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The Internet & the World Wide Web

What is the Internet?

 The Internet is a global network of networks

 The Internet is the most well-known Wide Area Network (WAN)

 The Internet is the infrastructure used to provide connec vity to the World Wide Web

What is the World Wide Web?

 The world wide web, or simply the web, is a collec on of websites and web pages that are accessed using
the internet

 It was created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, who envisioned it as a way to share and access informa on on a
global scale

 The web consists of interconnected documents and mul media files that are stored on web servers around
the world

 Web pages are accessed using a web browser, which communicates with web servers to retrieve and display
the content

HTTP & HTTPS

What is HTTP & HTTPS?

 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) allows communication between clients and servers
for website viewing
 HTTP & HTTPS are protocols, a set of rules governing communication between devices
on a network
 HTTP allows clients to receive data from the sever (fetching a webpage) and send data to
the server (submitting a form, uploading a file)
 HTTPS works in the same way as HTTP but with an added layer of security
 All data sent and received using HTTPS is encrypted
 HTTPS is used to protect sensitive information such as passwords, financial information
and personal data
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Web Browser
What is a web browser?

 A web browser is a piece of software used to access and display information on the
internet
 A web browser displays web pages by rendering hypertext markup language (HTML)
 Web browsers interpret the code in HTML documents and translate it into a visual
display for the user

Functions of a web browser

Function Description
Render HTML Display the web page
E.g. back/forward buttons and home button, to help users move between
Provide navigation tools
pages
Allow users to save links to frequently visited websites and access them
Storing bookmarks & favourites
easily
Storing cookies Cookies
Record user history Allow users to quickly revisit recently viewed web pages
A place for user to type in the URL (link to URL page) of a web page to
Provide address bar
visit
Allow multiple web pages to be open at once so users can quickly
Multiple tabs
switch between them

Loading a Web Page

How is a web page loaded?

 Web pages are held on web servers (1), known as 'hosting'

 To access a web page on a web server, a web browser is used
 In the browser, a user enters a web page URL (2)
 The browser sends the domain name to a DNS (3)
 The browser connects to the web server and requests to access the page
 HTML (4) is transferred and rendered by the browser, displaying the web page

Web Servers (1)

What is a web server?

 A web server is a remote computer that stores the files needed to display a web
page on the Internet
 Web servers are generally available 24/7 and security is managed by the owner of the
hardware
 Web servers provide access to multiple users at the same time
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Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) (2)
What is a URL?

 A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a unique identifier for a web page, known as
the website address
 It is text based to make it easier to remember
 A user enters a URL into a web browser to view a web page
 An example of a URL is:

https://www.savemyexams.com/igcse/computer-science/cie/23/revision-notes/

 A URL can typically be split into three parts:

o Protocol
o Domain name
o Web page/file name
 Using the example about the URL would be split as follows:

Communication method to transfer data between c

Protocol https
server
Domain name www.savemyexams.com Name of the server where the resource is located
Web page/file /igcse/computer-science/cie/23/revision-
Location of the file or resources on the server
name notes/
Domain Name System (DNS) (3)
What is a DNS?

 The Domain Name System (DNS) can be thought of as the Internet's equivalent to a phone
book
 It is essentially a directory of domain names and is used to translate human-readable
domain names to the numeric IP addresses that computers use
 When you type a URL into your browser, the DNS translates the domain name into its
associated IP address so your computer can connect to the server hosting the website
 Without DNS, we would have to remember the IP address of every site we want to visit

HTML (4)
What is HTML?

 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), is the foundational language used to structure and
present content on the web
 HTML consists of a series of elements, often referred to as "tags"
 Most tags are opened and closed e.g. <html> and </html>, whereas some tags are only
opened e.g. <img> and <link>
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Structure

 HTML is used to define the basic structure of a webpage by organising content

into sections such as headers, paragraphs, and footers
 The <html> tag is the root element of an HTML page and includes all other HTML elements
used to create a page structure

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<header>
<h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
</header>
<main>
<section>
<h2>About Me</h2>
<p>This is a paragraph about me.</p>
</section>
<section>
<h2>My Projects</h2>
<p>This is a paragraph about my projects.</p>
</section>
</main>
<footer>
<p>Contact: [email protected]</p>
</footer>
</body>
</html>
 In this example, HTML is used to create a structure with a header, two sections in the main
body, and a footer
 Other examples of HTML being used for structure include:
o Creating lists to structure information
o Positioning of text on the screen
o Embedding media and interactive elements

Present

 HTML is also used to present and display information in a visually meaningful way
 The content layer of a web page is made up of HTML elements such as headings (<h1>,
<h2>, etc.), paragraphs (<p>), links (<a>), images (<img>), and more
 This layer is mainly handled by CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to My Website</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph introducing the content of the website.</p>

<h2>Subheading 1</h2>
<p>Here is some detailed information under the first subheading.</p>

<h2>Subheading 2</h2>
<p>Another section with more information.</p>

<p><strong>Bold text</strong> and <em>italic text</em> can emphasise important points.</p>

</body>
</html>
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 In this example, headings (<h1>, <h2>) and text formatting tags (<strong>, <em>) are used
to present the content clearly and with emphasis
 Other examples of HTML being used to present information include:
o Presenting data in a table
o Displaying images with captions

Worked Example

A company sells products over the Internet.

