Vocabulary practice section 3

1. Match each virus routine to its function.
Routine	Function
1 misdirection 2 reproduction 3 trigger 4 payload	a does the damage b attaches a copy of itself to another program c hides the presence of the code d decides when and how to activate the payload

2. Identify the Internet crimes sentences (1-6) refer to. Then match them with the advice (a-f).

1. Crackers try to find a way to copy the latest game or computer program.	A. Be suspicious of wonderful offers. Don't buy if you aren't sure.
2. A study has revealed that half a million people will automatically open an email they believe to be from their bank and happily send off all their security details.	B. People shouldn't buy cracked software or download music illegally from the Internet.
3. This software's danger is hidden behind an attractive appearance. That's why it is often wrapped in attractive packages promising photos of celebrities like Anna Kournikova or Jennifer Lopez.	C. It's dangerous to give personal information to people you contact in chat rooms.
4. There is a particular danger in Internet commerce and emails. Many people believe they have been offered a special gift only to find out later they have been deceived.	D. Don't open attachments from people you don't know even if the subject looks attractive.
5. 'Nimda' spreads by sending infected emails and is also able to infect websites, so when a user visits a compromised website, the browser can infect the computer.	E. Scan your email and be careful about which websites you visit.
6. Every day, millions of children spend time in Internet chat rooms talking to strangers. But what many of them don't realize is that some of the surfers chatting with them may be sexual predators.	F. Check with your bank before sending information.

3. Fill in the gaps in these security tips with words from the list.

digital certificate malware virus scanner spyware firewall antivirus

Malicious software, 1…. can be avoided by following some basic rules. To prevent crackers from breaking into your internal network and obtaining your data, install a 2… . It will protect you from 3… . Internet users who like cybershopping should get a 4….. , an electronic identity card. If you have been hit by a 5….. , don't panic! Download a clean-up utility and always remember to use an 6….. program, for example, a virus 7……

4. Complete this product description of an internet security program. Fill in the missing words using the mixed-up letters in brackets.

EFG EFG (1) [inta-riuvs] software is the only program you need for complete protection from online threats. EFG scans all incoming and outgoing email attachments, helping to protect your PC against (2) [rivessu] , (3) [romsw] , (4) [Torsjan] and

other types of (5) [lawmare] . A (6) [lawlrife] shields your system from attack by (7) [reschak], while the program can also detect if a website’s (8) [igidlat ercteacfiti] is out-of-date or suspicious, allowing you to carry out financial transactions online with total security.

In addition to all of the above, the EFG Professional Edition also comes with email (9) [crynetipon] and the EFG (10) [rawsyep] scanner, helping you to keep your system free of unwanted advertising and (11) [socoiek].

EFG Basic is available to download as (12) [warfeeer] by clicking here. Alternatively, you can purchase the EFG Professional Edition for only £29.95. Click here to visit our (13) [rescue witebes] or pay using PayPal by clicking here.

5. Decide which of the alternatives (A-F) each statement refers to. Write the letter of your answer at the end of the sentence. There is one alternative that you don't need to use.

A. electronic trail В. firewall С. hacker D. overload E. encryption F. cybercrime

1. The data is protected by a process which scrambles the information so that it cannot be read by an unauthorized person.

2. If you make a change to the database, that change is recorded with the time, date and operator's name attached to it.

3. Many people are still reluctant to enter their personal data on web pages, fearing it will be stolen and used illegally.

4. This device filters outbound and inbound computer traffic and protects your network from hostile intrusion.

5. Sometimes it's just a bored teenager with too much free time who can't resist trying to break into a system.

6. Fill the gap in each sentence with an appropriate form of the word in brackets.

Many UK companies routinely monitor their staff's use of email and the Internet, but trade unions are opposed to this kind of ……. (survey) Managers are concerned that staff use of email for personal communication may expose their systems to ……. (virulent)

3. Computer experts warn that ……. of the appropriate software to protect your computer is not enough - you also need to ensure it is updated regularly. (install)

4. When you shop using our website, you can be sure that we respect the …… of any information you provide us with. (confidence)

5. We are committed to responsible data management and to maintaining the security of your personal data; please read our ……. policy before you order online. (private)

