I heard it once said that "the problem with our economic structure is that it is based on the premise where the one who will be able to take advantage of most people, wins," but if that's true then we really have no reason to blame people who take advantage of the provisions of the so-called "free enterprise" now do we? Take hackers for instance, they're doing exactly or almost exactly what free enterprise encourages all entrepreneurs, and that's to take advantage of the situation and turn things around to ones favor.
The only problem is that they're anonymous, they don't pay taxes and they steal a lot of money and valuable information from everyone else.
I used to think that by arming myself with enough information on how to fix my computer when it is infected by a virus will keep me safe, but all that notion has gone out the window when I found out that today hackers use viruses and malwares as a spy or infiltration unit.
Once they get inside your computer the only way you will be safe is to pull the RJ-45 cable from your LAN port or turn off your WiFi.
That is of course assuming the hacker hasn't got your information yet (i.
e.
username, passwords, credit card numbers etc.
).
The Traditional Method The basic principle to remove a threat from your computer is to treat it with an anti-virus client or A/V client, but there were times even though the system was protected by three nearly impregnable firewalls was still breached by very clever hackers.
It's just like what Morpheus (Laurence Fishburn) said in the movie The Matrix "...
a system is based on rules and rules can be bent or broken," and certainly hackers would know how to bend and break any system designed by binary codes.
Point in fact: A/V clients don't work.
Only 5 years after people using A/V clients since it was first launched there have been numerous successful data intrusions that occurred and many information stolen.
Base from experience I can tell you that just about every A/V client I tried could not fix my computer, because the virus has already got-a-hold of my system.
Any Other Possible Methods Being Explored? Fortunately the answer to that is yes.
The Cloud Computing System/Network is currently being exploited to create a better A/V client (some even consider building an entire IT Department from this virtual resource, which is within the realm of possibility) to deter any data breaches and/or hacking.
The idea of using Cloud as the launching platform to protect any remote endpoints (computers) has been predicted more than a decade ago.
There are small business right now that are doing this but a lot of people does not understand this concept yet and that's why there's very little buzz about it - even on the internet.
Think of it as a better version of me to fix my computer; however, before we proceed in discussing the details of a Cloud-based IT Department we will first understand what Cloud is.
Cloud Computing For a detailed explanation you can also look up Cloud Computing on Wikipedia or just use Google.
But here's the shorter version of it: Cloud Computing is a virtual repository of hundreds if not thousands of databases around the world that works with one purpose - to share information faster and making access to it more efficient.
There's virtually everything in it such as audio mp3s, data, files, videos, documents and so much more.
Using Cloud as a Resource of a Virtual IT Department Imagine you've got hundreds of people working for you and you're running a business where information gathering is of the utmost importance, and imagine if all them can gather up to date information to aid you in deciding what assets to buy and what to sell.
You'd be the richest person in the world! A Cloud-based IT Department is somewhat similar to that idea where a certain company will use Cloud as a resource/database exchange access point and where all information about computer bugs, worms, malwares and viruses are stored and updated every minute.
Now a remote user's (client's) computer will be scanned for threats, the threats will then be analyzed and matched against all known information about them.
Afterwards they will be stored in various databases that have been designated for them, if there are unknown threats the system filter will send them to a testing facility where they will undergo an offline mockup procedure in order for the system to identify them further.
If they're a threat then immediately they will be sent to the known threats database and if they're not a threat they will be allowed into the system.
This seems like a perfect system where viruses and malwares won't be able to do their dirty tricks, but then again there's the déjà vu of the Matrix paradox - ditto! Still it's worth the shot and so far no complaints about data breaches have been reported by businesses subscribed to this kind of network protection.
Conclusion This system may not be perfect but it's a hell lot better than traditional A/V clients where you get infected by a virus during system updates.
That just sucks! In my opinion I think that hackers will really have a hard time penetrating this kind of defense, unless of course they have access to a similar system, which is very unlikely.
If they want to get access to a Cloud Computing System they're going to have to build one of their own at the cost of their anonymity, because they'll be easier to track if they did that.