Explain how the information stored on the company’s website is requested by the customer, sent
to the customer’s computer and displayed on the screen.

[7]

Answer

Seven from:

Requested

 a web browser is used

 user enters the URL / web address (into the address bar) // clicks a link containing
the web address // clicks an element of the webpage
 the URL / web address specifies the protocol
 protocols used are Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) / Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol Secure (HTTPS)

Sent

 the URL / web address contains the domain name

 the domain name is used to look up the IP address of the company
 the domain name server (DNS) stores an index of domain names and IP addresses
 web browser sends a request to the web server / IP address

Received

 Data for the website is stored on the company’s web server

 webserver sends the data for the website back to the web browser
 web server uses the customer’s IP address to return the data
 the data is transferred into Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML)
 HTML is interpreted/rendered by the web browser (to display the website)
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Cookies
What is a cookie?

 A cookie is a tiny data file stored on a computer by browser software that holds
information relating to your browsing activity
 Typically a cookie will contain:
o Browsing history - what websites you have visited
o Login information - usernames & passwords
o Preferences - language/font size/themes
 The two types of cookie are:
o Session - Created and replaced every time a user visits a website
o Persistent - Created and saved the first time a user visits a website, retained until
they expire

What is the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003)?

 The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003) is a law that governs the
use of cookies
 Any website that wants to store a cookie must:
o Tell users the cookies are there
o Explain what the cookies are doing
o Obtain users consent to store the cookie

Digital Currency
What is digital currency?

 Digital currency is one that only exists in digital form

 Currency is stored in digital wallets or accounts, there is no physical bank
notes or coins
 It can be exchanged online to pay for goods and services or for transferring money
internationally
 Unlike traditional currencies, digital currency is not controlled or monitored by central
banks or government (decentralised)
 This can make digital currencies highly volatile, their value can fluctuate rapidly in a short
period of time
 Digital currency investment can be risky due the volatility
 Digital currency can also be known as crypto currency
 All transactions made using crypto currency are publicly available and tracked
using cryptography
 Examples include
o Bitcoin
o Ethereum

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In the IGCSE exam digital currency and crypto currency are the same thing, although in real life
they are not strictly the same thing.
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Blockchain
What is a blockchain?

 A blockchain is a digital ledger that records every transaction made with a particular digital
currency
 Transactions are time-stamped and added to the blockchain in
a permanent and unalterable way
 A blockchain is a decentralised technology, meaning that it is not controlled by a single
entity or authority
o Instead, every participant in the network has a copy of the ledger and can verify
the transactions independently
 The blockchain is made up of "blocks" of transactions that are linked together in a "chain"
using cryptographic algorithms
o This creates a secure and tamper-proof record of every transaction made with the
digital currency
 Each transaction in the blockchain must be verified by multiple participants in the
network
o This verification process ensures that the transaction is legitimate and prevents
any fraudulent activity

Forms of cyber security threat

 Computers face a variety of forms of attack and they can cause a large number of issues
for a network and computers
 The main threats posed are:
o Brute-force attacks
o Data interception & theft
o DDos attack
o Hacking
o Malware
o Pharming
o Phishing
o Social engineering

Brute Force Attack

What is a brute-force attack?

 A brute force attack works by an attacker repeatedly trying multiple combinations of a

user's password to try and gain unauthorised access to their accounts or devices
 An example of this attack would be an attacker finding out the length of a PIN code, for
example, 4-digits
 They would then try each possible combination until the pin was cracked, for example
o 0000
o 0001
o 0002
 A second form of this attack, commonly used for passwords is a dictionary attack
 This method tries popular words or phrases for passwords to guess the password as
quickly as possible
 Popular words and phrases such as 'password', '1234' and 'qwerty' will be checked
extremely quickly.
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Data interception
What is data interception & theft?

 Data interception and theft is when thieves or hackers

can compromise usernames and passwords as well as other sensitive data
 This is done by using devices such as a packet sniffer
 A packet sniffer will be able to collect the data that is being transferred on a network
 A thief can use this data to gain unauthorised access to websites, companies and more

DDoS Attack
What is a DDoS attack?

