
to the nearest Internet café. When I login I found that someone
has typed embarrassing message and post it on my Facebook
wall. When I check the time that the message was posted is
just fewer minutes after I left from the Internet café I used
earlier.”
Fig. 3 Issues of Internet café
User 2: “I don’t know how this has happened but somebody
The results of fig. 3 the issues that affect the users of if not him accepted this other boy as my Facebook friend and
Internet cafés in Pretoria are important as it was the objective the next thing he proposed me on the Facebook and when I
of this study to find out what issues regarding the use of denied him, he started to send me insult message on the
Internet cafes affect users. It was found that most users have Facebook and imagine he was posting insulting messages on
been affected by issues in terms of information security at the wall messages so that everyone could see.”
Internet cafes and it was also found that most users did not
feel comfortable transmitting any personal information when Online harassment is one of the highest ranking issues that
using the computers in Internet cafés. affect the users of Internet cafés in Pretoria. About 78% of
One of the objectives of this study was to identify issues users complain about online harassment. They felt unsafe or
experienced by Internet café users. The findings of fig. 3 even felt they were being bullied by other Internet users.
reflect some of these issues, and thus need to be addressed and Online harassment often takes place after users have made
friends online. These type of online friendships are risky

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because you are making friends with a stranger who might Although an owner may not be able to afford the fastest
give you false information about themselves whereas you are computers for the Internet cafe, slow computers should not be
giving this “friend” true information about yourself. Such purchased. When the computers were checked by the
online “friends” might send mail that contains embarrassing researcher, it appeared that most of them were in good
content or they can take your personal information that you condition, however, the researcher noticed that most of them
shared with them and distribute it to other people thereby were not branded computers and it thus appears that Internet
causing you huge embarrassment. café owners build their own computers. Most of Internet cafés
that were visited also sold computer hardware and the
 Issue no 4: Scam employees in the Internet cafés also fixed computers which
With regard to online scamming, one participant said the points to the fact that they would be able to build their own
following: “I played online competition to predict the score computers. The owners of Internet cafés need to buy branded
for Bafana Bafana vs. France in world cup 2010, the webpage computers because these are usually quality computers.
required me to put my bank details. I thought is for incase I The problem of computers crashing is also caused by poor
win the competition they will deposit the money. At the end of quality computers. When building your own computer,
the month the amount of R210.00 (±$21 USD) was deducted different branded parts might be used and some parts might
from my account, when I go to bank and ask them, the bank not even be branded, and thus they might also not be
teller told me that I have joined the life cover. When I ask the compatible with each other. As a result, computers will crash
day that I have joined I found that it is that day when I play or perform very slowly.
online competition in the Internet café.”
Scamming is a fraudulent attempt to get a user to part with B. Observation Results and Suggested Solutions
their money. Most Internet scams take place without being  Viruses and Anti Virus Software
noticed by the victim. The user will only know that they have The researcher visited two Internet cafés as a customer.
been scammed when money is deducted from their bank The researcher’s aim was to verify the results from the
account or credit card [8]. Scamming is another issue that questionnaire with regard to the presence of viruses that affect
affects users of Internet cafés, and if they are not careful the users making use of Internet cafés and also to check how
users can even be scammed by other users in the same Internet information security is implemented in these cafés. A new,
café or by the Internet café owner or administrators. The empty USB was used to copy information from the Internet at
findings in this regard showed that 67% of the Internet café the Internet café and another USB was used in another Internet
users complained about scams. café. This USB was not new, but it was scanned first for
Is common that you can be scammed these days not only on viruses and no viruses were detected. So it was used to copy
the Internet Cafés, they have many ways to approach the information but not from the Internet but just pictures such as
victims. The scammers can send you email to inform you a sample picture from the local drive at the Internet café.
about an offer, or they can send you an SMS, or sometime The researcher used his computer to scan the two USBs
may even call you in your personal cell number. after having used them at the Internet cafes and his findings
supported the findings of the survey. There was a popup
message immediately when the USBs were connected to the
 Issue no 5: Poor Administration
laptop. The message appeared in the notification area and read
“potentially harmful software detected”. The researcher then
Poor administration is one of the issues that need to be clicked on the message, which suggested scanning the USB,
address by Internet café owners. Customers can only complain which was done. While the antivirus software was busy
if they are not satisfied with the maintenance of the Internet scanning, more messages about the harmful software detection
café. Poor maintenance can ruin the business. Internet café kept appearing.
owners thus need to ensure that their equipment is in good Fig. 4 is the print screen that was made from the USB that
condition in order to keep their customers happy. Also if the was used in the first Internet Café. The print screen shows the
person who is working as an administrator does not know how files affected by the viruses and also indicates the virus names.
to run an Internet café, the business is at risk in terms of IT
security.

