Internet Security

To survive in today's highly competitive business environment, which is rapidly transmuting into a cyber village, businesses have to participate in the virtual world by using Internet for not only emailing and chatting but also to tap the vast e-commerce market. However, on one hand, Internet offers limitless opportunities for the entrepreneurs. On the other hand, Internet security and risk management pose monumental challenges for the corporate world today. However, countermeasures can be and must be taken in order to address the issue.
Before plunging into the sea of security issues that surround the use of Internet, let us first look into the commonly followed definition of the umbrella term Internet Security.

Defining Internet Security

Internet security as defined "is the practice of protecting and preserving private resources and information on the Internet" (Internet Security). Hence, Internet security is the fundamental to prevent breach of e-commerce clients' trust and the resultant violation of privacy policies in order to avoid defamation of the companies' hard earned corporate image. This leads us to the next section of our research assignment that discusses the scope of the issue under discussion.

Why Discuss Internet Security? Scope of the Problem

Information is exchanged via Internet use in the corporate world where people can communicate with each other and sell and buy products online using credit cards. Even confidential company data and many other secrets are shared via Internet. However, this paves way for security issues, which make the "circuitous route" of the information being exchanged prone to deception, unauthenticated interruption and other security risks. On the same account, Internet security has transformed into a major concern for all Internet users (Definitions of Internet Security on the web). Therefore, Internet security issues and risk management tips need to be discussed and highlighted for the benefit of the readers and the users alike.

Security-related Risks Associated with Internet Use and Management Strategies

Internet doubtless ameliorates corporate communication, "information sharing, market effectiveness and productivity" (Paliouras). Nonetheless, Internet use has often resulted in "security breaches with known or unknown undesirable consequences ranging from a crippled or hacked corporate network to a ruined reputation and costly litigation". Consequently, content of the emails must be filtered to prevent the above mentioned organizational issues. (Paliouras).

Risk Management via Content Filtering

"Klez worm" including other viruses that can seriously damage the computer system, "junk mail", shopping online using Internet and visiting obscene sites at the organizational cost augment security risks (Paliouras). These risks can be reduced by making sure that employees avoid using company Internet services for irrelevant tasks. However, emails are highly important for business communication and "content filtering" is the best solution to manage security risks. "Advanced text analysis is necessary to prevent users from sending sexually explicit text and racial epithets or sensitive information to unauthorized parties. Lexical analysis is one way to cut down leak of confidential information as most of these files include special words or phrases" (Paliouras). Moreover, "keyword searching and inspection" as well as "advanced image analysis" are some of the really effective weapons to reduce security risks associated with Internet use.

This is where the significance of information systems comes into play. With the aid of constructing appropriate systems and using adequate content filtering software, companies can block unnecessary and potentially harmful and insecure attachments from entering and infecting the computers.

A three-step approach inclusive of conceiving, constructing and consolidating been recommended by information systems companies in order to efficiently with security risks associated with the use of Internet (Internet security challenges). However, the extent to which Internet use is secured primarily depends upon the company's "security awareness" (Katos). When electronically operating firms believe in cherishing their clientele's trust and therefore make every attempt to secure their operations via security checks, secured systems and well-planned security policies, security risks tremendously plummet and the firm's reputation improves. Also, with security awareness, firms tend to be better equipped with latest advancements in the field of information systems.

Conclusion

Hence from the above discussion it is evident that Internet security and risk management pose monumental challenges for the corporate world today. However, countermeasures can be and must be taken in order to address the issue. Those computer organizations that take help and make the most out of Information Systems are the ones that benefit the most in the long run. This is because Information systems offer a vast variety of security software, with the aid of which, organizations can reduce the risk of Internet use. Managing Internet security related risks is no long an out-of-this-word task if adequate knowledge and timely application of Information systems is made available. Therefore, to address Internet security issues, the basic knowledge of Information Systems Fundamentals is essential. Moreover, extensive research and progress is demanded in the field of information systems in order to create "new defense mechanisms"

Tim Johnson Junior is a freelance writer, CRWA certified resume writer and career coach. Has written over 2000 articles and essays on the subject of Social Issues. Has worked for Essaymart's custom writing department from 2003 to 2005. Currently, Tim is busy helping professionals and executives optimize their careers at a certified Resume Writing firm, ResumeAid.

