Technology in Action

Eighteenth Edition
Global Edition

Chapter 9

Securing Your System:

Protecting Your Digital
Data and Devices

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Learning Objectives (1 of 3)

9.1 Describe how identity theft is committed and the types

of scams identity thieves perpetrate.
9.2 Describe the different types of hackers and the tools
they use.
9.3 Explain what a computer virus is, why it is a threat to
your security, how a computing device catches a virus, and
the symptoms it may display.
9.4 List the different categories of computer viruses and
describe their behaviors.
9.5 Explain what malware, spam, and cookies are and how
they impact your security.
© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved
Learning Objectives (2 of 3)

9.6 Describe social engineering techniques and explain

strategies to avoid falling prey to them.
9.7 Explain what a firewall is and how a firewall protects
your computer from hackers.
9.8 Explain how to protect your computer from virus
infection.
9.9 Describe how passwords and biometric characteristics
can be used for user authentication.
9.10 Describe ways to surf the Web anonymously.

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Learning Objectives (3 of 3)

9.11 Describe the types of information you should never

share online.
9.12 List the various types of backups you can perform on
your computing devices and explain the various places you
can store backup files.
9.13 Explain the negative effects environment and power
surges can have on computing devices.
9.14 Describe the major concerns when a device is stolen
and strategies for solving the problems.

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers

• Cybercrime
• Cybercriminals
• Common types of
cybercrimes

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers
Identity Theft (Objective 9.1)

• Identity theft—when a thief steals personal information

and poses as you
– Most financially damaging cybercrime for individuals
• Types of scams
– Counterfeiting credit and debit cards
– Requesting changes of address
– Opening new credit cards
– Obtaining medical services
– Buying a home

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers (1 of 4)
Hacking (Objective 9.2)

• Hacker—anyone who unlawfully breaks into a computer

system
• Types of hackers
– White-hat (ethical hackers)
– Black-hat hackers
– Grey-hat hackers
• Packet analyzer (sniffer)
• Keylogger

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers (2 of 4)
Hacking (Objective 9.2)

• Trojan horses—appear to be useful but run malicious

code
• Backdoor programs and rootkits allow hackers to gain
access to a computer

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers (3 of 4)
Hacking (Objective 9.2)

• Zombies—computers that a
hacker controls
• Denial-of-service
– Legitimate users are
denied access to a
computer system
– System shuts down
• DDoS
• Botnet—large group of
devices that have been
infected by software programs

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Identity Theft and Hackers (4 of 4)
Hacking (Objective 9.2)

• Exploit kits—software that runs on servers searching for

vulnerabilities
• Logical ports are virtual, not physical, communications paths

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Computer Viruses (1 of 2)
Virus Basics (Objective 9.3)

• Virus—program that attaches to a computer program to

spread to other computers
– Main purpose—replicate itself and copy its code into
as many other host files as possible
– Secondary objectives can be destructive
• Smartphones and tablets can be infected with viruses

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Computer Viruses (2 of 2)
Virus Basics (Objective 9.3)

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Computer Viruses (1 of 3)
Types of Viruses (Objective 9.4)

• Boot-sector viruses
• Logic bombs and time bombs
• Worms
• Script and macro viruses
• E-mail viruses
• Encryption viruses

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Computer Viruses (2 of 3)
Types of Viruses (Objective 9.4)

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Computer Viruses (3 of 3)
Types of Viruses (Objective 9.4)

• Classified by methods used to avoid detection

– Polymorphic—change their code or periodically
rewrite themselves to avoid detection
– Multi-partite—are designed to infect multiple
file types
– Stealth—temporarily erase their code from the files
where they reside and hide in active
memory

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (1 of 3)
Online Annoyances (Objective 9.5)

• Malware—software that has malicious intent

– Adware—software that displays sponsored
advertisements
– Spyware—unwanted piggyback software
▪ Transmits information
▪ Uses tracking cookies
▪ Keystroke logger

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (2 of 3)
Online Annoyances (Objective 9.5)

• Spam—unwanted software or junk e-mail

• Tactics to minimize spam (spam filter)

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (3 of 3)
Online Annoyances (Objective 9.5)

• Cookies—small text files received when visiting a website

– Help companies determine the effectiveness of their
marketing
– They do not search a hard drive for personal
information
– May invade your privacy
– Pose no security threat

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (1 of 3)
Social Engineering (Objective 9.6)

• Social engineering—technique using social skills to

generate human interaction
– Lures individuals to reveal sensitive information
• Pretexting—creating a scenario that sounds legitimate

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (2 of 3)
Social Engineering (Objective 9.6)

