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Network security, what is it

In todays society not many people understand what network security is or how it works. As a person or as a network administrator you must understand the steps and processes of setting up a network security system. One of the first items that you have to come up with is an idea of why you want a network. Once you have figured this out you then have to secure many areas of the computer some of the areas include the securing of desktop workstations, securing network servers, and securing public web servers. If you really want to be safe you can install a firewall for your network system.

After all this had been set up you then have to figure out a way to respond to the intrusions. After all this had been accomplished you are then on your way to a network that is secure. In order to create a network you must first realize what you are going to use the network for. Deciding how you want your network and the functions you want it to do is very complicated. When creating one you must really think about what you are going to use it for now and what you see yourself doing in the future with the network. When creating a network you want to leave options for upgrade.

Once you have decided on how you want your network, then you must look at the security options. Security is a key option in networking. When you think of security you have to look at the option of someone in your own company tampering with files as well as the outside world being able to access your network. One step in protecting yourself or a company is by securing desktop workstations. What I mean by a Desktop Workstation is that it is a combination of the hardware, operating system, application software, and network connections of a computer. If I were to get more specific I would have mentioned just one of the following items above.

Securing a desktop workstation is a very important part of your network. The reason I say this is because of the personal information of the company or your own personal information that is stored on the workstation. You have to remember that with networks you are connected to the rest of the world as well. So by not securing your workstation you then are more likely to have a hacker tap into your system. If this happens the hacker is capable of doing what ever he/she wants. They could delete files or just copy them in order for them to get your personal information that they then can use.

Many people dont realize that there are many security problems that can be avoided if the workstations are configured appropriately. Most of the hardware found in a computer is set by the manufacture. Since it is set by the manufacture they dont consider the security. They look more at other functions and features. The reason why the manufactures do this is because they have no idea what your securitys needs are or the companys. In order to have the best security; you must configure the workstation to your needs. Besides configuring the workstation you must reconfigure the workstation as long as your requirements change.

By doing this you will then be guaranteeing yourself the security you need. I feel that there are three main issues that you need to know about securing a workstation. One of the three issues is confidentiality. Confidentiality is information that is stored on the workstation that is reveled inappropriately. There are many reasons why this may happen. Some of the reasons are that a person without authority is able to access the workstation without permission. Another reason would be that a person has access but then views the information that he/she wasnt suppose to have access to.

The final reason is where a person sends information over the network without permission to do so. The second issue would be Integrity. Integrity is where information may be changed on the workstation by mistake or they planed on changing the information. The third issue would be Availability. Availability is where a person might not be able to use the workstation or the network to perform their job. Some reasons why this may happen is because some of the information has been damaged or destroyed. What I mean by destroy is deleted from the workstation.

Some other reasons may include that the information is encrypted or there is a password that has been changed without letting anybody know. One other reason could be that the service is overloaded to where the personal cannot work. If you have any of these problems you do have a way to correct them. The way you can fix these problems is by doing a security improvement approach. Some of the plans that you can follow are the planning of the development and execution of a workstation. Another way to go about this problem is to configure your workstation to prevent any security problems or incidents.

The last approach you can go about is by constantly reading and improving your mind on security issues. Besides making sure you secure your workstation you also have to worry about securing your network servers (www. cert. org). Since the development of computer networks there has been a key class. The key class is a network server. A server is the combination of hardware, operating system, network service, and network connection. The purpose of a network server is to provide service. The services may include computational and data services to other computers on the network.

Servers play an important role. Most servers store many of an organizations most valuable and confidential information. Servers are also created for communication like electronic e-mail or for user authentication. With a network server you have to watch out for security breaches. Another words you have to watch out for hackers that are trying to get into your system to find out information. A security breach is not a very good thing. With a security breach it can result in the disclosure of critical information or you can have the loss of capability that can effect an entire organization or business.

Most of the security breaches can be avoided if the servers and the network are configured correctly. If you look at what the manufactures set, they set up the hardware and software to show of the features of the product instead of the security issue. Most of the companys that produce the hardware or software dont know the amount of security you need or how you want to configure everything. When securing a network server there are a few items you should remember to help you make sure you have the best security possible for your organization.

One key part is to make sure that you have a system set up where you can authorize certain people to access certain parts of the network. You should also make sure the information is capable of being accessed by the user whenever they need it. You do not want any delays. When securing a network there are four major security issues that are related to a network server. One is called Confidentiality. Confidentiality is the maintaining of confidentiality of information stored on the server. This could include that only authorized users can access certain information from the server.

You also have to make sure that not everyone can access every server that you have. Another of the four issues is called Mutual Authentication. Mutual Authentication is the ensuring that the user knows who he/she claims to be and that the network server host is who it is as well. User identities such as id, passwords are stored on the server. If a person figures out a user and the password they then can break into the server and access information that they are not suppose to see. Network identities can be redirected through IP and DNS. IP stands for Internet Protocol and DNS stands for Domain Name Server.

If you go over all these options for securing your network server you then lower your vulnerability to intrusions by outsiders that are trying to get information that could hurt your organization. As you are setting up your network you know have to look at the securing of public web servers (www. cert. org). Securing public web servers is a very important part. The World Wide Web is one of the most important ways for an organization to publish information, interact with other Internet users and establish e-commerce with other organizations. Without the proper security you leave your organization and web page open to intruders.

This could lead to sever problems. One sever problem is that an intruder can change the contents of your web page which could be an embarrassing moment for you company. Some web sites have helped intruders into an organizations internal network for the purpose of accessing information that is private. If this happens your business can face losses or even legal action because of the intrusion. The first thing you should do is ensure that you first configure a secure general-purpose server before you start to configure your web server. When you are securing your public web server there are a few issues that you have to remember.

One of the issues is the improper configuration of the web server. This can result in the disclosure or alteration of important information. This can include information about the configuration of the server or network, which could be exploited for many more attacks in the future. You also have to watch out for the possibility of sensitive customer or user information being given to people that are hacking into your system. One example is if you are operating a clothing department and you have your catalog online so people can sit at home an order.

If you dont have a secure web site you then can get you information stolen. If your information is stolen you then gave the hackers personal information as well as credit card information. This could lead to many problems. If the host used for your web server might be compromised. This then can allow the intruder to change the information stored on the web server host machines, particularly the information you intend to publish. If an intruder is able to access your host he then can install a program to execute when the user uses the server without the user knowing what he/she did.

The intruders can also launch attacks on external sites from your server host machine. By the intruder doing this, the information of the intruder is concealed thus leaving your organization liable for any damages that may happen. This would end up being deadly for you company. You can lose business, which then leads to the loss of money. When you are going to have a web page you have to make sure that you secure your web server. As you can see this is a very important part of running a successful business. One key part that you can have in order to make sure your network is secure is by deploying a firewall (www. cert. org).

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