Effectiveness of a Bank Identification Number Database

In today's electronic world, a lot of transactions are performed online over the Internet platform which poses a great risk on fraud transactions. Effective preventive measures are required to ensure a safe online transaction. One currently available effective measure is the use of the bank identification number on the credit card number. It is the first 6 digits of the 16 digits on any credit card.

BIN details

This BIN information is updated daily to keep track on the information that is necessary in combating credit card frauds. You can identify the country of origin and the bank which issued the credit card using the bank identification number on the card. You can determine the type of card which is represented by the bank identification number such as credit, debit, prepaid, charge or secured card.

The bank can also determine the card subtypes such as classic, electron or business as well as validate the card brand like Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

There is additional information stored in the bank such as the city, chip availability and telephone number.

Advantages

A BIN can be easily customized to your business needs; it is possible to integrate any credit card's BIN checker to your business demands and requirements so that you can block off even the poor performing banks.

You can also set the restriction preference on merchants and countries to reduce your online transaction frauds.

Bank identification numbers can be used to charge different fees for different types. This may be necessary for cards which are issued outside your country; an extra fee is usually imposed on non-resident credit cards for the exchange rates.

Some merchants tend to charge more on business cards than personal cards. As a merchant with active transactions, both online and offline, it is advisable to use a BIN database service which allows you to confirm your business transactions securely without the worry of frauds and scams.

BIN Conditions

For a identification number to be effective, it has to be user friendly. This is where a professionally handled BIN database is essential. It ensures that your BIN database will always be up-to-date with the necessary information for an accurate check on card used on the transaction.

The BIN database must also be accurate. This is where the latest state-of-the-art technology must be engaged to ensure its high accuracy. However, these BIN databases must be monitored closely with regular updates as there are constantly new merchants and banks setting up with many retailers and banks under receivership.

Dependability is another important criterion of identification number databases where accuracy in spelling will increase the search quality. It would be an added plus point if the BIN database achieves the ISO certification to assure the users of standard conformity.

Bin Database provides the most comprehensive and complete database of Bank Identification Number on the internet. Online Bank Identification Number Bin Lookup helps to Prevent Fraud Attempts and Reduce Chargebacks.

Security Solutions For Businesses

With the internet becoming a primary way in which businesses interact and communicate with their clients or customers it is important to note the real threat that is prevalent to business's online security. Businesses internet security is vital in their everyday operations and ensuring the effective management and security of their online assets is vital. By using certain security it will provide a safe computing environment that will stay fast, connected and available to businesses and their consumers to ensure regular business operation is maintained.

Cloud Computing Cloud computing provides businesses the ability to reduce capital and operating expenses. It also enables a business to increase its reliability and agility of its critical information systems. Private cloud computing allows a business to control the internal and external cloud resources used. However using cloud computing is risky without trust. In addition the correct development of a cloud can be difficult and without satisfactory security information can be viewed by those who you don't wish to see it.

Secure Internet Gateway A secure internet gateway is essential for a business in regards to the critical information, assets and data that a business utilises. Leaking private business information could be detrimental to a business's position in the market and their reputation. If information is leaked to the public competitors gain a business advantage if the information is relevant. It's these potential risks that enforces the requirement of a secure internet gateway for a business.

Managed Security Services There are many services that can be implemented to assist in the negation of security attacks. Some include managed firewall, managed network and host intrusion detection and prevention; manage IPSec and SSL VPN, real-time threat analysis and incident response and managed mail gateway. These services and others of the like are vital in preventing threats to businesses internet security and can be identified and solved in real-time. This allows the business to focus on their own business objectives whilst having an input and understanding in the way the security solutions are implemented.

These are just a few examples of types of internet security that businesses can use to protect themselves and their assets from potential threats. This will help avoid leaked information to the public and competitors, and will ensure that the business maintains its information over these competitors. There is an abundance of security types and packages that vary in nature and can be effective for different types of business requirements.

