Many
different types of attacks can be executed using ping commands. Many of these
attacks occur or can occur via email. A computer virus, for example, can be
used for many different things such as stealing private information from a
computer, deleting data, or using the computer illicit tasks (Vahid, F., &
Lysecky, S. (2017) section 8.1 par 1.) Computer viruses occur when a person
opens and email that seems legitimate, asking them to visit a website or
download some type of data. Once the user does this, it gives access for the
virus to install onto their computer. After a virus is on a computer, it is not
uncommon for the virus to make the computer preform illicit tasks. These tasks
include spam, which is known as sending out mass emails, or DoS which stands
for denial of service. Spam can have many different purposes such as
advertising, spreading the virus, or phishing, which we will discuss further.
Denial of service occurs when mass quantities of requests are sent to one
particular website all at the same time. By doing this, the server is
overloading and is unable to process actual requests, therefore leading to denial
of service for true requests. A PoD, which stands for Ping of Death, is a type
of DoS. To accomplish a PoD, attackers send ping commands with oversized or
malformed packets with the purpose of destabilizing or crashing a specific
computer or service (inperva.com). Though most systems who have been a target
of a Ping of Death attack have likely been patched and will not fall victim to
that attack again, other systems are still vulnerable to these attacks. A more
relevant ping attack is known as a Ping flood in which ICMP packets are rapidly
sent to a system, over and over again without waiting for a reply.
(imperva.com)
Another
way email can be used for attack against a computer is by phishing. Phishing is
a process in which someone is tricked into volunteering personal information. A
website or an individual person will send a fake email stating that one of your
accounts is over due, or that you just won a prize, anything to get your
attention. After they have your attention, they ask you to provide a password
or social security number or some sort of personal information. They then use
this information however they please. According to Norton.com, a computer virus
is very similar to a flu virus in the sense that it cannot replicate without a
host. A virus needs a specific file to be shared in order for it to spread,
then once it has spread to other devices it remains inactive until some
particular task or command complete on that computer activates it. Once
activated, the virus is capable of spreading the same file to multiple other
computers and devices connected to the same network. Some of the most frequent
signs of a computer virus are frequent pop-up windows, slow performance,
unknown programs that open on start up, and changes to your homepage (Norton.com).
When
talking about computer viruses, it is important to know that a virus is a
malware, which basically means bad software, or software you do not want. There
are several other kinds of malware including worm, Trojan, adware, and spyware.
(Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017) section 8.1 par 7.) Each different kind of
malware has its own unique way of getting installed and harming your computer.
In order
to protect your devices from attacks, security breaches, spam, and so forth it
is important to change your passwords frequently. By doing this, it eliminates
or greatly lowers the risk of your passwords becoming compromised. It is also
always a great idea to install some sort of secure, trusted, antivirus software
onto your computer. Antivirus software is able to keep an eye on your computer
when you can’t and can even keep watch over the things behind the scenes where
might not be able to.
References:
Vahid, F., &
Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/
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