{ 4 }Cryptography
  
Information security uses cryptography to transform usable information into a form that renders it unusable by anyone other than an authorized user; this process is called encryption. Information that has been encrypted (rendered unusable) can be transformed back into its original usable form by an authorized user, who possesses the cryptographic key, through the process of decryption. Cryptography is used in information security to protect information from unauthorized or accidental disclosure while the information is in transit (either electronically or physically) and while information is in storage.
Cryptography provides information security with other useful applications as well including improved authentication methods, message digests, digital signatures, non-repudiation, and encrypted network communications. Older less secure application such as telnet and ftp are slowly being replaced with more secure applications such as ssh that use encrypted network communications. Wireless communications can be encrypted using protocols such as WPA/WPA2 or the older (and less secure) WEP. Wired communications (such as ITU-T G.hn) are secured using AES for encryption and X.1035 for authentication and key exchange. Software applications such as GnuPG or PGP can be used to encrypt data files and Email.
Cryptography can introduce security problems when it is not implemented correctly. Cryptographic solutions need to be implemented using industry accepted solutions that have undergone rigorous peer review by independent experts in cryptography. The length and strength of the encryption key is also an important consideration. A key that is weak or too short will produce weak encryption. The keys used for encryption and decryption must be protected with the same degree of rigor as any other confidential information. They must be protected from unauthorized disclosure and destruction and they must be available when needed. PKI solutions address many of the problems that surround key management.

{ 3 }Backup
  
  
When backing up your data, you will need some offline storage device such as one or more of:

• Tape Storage Device.
• Zip drive.
• Writeable CD ROM or DVD drive.

Items to back up

You should remember when doing a backup that there are several items that you should back up. They include:

• File Data
• Mail Data
• Web site favorites
• Possibly your desktop (Some people save their files on their desktop)

These instructions do not cover backing up program files but most of those files are in the directory "C:\Program Files\".

Data Locations

Most user data is in the user folder and subfolders in the path C:\Documents and Settings\username\ and backing up this complete file should get most items in many cases. You should be aware of where your data is stored and review these locations before backing up your data. Also some folders that your data is stored in are hidden folders so you may need to change your settings so you can see hidden files and folders. The page How to Configure your Windows System to Show File Extensions All the Time shows how to change these settings.
If you store your files in "My Documents" which is the default Windows location you can normally find the folder in "C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents" where "username" is the login identifier you login to the system with. If you do not login, you probably have a default user set up. You should open your Control Panel "Users and Passwords" applet to determine your settings and possible user name. Normally your data is stored on your C: drive but depending on how your system is configured, it may be on another drive.

Continue Security Measures

{ 2 }Firewall
 
To answer that question, some networking background information must first be outlined. I will try not to get too technical in this area by simplifying the explanations and examples. When information is sent across the internet or a network, there are two very basic items that are required to make sure the information gets where it is intended to go and processed properly. They are:

• An address - An address is basically an indicator which enables data intended for a computer to locate it. It is similar to an address on a letter which is used by the postal service to find the right house number that a letter in being sent to. Each computer has an address which is used to locate it when information is being sent to it.
• A port - A port is a networking reference number used with the TCP/IP networking protocol which associates network packets (information sent over the network) with services or application programs. The port number helps indicate which program running on a receiving computer will process the information received.

When a computer is operating, there are usually many programs running on it at the same time even though some of these programs may be running in the background and the computer user is not aware of all of them. Some programs "listen" on one or more ports for information intended for them. One example of this is your internet browser. After it has requested a web page, it sets up a return port number for the information sent back to it to be received on. When the data arrives on the expected port, the internet browser program knows that it should process it. It receives the information, formats it, and displays it on your computer screen.
To put it simply, there are two main types of firewalls. They are:

• Packet filtering
• Application Firewall

Packet Filtering Firewall

Generally and simply put, a packet filtering firewall examines the ports that the information is intended for and will either allow the information to be sent through or prevent the information from getting to the computer and specific program that may have processed it.
The firewalls I refer to as corporate firewalls are used to protect what is called a private network. A private network is a special network which is hidden behind one network device (usually a firewall). The firewall may use only one address on the internet or only a handful of addresses on the internet while there are hundreds or thousands of computers behind the firewall on the corporate network. The figure below illustrates this. Each small box represents a computer which may be a computer used by an employee of the organization that owns the network.

Security Measures

Security Measures

If you do not at least have a personal firewall and anti-virus protection then you should not connect your computer to the internet. Not following these basic requirements is a perfect formula for getting trojans, viruses, worms, and backdoors which can ruin your system causing you to need to reformat your hard drive and re-install your operating system.
      
  Security Procedures
  
 { 1 }Anti-virus
      
Anti virus programs are designed to protect computer systems from viruses. These programs provide two levels of functionality when protecting against viruses:

• Real time protection
• Scaning of files stored on computer drives or disks.

Anti-virus programs can detect viruses two ways:

• Footprint of virus program - This method is the most common method used to identify viruses and false positives are extremely rare. It compares the virus footprint against a library of known footprints which match viruses. A footprint is a pattern in the data included in a file. Using this method, viruses must be identified as viruses, then added to the library of footprints. The advantage to this method lies in the fact that false positives are extremely rare. The disadvantage to this method is the fact that there is a time period between when the virus is released to when the library of known footprints is updated. During this time period, the virus will not be recognized and could infect a computer.
• Characteristics of program - This is called heuristic scanning and examines the actions that the program attempts to take or may attempt to take. It looks at the type of system function calls included in the executable code and if it looks too suspicious, it may flag the program as a possible virus and ask for user intervention. The advantage to this method is the fact that there is no time period when the computer is not protected after specific viruses are released. The disadvantages include the fact that false positives may occur and some viruses may not be identified.

I recommend a product that uses both of the above methods to scan for viruses. When viruses are identified with a library of footprints, the anti-virus program can usually be configured to automatically download the latest library of footprints periodically. I recommend that this be no less than once per day since a delay would increase the chance of unrecognized viruses infecting the computer system being protected.
There are several actions that anti-virus programs take or may take when a virus is found. Usually options are configured in the program to attempt one action first, then if that fails try a second action, etc.

• Repair the file that has the virus. Usually this is attempted first.
• Quarantine the file that has the virus so no program can access it but it could be restored. Usually this is done when a virus laden file cannot be repaired.
• Delete the file that has the virus.

Anti-Virus Measures

• If you do not have an anti-virus product, purchase one. Check the anti-virus products section to see a variety of anti-virus products. Read the reviews on these products where they are available.
• Update the virus list database in your anti-virus product at least once per day. Most products have an automatic update feature which allows you to set when it will check for updates and do them automatically. The updates should be done often since not all products can filter against unrecognized viruses. Delaying the update time for your anti-virus product virus library will increase the chance of your system getting an unrecognized virus.
• A full virus scan should be done at least once per week.

Usage of ICT in everyday life

Education
Teacher use computers to research for teaching materials, participate in online forum and online conferences.
Students use computers as reference tools for looking information in the internet.
Researchers use computers to collect and process data.
School administrators use computers for administrative purposes to make sure that entire operations run smoothly.

Banking
computers are used in banking because bank administrators can control the entire banking system and banking activities such as reconciliations, inter-branch transaction (IBT) and telegraphic transfer.
To provide electronic banking services for customers. Customer can make any transaction at 24 hours service centers.
Businessman can save their time by using online services offered by banks.They also can access company accounts for loan applications, business transactions and update their cash flow anytime and anywhere.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Appleintroduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse andhandheld devices.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, calledsemiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

ICT

Introduction To ICT

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.