Computer Internet Security - 10 Key Questions to Ask Before Buying Internet Security Software

Congratulations on making a very wise decision regarding your personal computer internet security with respect to buying antivirus software. Now that you are ready to take the plunge and spend some money on internet security products such as antivirus software, it is important to understand exactly what this protective software does. Basically antivirus software has three goals:

• To prevent a virus infection from reaching your computer/network system before any damage can be done. The antivirus software has a database containing the virus identification (called signatures) of all known viruses (at the time the software was created), and this can run into thousands of signatures. When you download information to your computer or network from an outside source, be it the Internet or a disk, the antivirus program scans the incoming information for any of the virus signatures that are in its database. If a virus is identified, you are notified, before the downloaded information is allowed entry into your computer or network.
• Provides a first line of defence against incoming virus threats, if the software is installed on a computer network, so that the network administrator has time to take action to stop the virus from entering the system, or if already there, keep it from spreading and then disinfect (clean) any parts of the network that have been corrupted by the virus.
• To take the necessary steps to clean and repair your computer and/or network by either eliminating the infection and repairing damaged files or moving the corrupted files to a safe or quarantine area so that no further damage can be done by the virus.

Understanding what an internet security system should do is only one part of the journey. It is also very important to be able to make an informed decision as to the best internet security software that will meet your requirements from the many security products currently available.

Here are 10 key questions to ask about any computer internet security you may be planning to purchase.

1. Given the fact that the computer industry experts claim that there are between 1 to 500 new viruses appearing daily, you need to ask how many different viruses the internet security software can detect.
2. As noted in the first question, with the huge number of viruses appearing, ask how often you will be sent updates to the antivirus program database to ensure that your protection is up to date.
3. Ask how easy it is to get the updated information about new viruses.
4. Does the antivirus software have the ability to detect unusual or suspicious activity in your computer or network that may be the work of an unidentified virus?
5. If purchasing the internet security system for use on a server, then can the antivirus program detect virus threats in compressed files?
6. How stable is the virus alarm system, as you do not want to be flooded with virus alerts that turn out to be false?
7. Ask how the internet security system notifies you of an impending virus threat.
8. Are there any custom settings available in the computer internet security program that would allow you to quickly scan certain parts of your hard drive files and directories which may be more prone to virus infections?
9. Is there a scanning log to inform you what was detected, what was done to the infected files and what if anything more you need to do?
10. What effect does installing and running the computer internet security software have on your computer and/or network operating speeds? (Some brands of security software may not be advisable for slower Internet connection speeds or even allowed by the Internet Service Provider due to their drain on the system.)

I sincerely hope that using the questions provided above as your buying guide will help you to make an informed decision about the best security for your computing needs when looking at the many different internet security software reviews and products.

In addition to his job as a computer teacher, Barry has earned several awards for his article writing efforts on a variety of topics. Visit his website Computer Internet Security.Com to learn more about computer internet security or to discover his recommended best internet security software.

Internet Information Safety: Your First Steps in Protection and Awareness

Today's article focuses on a few quick, but simple techniques that I use to remain a little less vulnerable while surfing the web. Some you already use and others you may not but they are simple and easily integrated.

Quickly glance up to your address bar when entering information and see if it is a secure page by looking for the https:// indicator, a website address can be http or https, and the added 's' after 'http' is a very good indicator of how safe you are filling out a form or giving information on that site.

If you find yourself clicking on a link taking you to one of your major sites, such as Google, eBay, amazon, or other frequently visited sites, make sure the page feels right to you and that your information is being asked in a familiar manner. If not, there are times I will close out my browser and type in the site name itself to know that it isn't a ghost site or phishing site. Then you can always search the site for the information you were looking for.

Add a special character to your password: I know it is easier to have 1234 be a password but it offers very little resistance to thieves online and they are always looking for the easiest way in. A special character could simply be password0# or changing letters to a symbol like pa$$word08, adding a number and a character is much harder to power through with a password cracker.

Be sure to change your passwords periodically as the more you enter a password around the internet the more likely it is to be discovered. By changing your passwords you leave those that have obtained your information at a loss when they go to enter your information finding out that the password no longer works.

To take your safety to a higher level you can always "hire" someone to monitor and keep your information safe. You may be aware of companies designed to monitor and track your credit card score and activities to warn you of odd charges or a change in your score. There are also companies that will keep your password and log-in information safe and organized effectively doing for your internet safety what these other companies do for your financial security. Please check out the resource box below for more information on one of the best of these password and information protectors.

