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Monday 19 September 2011

Types Of Viruses



Not all computer viruses behave, replicate, or infect the same way. 
There are several different categories of viruses and malware. Below 
I list and discuss some of the most common types of computer viruses.

Trojan Horse:

A trojan horse program has the appearance of having a useful and desired 
function. While it may advertise its activity after launching, this
information is not apparent to the user beforehand. Secretly the
program performs other, undesired functions. A Trojan Horse neither
replicates nor copies itself, but causes damage or compromises the
security of the computer. A Trojan Horse must be sent by someone or
carried by another program and may arrive in the form of a joke program 
or software of some sort. The malicious functionality of a Trojan Horse may
be anything undesirable for a computer user, including data destruction or compromising a system by providing a means for another computer to gain
access, thus bypassing normal access controls.

Worms:

A worm is a program that makes and facilitates the distribution of copies
of itself; for example, from one disk drive to another, or by copying itself
using email or another transport mechanism. The worm may do damage 
and compromise the security of the computer. It may arrive via exploitation
of a system vulnerability or by clicking on an infected e-mail.

Bootsector Virus:

A virus which attaches itself to the first part of the hard disk that is 
read by the computer upon bootup. These are normally spread by 
floppy disks.

Macro Virus:

Macro viruses are viruses that use another application's macro 
programming language to distribute themselves. They infect 
documents such as MS Word or MS Excel and are typically spread 
to other similar documents.

Memory Resident Viruses:
Memory Resident Viruses reside in a computers volitale memory (RAM). 
They are initiated from a virus which runs on the computer and they
stay in memory after it's initiating program closes.

Rootkit Virus:
A rootkit virus is an undetectable virus which attempts to allow 
someone to gain control of a computer system. The term rootkit comes 
from the linux administrator root user. These viruses are usually installed
by trojans and are normally disguised as operating system files.

Polymorphic Viruses:
A polymorphic virus not only replicates itself by creating multiple files
of itself, but it also changes it's digital signature every time it replicates. 
This makes it difficult for less sophisticated antivirus software to detect.

Logic Bombs/Time Bombs:
These are viruses which are programmed to initiate at a specific date or 
when a specific event occurs. Some examples are a virus which deletes
your photos on Halloween, or a virus which deletes a database table if 
a certain employee gets fired.

 

Sunday 31 July 2011

Disadvantages of Information Technology

Unemployment - While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed.

Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge.

Lack of job security - Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure.

Dominant culture - While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.


Advantages of Information Technology

The advantages of information technology are many. True globalization has come about only via this automated system. The creation of one interdependent system helps us to share information and end linguistic barriers across the continents. The collapse of geographic boundaries has made the world a 'global village'. The technology has not only made communication cheaper, but also possible much quicker and 24x7. The wonders of text messages, email and auto-response, backed by computer security applications, have opened up scope for direct communication.

Computerized, internet business processes have made many businesses turn to the Internet for increased productivity, greater profitability, clutter free working conditions and global clientèle. It is mainly due to the IT industry that people from diverse cultures are able to personally communicate and exchange valuable ideas. This has greatly reduced prejudice and increased sensitivity. Businesses are able to operate 24x7, even from remote locations.

Information technology has rippled on in the form of a Communication Revolution. Specialists in this field like programmers, analyzers and developers are able to further the applications and improve business processes simultaneously. The management infrastructure thus generated defies all boundaries. Among the many advantages of the industry are technical support post-implementation, network and individual desktop management, dedicated business applications and strategic planning for enhanced profitability and effective project management.

IT provides a number of low-cost business options to tap higher productivity with dedicated small business CRM and a special category for the larger operations. Regular upgrades have enabled many businessmen to increase productivity and identify a market niche that would never have been possible without the connectivity. With every subsequent increase in the ROI or Return On Investment, businesses are able to remain buoyant even amidst the economic recession. Not only do people connect faster with the help of information technology, but they are also able to identify like-minded individuals and extend help, while strengthening ties.

This segment revolves around automated processes that require little or no human intervention at all. This in turn has minimized job stress levels at the work place and eliminated repetition of tasks, loss due to human error, risks involved due to negligence of timely upgrades and extensive paper-intensive business applications that result in the accumulation of unnecessary bulk. The sophistication of the modern work stations and general working conditions is possible only due to the development of Information Technology.