7. Choose the best words to go into each of the spaces.

1. A person who illegally accesses somebody else's computer over the internet is called a …….

2. A website which (in theory) cannot be accessed by a hacker is ……

3. A website which can only be viewed by authorised people has ……. access.

4. Unwanted advertising emails are popularly known as …….

5. Software blocking attempts by others to access your computer over the internet is called a ……

6. It’s essential to ……. your anti-virus protection regularly.

7. Anti-virus software can …….. your computer for viruses.

8. Anti-virus software can also ……. viruses on removable media, such as floppy disks.

9. When your anti-virus software subscription …... it's a good idea to ……. it immediately.

10. Users have to enter a ……. to gain access to a network.

11. A ……. protects a company intranet from outside attacks.

12. Most ……. is designed to obtain personal information without the users’ permission.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE SECTION

1. Match the sentences with the explanations.
1. Being updated regularly, the Free Home Edition includes anti-spyware and anti-rootkit detection.	a. Present participle clause. Two things happen at the same time.
2. Switching off the computer, I left the room.	b. Present participle clause. One action happens during another action. Participle clause is used for the longer action.
3. Having been downloaded, a new program was sampled/tested by the programmer.	c. Present participle clause. One action happens during another action. Participle clause after while/when.
4. Overheated, the computer switched off.	d. Past participle clause. One action happens before another action. Having doneis used for the first action.
5. I found a mistake while testing the program.	e. Present participle clause. One short action follows another short action in the past.
6. Having bought a new computer I was ready to start new work.	f. Passive construction in participle clauses with reference to the present. being +participle
7. The program is working scanning all the computer files.	g. Passive construction in participle clauses with reference to the past. Having been+ participle
8. I broke my keyboard playing computer games.	h. Past participle clause in place of subject + passive verb.

2. Re-write the sentences. Use participle clauses.

1. I updated the anti virus program. I scanned the computer.

2. Your computer is running slow... your high-speed internet connection feels like dial up, and popups are everywhere. What's wrong? It could be a computer virus, or perhaps a bunch of viruses. They infect your hard drive.

3. There is a freeware version of the virus protection on the website. It only offers anti-virus and anti-spyware protection (no anti-spam, anti-rootkit or firewall) but provides very effective protection from the most common threats.

4. Another freebie anti-virus program with basic features is updated regularly. It is also highly recommended.

5. I was recommended to add anti-spyware protection as well. So I did it.

6. I was browsing the Internet. I heard a telephone call.

7. I connected all the peripherals and started to work.

8. The program was issued not long ago. It has become very popular.

READING PRACTICE SECTION

Passwords aplenty How to stay sane as well as safe while surfing the web

AT THIS time of the year, your correspondent crosses the Pacific to Japan for a month or so. He repeats the trip during the summer. He considers it crucial in order to keep abreast of all the ingenious technology which, once debugged by the world’s most acquisitive consumers, will wind up in American and European shops a year or two later.

Each time he packs his bags, though, he is embarrassed by having to include a dog-eared set of notes that really ought to be locked up in a safe. This is his list of logons and passwords for all the websites he uses for doing business and staying in touch with the rest of the world. At the last count, the inch-thick list accumulated over the past decade or so—your correspondent’s sole copy—includes access details for no fewer than 174 online services and computer networks.

He admits to flouting the advice of security experts: his failings include using essentially the same logon and password for many similar sites, relying on easily remembered words—and, heaven forbid, writing them down on scraps of paper. So his new year’s resolution is to set up a proper software vault for the various passwords and ditch the dog-eared list.

Your correspondent’s one consolation is that he is not alone in using easily crackable words for most of his passwords. Indeed, the majority of online users have an understandable aversion to strong, but hard-to-remember, passwords. The most popular passwords in Britain are “123” followed by “password”. At least people in America have learned to combine letters and numbers. Their most popular ones are “password1” followed by “abc123”.

Unfortunately, the easier a password is to remember, the easier it is for thieves to guess. Ironically, the opposite—the harder it is to remember, the harder it is to crack—is often far from true. That is because, not being able to remember long, jumbled sets of alphanumeric characters interspersed with symbols, people resort to writing them down on Post-it notes left lying around the office or home for all and sundry to see.

Apart from stealing passwords from Post-it notes and the like, intruders basically use one of two hacks to gain access to other people’s computers or networks. If time and money is no problem, they can use brute-force methods that simply try every combination of letters, numbers and symbols until a match is found. That takes a lot of patience and computing power, and tends to be the sort of thing only intelligence agencies indulge in.

A more popular, though less effective, way is to use commercial software tools such as “L0phtCrack” or “John the Ripper” that can be found on the internet. These use dictionaries, lists of popular passwords and rainbow tables (lookup tools that turn long numbers computed from alphanumeric

characters back into their original plain text) to recover passwords.