These are very simple yet effective methods that help you be more aware of your activity and vulnerability on the internet.

Thank you,

David Roman

http://www.techwizdom.com

2011 Computer Security Incidents Have Made Headlines

2011 is turning out to be busy for those involved in information security, so far there have been the following information security related incidents in the headlines during the first 5 months of the year:

February 2011 HB Gary hack attack by the group known as Anonymous.
March 2011 RSA hack stole token data, (attackers were reportedly advanced persistent threats).
April 2011 Sony hack data theft reportedly involving information related to 77 million accounts and 2.2M credit cards.
April 2011 Epsilon victimized by a hack attack, email addresses stolen.
WikiLeaks related attacks perpetrated by the group known as Anonymous.
April 2011 Ritz-Carlton Hotel customers data stolen in a hack attack.
April 2011 Amazon Web Services cloud outage (non-availability).
May 2011 Lockheed Martin (details were not disclosed).
May 2011 Woodside Petroleum (Australia's largest oil company said attacks were coming from everywhere).
May 2011 Public Broadcasting (a phony news story and lists of reporters accounts and passwords were posted to a PBS site.)
May 2011 A New York Congressman reported a lewd photo had been mailed when his Twitter account was hacked.

Hacking is a type of directed attack typically executed by an external human using tradecraft methods to exploit accessible vulnerabilities and inflict damage. Protection methods are usually applied to limit the damage inflicted during an attack, limit the duration of an attack or deter an attacker. The effectiveness of any protection measures in use is clearly at issue when a successful attack occurs. Forensic tools and methods are used to analyze attacks allowing lessons learned to be captured and documented. Data theft is often motivated by financial gain, focused on credit card data for sale to fraudsters or email addresses for sale to spammers.

Non-availability incidents occur for any number of reasons, often not involving malicious activity. Such incidents can grow as related resources cascade into failure, a phenomena with potentially wide spread impact.

The Internet is often used to deliver the attack. The nature of giant public networks facilitate anonymity while being reliable and predictable.

The list does not include a huge number of incidents based on malicious code that have become common events or the large number of incidents involving sensitive, typically government, sites that never make it into the press.

The rapidly evolving sophistication of hacking attacks is a cause for concern. State sponsored activity involving "Advanced Persistent Threats" is emerging from behind the curtains as a valid concern for enterprises worldwide. The press in not likely to suffer from a shortage of material for their headlines for the remainder of 2011.

The incidents mentioned are from press articles that can usually be found in the publisher's archives. A search using the name of the victim and "hack" can often find a no cost article.

Important Reasons To Use Web Security

If you work or shop online it will be essential for you to have plenty of protection. Having some good internet security will be a must for anyone who uses the web for business, shopping and other reasons as well. There are many people who use various types of antivirus protection, but unfortunately it is not enough. Here is more valuable information in regard to this matter and some reasons to use web security.

The term internet security refers to methods that are being used to help provide some protection for any data or information for the computer from an unauthorized person. Today this is becoming more and more of a serious matter. Anyone who uses the internet for whatever reason should always take this into consideration. People who use the internet should be fully aware of all the problems that come from this issue.

One of the more common ways that most people use for protection of important information is encryption of data. This encryption of data is something that deals with wrapping up any and all original information that is to becoming an unintelligible form which can then be decoded with the use of various methods. This encrypted form is known as a cipher text.

A password is commonly used as so to provide some protection from any illegal access of any data, securing the entire system. The construction of these passwords should always be created in a way so to prevent others from ever being able to guess it. There are quite a lot of methods that are used as internet protection.

One is the firewalls, which is a software that can filter any illegal access to a network. This should always have some proper configuration and will be combined with the proxy firewall for added security.

All computers will need to be protected from the many viruses that exist. There are several of them, such as worms, Trojan horse, and several others that can infect your computer from any files that are downloaded over the internet. The viruses are nothing more than programs which are installed alone and will run whenever host program runs and will then cause an attack.

