Empowerment

Technology
Quarter 3-week 2
 Lesson 2.2: Kinds of Online Threats
There is no doubt that you need to be vigilant online. As the
World Wide Web evolved over the years, many internet
predators have been playing on vulnerabilities to attack
computers and retrieve sensitive data from individuals. Half the
time, we aren’t even aware it is happening until it is too late.
Online threat is deemed any malicious act that attempts to
gain access to a computer network without authorization or
permission from the owners. These are usually done by
computer hackers who uses the World Wide Web to facilitate
cybercrime.
 Web threats use multiple types of malware and fraud, all of
which utilize HTTP or HTTPS protocols, but may also employ
other protocols and components, such as links in email or
Instant Messaging apps, or any malware attachments on
servers that access the Web. They benefit cybercriminals by
stealing information for subsequent sale and help absorb
infected PCs into botnets. Web threats pose a broad range of
risks, including financial damages, identity theft, loss of
confidential information/data, theft of network resources,
damaged brand/personal reputation, and erosion of consumer
confidence in e-commerce and online banking.
 The following are the top kinds of online threats that you should be
aware of:
1. Phishing happens when an email is sent from an internet criminal
disguised as an email from a legitimate, trustworthy source. The
message is meant to lure you into revealing sensitive or confidential
information.
**Pharming happens when a hacker
(or “pharmer”) directs an internet
user to a fake website instead of a
legitimate one. These “spoofed” sites
can capture a victim’s confidential
information, including usernames,
passwords, and credit card data, or
install malware on their computer.
Pharmers usually focus on websites
in the financial sector, including
banks, online payment platforms, or
other e-commerce destinations
2. Malware or malicious software, is any program or file
that is harmful to a computer user. Here are the most
common offenders in the rogues’ gallery of malware

Adware (advertising supported software) is unwanted

software designed to throw advertisements up on your
screen. Example, pop-up ads and banner ads.
Spyware is malware that secretly observes the
computer user’s activities without permission and
reports it to the software’s author. Example is a
keylogger.
Virus and Worms are malwares that attach to another program
and, when executed—unintentionally by the user—replicates
itself by modifying other computer programs and infecting them
with its own bits of code.
Trojan, or Trojan horse, is one of the most dangerous malware
types. It usually represents itself as something useful in order to
trick you. Once it’s on your system, the attackers behind the
Trojan gain unauthorized access to the affected computer. From
there, Trojans can be used to steal financial information or install
threats like viruses and ransomware.
Ransomware is a form of malware that locks you out of your
device and/or encrypts your files, then forces you to pay a
ransom to get them back
3. Spams are unsolicited emails,
instant messages coming from
recipients that are not granted
verifiable permission for the
message to be sent. Spam
messages can be damaging if
you open or respond to it.
 Cyberstalking refers to the

use of the internet or other

electronic device to harass or
stalk individuals or
organizations.
 Cyberbullying refers to the act of tormenting, harassing, or
embarrassing another person using the internet.
 Spoofing happens when someone or something pretends to
be something else to gain our confidence, get access to our
systems, steal data, steal money, or spread malware
 Internet robots are also known as spiders, crawlers, and
web bots. It is a software application that is programmed to
do certain tasks. Bots are automated, which means they run
according to their instructions without a human user. Some
bots are useful, such as search engine bots that index
content for search or customer service bots that help users.
Other bots are "bad" and are programmed to break into user
accounts, scan the web for contact information for sending
spam, or perform other malicious activities. If it's connected
to the Internet, a bot will have an associated IP address.
Internet Scam generally refers to someone using internet
services or software to defraud or take advantage of victims,
typically for financial gain. Cybercriminals may contact potential
victims through personal or work email accounts, social
networking sites, dating apps, or other methods in attempts to
obtain financial or other valuable personal information. Online
scams may come in various forms such as lottery scam, charity
fraud scams, job offer scams, and online dating scams to name
a few.
Protecting Reputations Online

In the past, doing something embarrassing was not much of a big

deal. It happened; people would laugh at it, and they would move on.
Nowadays, embarrassing moments are captured using any device
you could imagine. What is worse is that people can easily upload it
to the internet, where it can be stored forever. This impact could not
only your reputation but also the people around you. Once you post
something over the internet, search engine keep them in their
archives for search result. Before hiring, companies do a background
check on the applicant and the easiest way to check your background
is to visit pages that are related to you. Thus, if they find disreputable
information about you, it may harm your reputation even if this
information has been discarded.
Copyright Infringement
If you create something-an idea, an invention, a form of
literary work, or a research, you have the right as to
how it should be used by others. This called
intellectual property. In other words, the copyright law
includes your rights over your work, and anyone who
uses it without your consent is punishable by law.

As a responsible user of the Internet, you have to

consider that not everything out there is free for you to
use. Just like your own, contents that you see from
websites have their respective copyrights.
Think before you click!
Here are things you might want to consider before posting something
over the internet:
1. Before you post something on the web, ask these questions to
yourself: Would you want your parents or grandparents see to it?
Would your future boss to see it? Once you post something on
the web, you have no control of who sees your post.
2. Your friends depend on you to protect their reputation online. Talk
to your friends about serious responsibility.
3. Set your post to “private”. In this way, search engines will not able
to scan that post
4. Avoid using names. Names are easy for search engines to scan
5. If you feel that a post can affect you or other’s reputation, ask the
one who posted it to pull it down or report it as inappropriate.
Here are some tips that could help you avoid copyright
infringement :
1. Understand. Copyright protects literacy works,
photographs, paintings, drawings music (and lyrics),
choreography, and sculptures, but it generally does
NOT protect underlying ideas and facts. This means
that you can express something using your own words,
but you should give credit to the source.
2. Be responsible. Even if a material does not say that
is copyrighted, it is not a valid defense against
copyright. Be responsible enough to know if something
has a copyright.
3. Be creative. Ask yourself whether what you are making is
something that came from you or something made from
somebody’s else’s creativity.

4. Know the law. There are some limitations to copyright

laws. For instance, in the Philippines, copyrights only last a
lifetime (of the author) plus 50 years. If you have doubts that
what you are doing does bot fall under the policy of fair use,
seek permission first.
Online Research

Have you ever searched the internet for certain

information where the search engine returned a different
result? For example, you try to search for “Madonna” as
the representation of Mary in the form of an art, you
would probably use the keyword “Madonna” to search for
it on the internet. But if you use the same keyword
nowadays, you are more likely to stumble upon
“Madonna”, the music artist instead. And if you used “
The Madonna” to search for “The Madonna” in the first
place, you will be directed in the right place
The information that we need is more likely already on
the Internet. It is just a matter of how to look for it and
how to use information from the most credible source.
Here are some tips in conducting online research:

1. Have question in mind

2. Narrow it down
3. Advanced Search
4. Look for a credible source
5. Give credit