According to Bruce Schneier, an independent security expert, today’s password crackers “can test tens—even hundreds—of millions of passwords per second.” In short, the vast majority of passwords used in the real world can be guessed in minutes. And do not think you are being smart by replacing the letters “l” or “i” in a password with the number “1”; or the letter “s” with the number “5” or the symbol “$”. Cracking programs check all such alternatives, and more, as a matter of course.

What should you do to protect yourself? Choose passwords that are strong enough to make cracking them too time consuming for thieves to bother.

The strength of a password depends on its length, complexity and randomness. A good length is at least eight symbols. The complexity depends on the character set. Using numbers alone limits the choice to just ten symbols. Add upper- and lower-case letters and the complexity rises to 62. Use all the symbols on a standard ASCII keyboard and you have 95 to choose from.

The third component, randomness, is measured by a concept borrowed from thermodynamics—the notion of entropy (the tendency for things to become disordered). In information theory, a tossed coin has an entropy of one “bit” (binary digit). That is because it can come down randomly in one of two equally possible binary states.

At the other extreme, when you set the encryption of a Wi-Fi link, you are usually given the choice of 64-bit or even 128-bit security. Those bit-numbers represent the entropy (or randomness) of the encryption used. A password with 64 bits of entropy is as strong as a string of data comprising 64 randomly selected binary digits. Put another way, a 64-bit password would require 2 raised to the power of 64 attempts to crack it by brute force—in short, 18 billion billion attempts. A 64-bit password was finally cracked in 2002 using brute-force methods. It took a network of volunteers nearly five years to do so.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the American government’s standards-measuring laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland, recommends 80-bit passwords for state secrets and the like. Such security can be achieved using passwords with 12 symbols, drawn from the full set of 95 symbols on the standard American keyboard. For ordinary purposes, that would seem overkill. A 52-bit password based on eight symbols selected from the standard keyboard is generally adequate.

How to select the eight? Best to let a computer program generate them randomly for you. Unfortunately, the result will be something like 6sDt%k&3 that probably needs to be written down. One answer, only slightly less rigorous, is to use a mnemonic constructed from the first letters (plus contractions) of an easily remembered phrase like “Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts” (MCa1otFA) or “To be or not to be: that is the question” (2Bo-2b:?).

Given a robust 52-bit password, you can then use a password manager to take care of the dozens of easily guessable ones used to access various web services. There are a number of perfectly adequate products for doing this. In an early attempt to fulfil his new year’s pledge, your correspondent has been

experimenting with LastPass, a free password manager that works as an add-on to the Firefox web browser for Windows, Linux or Macintosh. Versions also exist for Internet Explorer on Windows and Safari on the Mac.

Once installed and given a strong password of its own, plus an e-mail address, LastPass encrypts all the logons and passwords stored on your computer. So, be warned: forget your master password and you could be in trouble—especially if you have let the program delete (as it urges you to let it do) all the vulnerable logons and passwords on your own computer.

Thereafter, to visit various web services, all you have to do is log into LastPass and click the website you wish to check out. The tool then automatically logs you on securely to the selected site. It will even complete all the forms needed to buy goods online if you have stored your home address, telephone number and credit-card details in the vault as well.

Your correspondent looks forward to using the service while travelling around Japan over the next month or so. To be on the safe side, however, his dog-eared list of passwords will still go with him.

Read the comments to the article. Which comments do you agree with? Why? What would you write to comment it? Readers’ comments.

1. Nice article. I was really amused when i have found that people use word password as password or abc123.

2. Well I can say from my practice that even difficult passwords become easy ones when you repeat them all over and over!!! Well at least I don't have passwords for 174 web sites :))

3. You can always remember your password with password reminder. Especially when u r writing some crazy things.

4. Get a junk email address consisting of a decent handle and some numbers (we want something unique).

Use it as the username for all online accounts.

For the password, combine the end of the site's domain with a rubbish password: economist.comabc123

Voila: site unique, password checker friendly, easy to remember password.

5. Password accumulation is nearly inevitable these days. But just like keys for houses and cars, passwords can be a nuisance. And if a thief really wants to get in, he can just break a window, or hack the information. That's why people use hide-a-key boxes. A hide-a-key for passwords is a list, which can be electronic or paper-only. You can adjust your level of security by having only hard copies in code if you need lots of security, or, at the other extreme, emailing yourself password updates periodically so they are always easy to find. Or some middle ground. What you can't do is use the internet a lot, and not have a method for storing passwords.

6. I must be missing something here. Surely if you can think of a super password to protect your password list then you might as well just use the super one for all sites, as once someone else knows it they will know all your other passwords too?!?

SPEAKING/WRITING PRACTICE SECTION

1. Describe the diagrams.