One popular method is with the use of ScanSafe. ScanSafe is a provider that has a great track record and is proven to be quite effective for identifying any and all threats as this is very important to protect and also manage any web access. The company offer one of the best means of protection for your computer anytime you are on the internet, as it offers you very effective web security than most other existing solutions that are available.

For more information about Scansafe or Cloud Computing visit Ancoris who are are a authorised Google Apps Reseller.

How to Get Paid for Translation Work

You found your translation customer, you got your translation job, you work hard, but then when it comes time to get paid you get the silent treatment from your new customer. Or perhaps you worked for them for a longer period of time, always getting smaller jobs, but you got the silent treatment after you completed a rather large project.

This is the dread of every translator and what you too will experience if you are not careful. But there are ways you can avoid this.

First of all you should always check the reputation of a new translation customer before accepting any work from them. The best place to check this is on Proz.com's BlueBoard. Without a membership you can see the company's overall score, but not the comments submitted by other translators. If you have no membership and want to see the comments from other translators, you can invest 20$ into your "wallet", where each $1 investment entitles you to permanent access to the comments concerning one customer. Translatorscafe.com is another good site, although also restricted to non-members, and translationpayments.com is fully and freely accessible.

If you place your hopes on a contract it will only work if properly formulated and applicable in the country where the customer is registered. Since the translation industry has become so globalised this can be a rare luxury. And even if you do write up a solid contract with a customer in its own country, if they do not want to pay you will probably find it very difficult to exact payment from them. You will need to prove that your translation was not faulty, that they assigned you the work, there will be legal fees, and generally the entire headache might not be worth it. Not to mention that there are some sharks out there who have a very fancy looking website but who are in the habit of transferring it to a new name and changing the company name in the header every time they decide to press the reset button and run away from those they owe payment to.

If you do get stuck in the trap, the best response is to remain polite but keep calling them, plead them, and perhaps make up some story how you have mouths to feed, etc. Appealing to their sympathy should generally yield better results than hostile threats over the phone. If the first approach fails, then you can resort to the latter.

If you do get burned make sure to report it on all the translation payment reputation forums to protect others and make it more difficult for such companies to operate.

If you are fortunate to work for a reliable translation company and it looks like payment is in the bag, there are many ways you can receive the payment. One obvious one is by bank transfer, but the fees for such payment can be rather high - not only for the sender but also for you, the recipient. Furthermore, sometimes an intermediary bank is required, and although they are not supposed to charge anything, often they do.

Very common in the translation industry now is to get paid by PayPal.com or Moneybookers.com. These fees are generally low (unless the payment is made from different continents) and the transfer is immediate. It is easy to set up these online accounts and they can be hooked up to your bank account and/or you can order a credit card and withdraw your money through any bank machine. But be aware that these are not actual banks, with a physical headquarters you can come complain to, so make sure to remember your password and secret security questions. If you forget the latter you may have a problem accessing your account. With PayPal you can also arrange for payment by credit card. The system designs a fancy "Buy Now" button for you and your customer is directed from your website to PayPal's secure online payment system - at no cost to you!

These are the most common forms of payment, but such services are not necessarily available in all countries. In which case you might try WesternUnion, although Unistream charges significantly lower fees - so check them out first. But most customers will not want to pay by these means. You will probably need to offer an exotic language combination for them to accept such forms of payment.

Further details:
Getting paid for translation work
Email to 16,000 translation companies

Tracking IP Addresses With A Reliable IP Geolocation Database

The number of people showing interests in tracking IP addresses has really has really increased since the past few months. This is expected considering the millions of people who use the internet for one thing or the other. As a matter of fact, over a billion people use the internet for various online ventures; and that is why it is difficult to ignore the benefits of owning a credible IP geolocation database. We all already understand how internet protocol addresses are attached to cities by an ISP; essentially, this is to make the process of identification very easy. However, a lot of mistakes have been made recently by people who lack adequate knowledge on the importance of a reliable database.

However, internet protocol addresses are no longer attached to a particular location these days; and is indeed a big challenge for those who want to want to locate people by internet protocol. For various reasons, a lot of proxies are now being used to make it difficult to locate the exact location of a visitor to a website. This is not only seen as a concern; but a situation that may lead to a lot of confusion when it comes to tracking IP addresses. Accessibility to quality and consistent data is also affected by this development, and the only way out is to own a reliable IP country database.