 Issue no 6 & 7: Slow Computers and Computer

Crushes

Only 33% of the users were not satisfied with the speed of
the computers. Another problem that will result in the loss of
customers is if the computers keep crashing. When a computer
is very slow, one cannot install the latest software and play
certain games. The computers will crash often if the latest
windows version is installed or users play online games.
Fig. 4 Virus detection results

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The following is a snapshot of the virus detection results

from the second USB that was used in the second Internet
café.

Fig. 7 Virus formatting step 2

Click view tap button of folder options window,
Fig. 5 Virus scan results

One of the USB showed information that was never stored

on the USB and the original information was only showed as a
white icons. This is an interesting finding because this kind of
virus was first detected in 2010 but it still exists on some
computers. The virus hides the original information that is
stored in a folder on the storage device and it shows the
shortcut, and anyone not familiar with this virus will think that
the data has been lost.
For those who are still confronted with this virus, below are
some tips to remove it. Once the USB is connected and only
the shortcut of the stored data is visible or there is nothing on
the USB, the following steps should be followed because even
if the scan disk with antivirus is run, the data will still be Fig. 8 Virus formatting step 3
hidden.
Click tools on the tool bar,
Under view check “Hidden files and Folder” then select
show hidden files and folders, also uncheck “hide protected
operating system files (recommended)”. Once you uncheck
the checked box the message will pop up and will ask you
whether you are sure that you want to display the files.

Fig. 6 Virus formatting step 1

then select folder options.

