Security is a crucial part of owning a computer or using a
public computer. Being proactive can
save an individual or school from all the damage an electronic infection can
cause. Getting a virus, Trojan horse, or
computer worm can be very dangerous and damaging to a computer. An electronic infection that a human being
creates properly can have a devastating effect on a computer. An example in the reading that shows how much
damage a computer worm can have on a computer is the Mydoom worm. The site said that in a single day about a
quarter-million computers were infected.
There have also been viruses so powerful that large companies such as
Microsoft have been forced to shut down their e-mail system until the virus
could be contained. With the increased
use and reliance on the internet, it is important for individuals and schools
to go out of their way to protect their computers.
I am not currently teaching at a school but have used
computers at many different schools. I
substituted in a long-term position at a middle school and learned a lot about
the action they take to protect the computers from malicious software and
hackers. One way that schools protect
themselves is by assigning each individual has their own login and password
that should not be shared with anyone else.
This allows the school technology teacher to be able to see what sites
each individual has accessed and can be alerted if a student is using sites that
are not for educational use or that may have viruses. The technology administrator also has the
ability to block all users from Facebook, Twitter, and many other personal
sites that can have viruses attached to certain links etc. I have seen and clicked on links on social
media websites that are carrying electronic infections and if schools block
these sites they are protecting themselves from getting viruses. If a school computer receives any type of
Malware it can easily be spread among students and educators through e-mail and
it can shut down a large amount of computers in a smaller period of time. Finally, the school downloaded an
anti-virus/spyware to help protect their data and computer system. A spyware or anti-virus can help protect a
school because the software scans computer files, locates the viruses and
removes them. This is crucial in a
school because students are constantly searching the internet, bringing in
flash drives that have been used on home computers, and checking e-mails that
can contain Malware. It is the responsibility
of the educator to help teach students about how they can help protect the
school from Malware and monitor their students to ensure that they are following
rules and regulations while on school computers.