One issue that must not be compromised when considering an IP city database is reliability. Anyone serious about tracking IP addresses should know that he/she requires more than generalized information. Although a reliable database may not be able to provide some personal information of an internet protocol address; it should at least be able to pin-point the exact location of the address. Any effort not capable of providing adequate information relevant to your search should be treated as inconsequential; and should be discontinued as soon as possible.

Business and profit are inseparable; that is why you need accurate data of people who visit your website always. The importance of this kind of information can be better appreciated from the perspective of meeting the tastes of customers. The customer base will definitely improve when their needs are treated with top-most priority; and this requires owning a quality IP country database. When this is taken care of, you can design your website to meet their needs.

Remarkably, no business can succeed without satisfying the needs of customers; this is one reason tracking IP addresses will benefit you in the long run!

A good site to actually see how accurate IP Geolocation works is at http://www.trackipaddresses.com/. Check out their features and learn more how precise position profiling of online visitors could help businesses and other online ventures. For more information, Visit Track IP Addresses!

A Smart Way to Secure Multiple Websites

Since the very beginning of online ecommerce transactions website security has been a victim of cyber attacks. Cyber Security is in high demand. Protecting websites with guaranteed SSL Certificates will ensure that all data sent by site users to the server will be encrypted and cannot be viewed by hackers. This encryption ensures that the user's data cannot be misused or tampered with.

Extended validation certificate were designed to increase the magnitude of ecommerce security and for increased protection against phishing attacks. The address bar displays a green color bar and your website is visibly guaranteed and more trusted than with other certificates. By taking these steps, ecommerce merchants can increase the trust and purchase conversion rate with their customers and create long-term income.

If you are looking for an executable online security solution involving several websites, EV Multi Domain SSL Certificates (MDCs) are a reputable choice. A single EV Multi-Domain SSL can secure multiple websites. And the best part is that the green address bar displayed for visitors of all websites secured with one certificate, creating their trust in your websites and assuring trusted and secure transactions of the highest levels.

Multi Domain EV SSL Certificates (EV MDCs) allow you to secure up to 2500 different domains or sub-domains with a one certificate. EV technology adds an additional layer of trust to your online transactions by changing the address bar to green every time a customer enters the certified region of your web position.

Some of the key benefits of EV MDCs:

• SGC enabled - tough coding
• 128-bit to 256-bit cryptography
• Full enterprise marker
• $250,000 warranty
• Site Accolade
• Express livery
• Installation draw
• 99.9% browser identification rank
• Supports wandering devices
• Includes 30-day issuance shelter

A multi domain certificate is important for organizations that feature multiple unique domains hosted on a single server. This saves you time and money by providing a high level of trust, reliance and guarantee.

Comodo SSL Certificates

Comodo provides the maximum level of protection at unmatched prices. As the second largest provider of business-validated certificates, Comodo ensures that millions of transactions are safely performed every day.

ComodoSSLStore.com is one of the largest global SSL certificate providers. We buy SSL certificates in large quantities and pass the savings on to you. To learn more about Comodo SSL Certificates visit http://comodosslstore.com/

Cost-Effective Firewall Solutions For Small Business

Whenever firewalls and network security come into play, there is a surprising amount of oversight and lack of attention in the small business world. Many shops are running just the regular router they get from their ISP, with NAT being their sole defense against the outside world, and even that, arguably, is not a defense at all. When asked about this setup, they smile sheepishly and say: "We can't afford a good firewall solution! We'll have to make do with this until we can."

This is a cringe-worthy response: I'm a big believer in proactive IT, and security is one of those areas, along with backups, that get neglected because of cost. Because there is no immediate value-add to security (indeed, the effect of good security is invisible), many companies choose to invest that money elsewhere, reasoning that they can't afford an effective firewall appliance like a Sonicwall or an ASA.

Given today's recession, many small businesses have to cut operating costs, and sadly firewalls are an area that may not be as immediately necessary as others. The saddest part, however, is that there are open-source solutions out there that make perfectly serviceable firewalls for nothing but the cost of an outdated PC or virtual machine.