After selecting the folder options, fig. 7 folder options

window will appear,

Fig. 9 Virus formatting step 4

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Click “Yes” and the four buttons at the bottom of the network wirelessly. Most of the Internet service providers
message click “Apply” then click “OK”. (ISP) such as Telkom and MWeb release their internet
modems with the same default password and to connect
wirelessly you need to know the product serial number and the
password. Thus if the default password that comes with the
modem is not changed and an unauthorized person obtains the
product serial number, that person can use the data bundle
wirelessly without you noticing.
In one of the Internet cafés the computers were connected to
the ADSL modem through the hub. For instance, an ADSL
had four ports and each port was split into four port hubs and
16 computers where directly connected to the hubs, i.e. there
were four computers per port. This kind of connection
appeared to have no server because all the 16 computers were
labeled User 1 to User 16. Moreover, the administrator of the
Internet café gave the researcher a piece of paper indicating
Fig. 10 Virus formatting step 5 the start time and the end time for the Internet session, the start
time being 11:21 and the end time 12:21. The fact that four
hubs were connected to a four-port ADSL with 16 user
After the above steps have been completed, all the hidden computers implies that there was no server to serve as a
files and protected files will be displayed but if the computer firewall in order to monitor security. Moreover, the fact that
does not have good and effective antivirus software, these the researcher was given a piece of paper with the start and
steps will have to be repeated every time you want to use the end times, points to the fact that there was no Internet café
information on the affected USB. The information keeps software to take control of the administration computer.
hiding until your antivirus software manages to clean or
remove the virus, and the only way to clean it is to make sure IX. RECOMMENDATIONS
that your computer security is up to date.
A. Recommendations to prevent unauthorized user account
C. Physical Security access
In one of the Internet cafés there was some other network
hardware that could easily be accessed by the public. It  Accounts should never be shared.
should be remembered that it is not safe to store network  Password should be at least the minimum of 8
equipment in easily accessible places. characters long [5].
During the observation process, the researcher noticed one  Password should be formulated of mixed characters
user who went outside to answer cell a phone. During this such as letters (both lower and upper case), special
time, the user left the Facebook page open without logging character and numbers [3].
out. The user was opening himself up to problems had he  Avoid using name of account, your names or family
returned from his phone call only to find his session had member names, date of birth, social security number,
ended, he had thus been logged out and the next user who your business name or any other information that can
worked on that computer would find his Facebook account be easily discovered as your password [5].
still active. In this case, a malicious user could have easily  Avoid writing down the password
posted a negative message with regard to the account owner.  Password should be regularly change in an interval of
This is just an example of the issues that face people using the at least 1 to 3 months, and should also be changed
Internet on public computers and which they should be aware immediately there is suspicions of been compromised
of. [5].
 Use different password for files and for loggings on
D. Network Layout the Internet [5].
As mentioned in section C about physical security, during
B. Recommendations to Owners of Internet Cafés for
one observation session, the researcher noted some network
Physical Security
hardware that was exposed to the public and also that the door
to the server room was not closed. The users were able to see
 Try to employ reliable people who will be
some of the hardware such as the Asymmetric Digital
responsible for data security and system
Subscriber line (ADSL) modem and hubs that should be
administration in your Internet café.
locked away from the public area.
 You can use computer lock systems like special
Putting network hardware such as a modem into a public
cabinet or durable cables to tie your computers to the
space is very dangerous because malicious users could copy
desk. Keep the server room close at all the time only
the product serial number and use it to connect to your

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the Internet café administrator or technicians can username and password, remember to “sign out”
have the keys to access it [3]. or “log out” when you have finished [1].
 Devices such as security video cameras can be also  Delete cookies and history of the website you
installed in the premises. have visited from the computer you are using [4].
 Never leave the Internet café with the stranger or  Consider creating a separate email address for
without any one who is not an employee and assume information that is not personal and use an alias
that they will check out for you will you are going instead of your name [4].
out to buy something or to do whatever [1].  Never leave your device driver such as USB or
 Backup your file, Internet café software and other external hard drive that contains your personal
important data regularly and store the copies in information displayed in a public area especially
another location, because if anything can happen as in the Internet café [7].
data loss it might be expensive to get that again and  Don’t give out your banking or credit card
go back to track and service your customers. Some details indiscriminately.
windows include backup programs and also there are
some third party vendors who sell and support this E. Recommendation for Network setup
type of service [3].
 Use uninterrupted power supply and avoid
overloading [1].

C. Recommendations for Virus Issues.

 Always purchase a copy of latest version or use a

trial version of antivirus software and install it on
your computer. Most antivirus software offer 3
month trial, once you purchase the software then
you get the full vision and other features such as
additional firewall protection, feature to scan any
web sites you visit, and others [9].
 After installing the antivirus software in all
computers of the Internet café, scan all of them
for any possible viruses that could be hiding or
Fig. 11 Network setup layout. Source [11]
spread in the computers [4].
 Make sure you get the subscription of antivirus For better Administration in the Internet café, this network
update to get notices of virus, spyware setup layout is recommended for Internet cafés around
definitions and the patches for the program. Pretoria because most of them they run their business in the
 Setup the virus scan time to occur every time traditional way. An administrator will accept payment from
when you switch-on your computer [9]. users and logs on for users on available computers through the
 Make sure your antivirus software will scan all administrative computer that is installed Internet café
the external storage devices such as USB and administration software. Once the user has made the payment
external hard drive when the user of your then they can go to the user terminal and use the computer to
Internet café attached them in your computers access the Internet. It is also recommended that the server
[4]. room must always be locked and only authorized people
should access it.
D. Recommendations for Information Privacy Issues.
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