• Phishing—luring people into revealing information

• Pharming—malicious code planted on a computer to
gather information
• Guidelines to avoid schemes

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Online Annoyances and Social Engineering (3 of 3)
Social Engineering (Objective 9.6)

• Ransomware—malware that attacks a system by

encrypting critical files so the system is no longer
operational
• Scareware—malware that attempts to convince you
something is wrong … and to pay money to fix it

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (1 of 3)
Firewalls (Objective 9.7)

• Firewall—software or hardware designed to protect

computers from hackers

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (2 of 3)
Firewalls (Objective 9.7)

• Windows and macOS provide firewalls

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (3 of 3)
Firewalls (Objective 9.7)

• Packet filtering
– Filter out packets sent to logical ports
• Logical port blocking
– Completely refuses requests from the Internet asking
for access to specific ports
• Network address translation
– Assign IP addresses on a network

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (1 of 3)
Preventing Virus Infections (Objective 9.8)

• Antivirus software
– Detects viruses and
protects your
computer
• Popular programs
– Norton
– Trend Micro

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (2 of 3)
Preventing Virus Infections (Objective 9.8)

• Virus signature
– Portion of the virus code that’s unique to a particular
computer virus
• Quarantining
– Placing virus in a secure area, so it won’t spread to
other files
• Inoculation
– Records key attributes about your computer files and
keep stats in secure place

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (3 of 3)
Preventing Virus Infections (Objective 9.8)

• Drive-by download
– Exploits
weaknesses in
operating systems
– Combat by keeping
OS up to date

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (1 of 2)
Authentication: Passwords and Biometrics (Objective 9.9)

• Strong passwords—at least eight characters and use:

– Uppercase
– Lowercase
– Numeric
– Symbols

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (2 of 2)
Authentication: Passwords and Biometrics (Objective 9.9)

• Biometric Authentication
Devices
– Fingerprint
– Iris pattern in eye
– Voice authentication
– Face pattern
recognition
– Provide a high
level of security

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (1 of 2)
Anonymous Web Surfing: Hiding from Prying Eyes (Objective 9.10)

• Privacy tools
– Private Browsing
– InPrivate
– Incognito
• Virtual private networks
(VPNs)
– Secure networks that
are established using
the public Internet
infrastructure

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Restricting Access to Your Digital Assets (2 of 2)
Anonymous Web Surfing: Hiding from Prying Eyes (Objective 9.10)

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Keeping Your Data Safe
Protecting Your Personal Information (Objective 9.11)

• Reveal as little information as possible

• In Facebook, change your privacy settings

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Keeping Your Data Safe (1 of 2)
Backing Up Your Data (Objective 9.12)

• Backups—copies of files used to replace lost or damaged

originals
– Files to backup
▪ Data files
▪ Program files
– Types of backups
▪ Full
▪ Incremental
▪ Image

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Keeping Your Data Safe (2 of 2)
Backing Up Your Data (Objective 9.12)

Backup location Pros Cons

Online (in the cloud) • Files stored at a secure, remote • Most free storage sites don’t
location provide enough space for image
• Files/backups accessible anywhere backups
through a browser
External hard drive • Inexpensive, One-time cost • Could be destroyed in one event
• Fast backups with U SB 3.0 devices (fire/flood) with your computer
connected directly to your computer • Can be stolen
• Slightly more difficult to back up
multiple computers with one device
Network-attached storage • Makes backups much easier for • More expensive than a stand-alone
device and home server multiple computing devices external hard drive
• Could be destroyed in one event
(fire/flood) with your computer
• Can be stolen

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Protecting Your Physical Computing Assets (1 of 2)
Environmental Factors and Power Surges (Objective 9.13)

• Power surges
– Old or faulty wiring
– Downed power lines
– Lightning strikes
– Electric substation malfunctions

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Protecting Your Physical Computing Assets (2 of 2)
Environmental Factors and Power Surges (Objective 9.13)

• Surge protector/Whole-house
surge protector
– Replace every
2–3 years
– Use with all devices
that have solid-state
components
• U PS
– Battery backup for power
outages

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Protecting Your Physical Computing Assets (1 of 2)
Preventing and Handling Theft (Objective 9.14)

• Three main security concerns with devices:

– Keeping them from being stolen
– Keeping data secure in case they are stolen
– Finding a device if it is stolen

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Protecting Your Physical Computing Assets (2 of 2)
Preventing and Handling Theft (Objective 9.14)

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved

Copyright

This work is protected by United Kingdom copyright laws and is

provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.

© 2023 Pearson Education Ltd. All rights reserved