IPCop - Cost Effective Firewall
IPCop, the example we'll use in this article, is an open-source OS based on Linux that is designed to act as a firewall and router. Unlike a vanilla Linux distro running iptables, IPCop goes far beyond simple add and drop rules; it has features one might expect from a more advanced firewall appliance, including intrusion detection, VPN services, and traffic shaping capability. IPCop was designed for this very application (cost-effective firewall solution) and as such it is made for the small business network admin in mind: The entire OS is run through a stylish web interface, allowing easy administration of the IPCop firewall from any web-accessible machine, and the installation is straightforward and full of easy-to-understand directions.

IPCop is one of a number of distros, like Smoothwall, which aim to be full-featured firewalls for small business. Unlike Smoothwall and others, however, IPCop is completely free, thus making the insertion of an IPCop instance in your network both a painless and extremely cost-effective solution, especially where a dedicated hardware firewall appliance is an expense your business simply cannot afford.

IPCop Disadvantages
IPCop does have its disadvantages, of course, especially when compared to a more robust appliance like a Cisco ASA. It lacks the fine granularity of IOS, for example, and some of the more advanced ACLs and command-line magic the IOS performs is beyond the scope of the IPCop instances. That said, however, IPCop comes very close to the performance of an entry-level ASA, and many of the functions an ASA provides are duplicated effectively in IPCop's web interface.

Linux Distro
The title of this article, however, is not "Best firewall appliance". We're here to talk about cost-effective firewall solutions, and in that regard a Linux-based distro is unbeatable. While it does require some spare hardware, the system requirements are quite sparse, and so the implementation cost is minimal at best (and the software is, of course, open-source and free). In fact, even disregarding the price, I am willing to put forth the semi-controversial idea that IPCop may be as good as a dedicated firewall device in a small business setting; many of the functions it provides are more than suitable for a small business network.

That said, no network should be without security; the cost of a firewall appliance, though prohibitive, need not stop a small business from implementing security solutions. With open-source, free solutions like IPCop, a network admin can insert a firewall into his network infrastructure at little to no cost, immediately making his network more secure and giving him the power and functionality of a dedicated firewall appliance at a fraction of the price.

LearnComputer! (learncomputer.com) offers instructor-led local, online and onsite Networking courses for companies and individuals. Sign up for an upcoming Networking course with LearnComputer! today and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career!

Information Security Awareness Crucial to Combat Cybercrime in European Union

Over the recent years, countries across the world have witnessed major advancements in information technology. European Union has been one of the major regions, which has witnessed tremendous advancements in Internet infrastructure. The region has high Internet adoption rates and broadband connections. The Union plans to implement e-governance between Brussels based EU parliament and 27 member-countries. However, high Internet usage makes EU susceptible to cybercrime and cyber-attacks.

Recently, Europol, EU's law enforcement agency released a report highlighting the threats posed by cybercrime. According to the report, the dynamic nature of cybercrime makes it inevitable for all stakeholders such as law enforcement agencies, academic institutions, Internet service providers, financial institutions and Internet security firms to collaborate with each other and enhance information security awareness among the people. The collaboration may facilitate information sharing, development of technical tools and promote research and development to counter cybercrime.

Crime has evolved as an organized activity and criminals are using a combination of online and offline channels to perpetuate crime. The growth of crime has led to the creation of illicit markets for selling stolen information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, names, date of birth and contact details. European Union countries must make efforts to create awareness among Internet users against sophisticated crime mechanisms such as social engineering techniques, data breaches, online solicitation, installation of botnets, and abuse of unsecured wireless connections. Internet users must be made aware of the risks involved in online payment transactions and downloads from suspicious sites and unsolicited e-mails.

The organized cybercrime syndicates have clearly defined specialists for code writing, Internet hosting, launching phishing attacks, pharming and hacking among many others. Countries need to create a strong force of information security professionals to deal with the constantly evolving crime in the Internet environment. The all-pervasive nature of Internet facilitates criminals in initiating crime from any part of the world. Businesses worldwide are forced to spend considerable resources to deal with cybercrime. Organizations can streamline Internet infrastructure by availing services such as penetration testing, security auditing, ethical hacking, and vulnerability assessment. Such services may help in proactive protection against dynamic threats in the IT environment.

information security,
information security professionals