 A Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS attack) is a large

scale, coordinated attack designed to slow down a server to the point of it
becoming unusable
 A server is continually flooded with requests from multiple distributed
devices preventing genuine users from accessing or using a service
 A DDoS attack uses computers as 'bots', the bots act as automated tools under the
attackers control, making it difficult to trace back to the original source
 A DDoS attack can result in companies losing money and not being able to carry out their
daily duties
 A DDoS attack can cause damage to a company's reputation

Hacking
What is hacking?

 Hacking is the process of identifying and exploiting weaknesses in a computer system

or network to gain unauthorised access
 Access can be for various malicious purposes, such as stealing data, installing malware,
or disrupting operations
 Hackers seek out opportunities that make this possible, this includes:
o Unpatched software
o Out-of-date anti-malware

Malware
What is malware?

 Malware (malicious software) is the term used for any software that has been created with
malicious intent to cause harm to a computer system
 Examples of issues caused by malware include
o Files being deleted, corrupted or encrypted
o Internet connection becoming slow or unusable
o Computer crashing or shutting down
 There are various types of malware and each has slightly different issues which they cause

Malware What it Does

Virus  Contains code that will replicate and cause unwanted and unexpected events to occur
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 Examples of issues a user may experience are

o Corrupt files
o Delete data
o Prevent applications from running correctly

 Very similar to viruses, main difference being that they spread to other drives and computer
network
 Worms can infect other computers from
o Infected websites
Worms
o Instant message services
o Email
o Network connection

 Sometimes called a Trojan Horse

Trojan  Trojans disguise themselves as legitimate software but contain malicious code in the backgro

 Allow a person to spy on the users' activities on their devices

 Embedded into other software such as games or programs that have been downloaded
Spyware from illegitimate sources
 Can record your screen, log your keystrokes to gain access to passwords and more

 Displays adverts to the user

 Users have little or no control over the frequency or type of ads
Adware
 Can redirect clicks to unsafe sites that contain spyware

 Locks your computer or device and encrypts your documents and other important files
 A demand is made for money to receive the password that will allow the user to decrypt the
Ransomware
 No guarantee paying the ransom will result in the user getting their data back

Pharming
What is pharming?

 Pharming is typing a website address into a browser and it being redirected to a 'fake'
website in order to trick a user into typing in sensitive information such as passwords
 An attacker attempts to alter DNS settings, the directory of websites and their matching IP
addresses that is used to access websites on the internet or change a users browser
settings
 A user clicks a link which downloads malware
 The user types in a web address which is then redirected to the fake website
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How can you protect against it?

 To protect against the threat of pharming:

o Keep anti-malware software up to date
o Check URLs regularly
o Make sure the padlock icon is visible

Phishing
What is phishing?

 Phishing is the process of sending fraudulent emails/SMS to a large number of people,

claiming to be from a reputable company or trusted source
 Phishing is an attempt to try and gain access to your details, often by coaxing the user to
click on a login button/link

Social Engineering
What is social engineering?

 Social engineering is exploiting weaknesses in a computer system by targeting the

people that use or have access to them
 There are many forms of social engineering, some examples include
o Fraudulent phone calls: pretending to be someone else to gain access to their
account or their details
o Pretexting: A scammer will send a fake text message, pretending to be from the
government or human resources of a company, this scam is used to trick an
individual into giving out confidential data
 People are seen as the weak point in a system because human errors can lead to
significant issues, some of which include:
o Not locking doors to computer/server rooms
o Not logging their device when they're not using it
o Sharing passwords
o Not encrypting data
o Not keeping operating systems or anti-malware software up to date

Worked Example

A company is concerned about a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

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(i) Describe what is meant by a DDoS attack.

[4]

(ii) Suggest one security device that can be used to help prevent a DDoS attack.[1]

Answers

(i) Any four from:

 multiple computers are used as bots

 designed to deny people access to a website
 a large number / numerous requests are sent (to a server) …
 … all at the same time
 the server is unable to respond / struggles to respond to all the requests
 the server fails / times out as a result.

(ii)

 firewall OR proxy server

Access Levels
What are access levels?

 Access levels ensure users of a network can access what they need to access and do
not have access to information/resources they shouldn't
 Users can have designated roles on a network
 Access levels can be set based on a user's role, responsibility, or clearance level
o Full access - this allows the user to open, create, edit & delete files
o Read-only access - this only allows the user to open files without editing or deleting
o No access - this hides the file from the user
 Some examples of different levels of access to a school network could include:
o Administrators: Unrestricted - Can access all areas of the network
o Teaching Staff: Partially restricted - Can access all student data but cannot access
other staff members' data
o Students: Restricted - Can only access their own data and files
 Users and groups of users can be given specific file permissions

Anti Malware
What is anti-malware software?

