What can these enemies do? Viruses Viruses are the most widely known security threats, because they often garner extensive press coverage. Viruses are computer programs that are written by devious programmers and are designed to replicate themselves and infect computers when triggered by a specific event. For example, viruses called macro viruses attach themselves to files that contain macro instructions (routines that can be repeated automatically, such as mail merges) and are then activated every...

Importance of SecurityThe Internet has undoubtedly become the largest public data network, enabling and facilitating both personal and business communications worldwide. The volume of traffic moving over the Internet, as well as corporate networks, is expanding exponentially every day. More and more communication is taking place via e-mail; mobile workers, telecommuters, and branch offices are using the Internet to remotely connect to their corporate networks; and commercial transactions completed...