 Anti-malware software is a term used to describe a combination of different software to

prevent computers from being susceptible to viruses and other malicious software
 The different software anti-malware includes are
o Anti-virus
o Anti-spam
o Anti-spyware

How does anti-malware work?

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 Anti-malware scans through email attachments, websites and downloaded files to search
for issues
 Anti-malware software has a list of known malware signatures to block immediately if they
try to access your device in any way
 Anti-malware will also perform checks for updates to ensure the database of known
issues is up to date

Authentication
What is authentication?

 Authentication is the process of ensuring that a system is secure by asking the user
to complete tasks to prove they are an authorised user of the system
 Authentication is done because bots can submit data in online forms
 Authentication can be done in several ways, these include
o Usernames and passwords
o Multi-factor authentication
o CAPTCHA - see example below
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Biometrics

 Biometrics use biological data for authentication by identifying unique physical

characteristics of a human such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans
 Biometric authentication is more secure than using passwords as:
o A biometric password cannot be guessed
o It is very difficult to fake a biometric password
o A biometric password cannot be recorded by spyware
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o A perpetrator cannot shoulder surf to see a biometric password

Automating Software Updates

What are automatic software updates?

 Automatic software updates take away the need for a user to remember to keep software
updated and reduce the risk of software flaws/vulnerabilities being targeted in out of
date software
 Automatic updates ensure fast deployment of updates as they release

Communication
What is communication?

 One way of protecting data is by monitoring digital communication to check for errors in
the spelling and grammar or tone of the communication
 Phishing scams often involve communication with users, monitoring it can be effective as:
o Rushed - emails and texts pretending to be from a reputable company are focused
on quantity rather than quality and often contain basic spelling and grammar errors
o Urgency - emails using a tone that creates panic or makes a user feel rushed is
often a sign that something is suspicious
o Professionalism - emails from reputable companies should have flawless spelling
and grammar

URL
How to check a URL?

 Checking the URL attached to a link is another way to prevent phishing attacks
 Hackers often use fake URLs to trick users into visiting fraudulent websites
o e.g. http://amaz.on.co.uk/ rather than http://amazon.co.uk/
 If you are unsure, always check the website URL before clicking any links contained in
an email

Firewalls
What is a firewall?

 A firewall monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and uses a set of rules to
determine which traffic to allow
 A firewall prevents unwanted traffic from entering a network by filtering requests to ensure
they are legitimate
 It can be both hardware and software and they are often used together to provide stronger
security to a network
o Hardware firewalls will protect the whole network and prevent unauthorised traffic
o Software firewalls will protect the individual devices on the network, monitoring the
data going to and from each computer

What form of attack would this prevent?

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 Hackers
 Malware
 Unauthorised access to a network

Privacy Settings
What are privacy settings?

 Privacy settings are used to control the amount of personal information that is shared
online
 They are an important measure to prevent identity theft and other forms of online fraud
 Users should regularly review their privacy settings and adjust them as needed

Proxy Servers
What is a proxy server?

 A proxy-server is used to hide a user's IP address and location, making it more difficult
for hackers to track them
 They act as a firewall and can also be used to filter web traffic by setting criteria for
traffic
 Malicious content is blocked and a warning message can be sent to the user
 Proxy-servers are a useful security measure for protecting against external security threats
as it can direct traffic away from the server

SSL
What is SSL?

 Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is a security protocol which is used to encrypt

data transmitted over the internet
 This helps to prevent eavesdropping and other forms of interception
 SSL is widely used to protect online transactions, such as those involving credit card
information or other sensitive data
 It works by sending a digital certificate to the user’s browser
 This contains the public key which can be used for authentication
 Once the certificate is authenticated, the transaction will begin

Worked Example

(i) ) Identify a security solution that could be used to protect a computer from a computer virus,
hacking and spyware.

Each security solution must be different

Threat Security solution

Phishing
DDoS attack
Hacking
[3]
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(ii) Describe how each security solution you identified in (i) will help protect the computer.

[6]

Answers

(i)

Threat Security solution

Phishing Monitoring communication
Brute force attack Authentication
Hacking Firewall/Biometrics
(ii) Two marks for each description

 Monitoring communication
o Checking for spelling & grammar errors
o Reading tone, is the user being rushed? // is the user made to panic?
 Authentication
o Checks the user is they say they are
o Captcha proves they are not a bot
o Passwords lock out after a set number of attempts
 Firewall
o Monitors traffic coming into and out of the computer system
o Checks that the traffic meets any criteria/rules set
o Blocks any traffic that does not meet the criteria/rules set // set
blacklist/whitelist
 Biometrics
o Data needed to enter is unique to individual
o … therefore it is very difficult to replicate
o Lock out after set number of attempts