The most common network security attacks are IP spoofing, password attacks, packet sniffers, Denial of Attacks and the automatic distribution of the sensitive information to the external resources. In this article you will find an overview of the different security technologies that are used in protecting a computer network. You will be familiar with the tools and technologies that are used to protect your important information.
There are different antivirus vendors like Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and Panda that develop antivirus solutions. Norton offers different security suites. Norton 360 is an all-inclusive software service that antivirus, anti spyware, anti phising, email scanning, firewall protection, identity protection, backup and restore and automatic updates. Similarly Symantec and Trend Micro also offer many great security tools and software.
Firewall
Firewall is a dedicated hardware or software that filters the traffic based on the IP address, rules and other criteria. It works with the gateway computer and protects the network from the external threats such as hackers’ attacks and unauthorized access.
VPN
A VPN connection protects your information between the client and server computer. All the communication between the client and server computer is encrypted and authenticated so VPN provides secure network communication.
Cryptography
Cryptography is practice of hiding the information by using the encryption and decryption methods. Computer passwords, ATM cards and e-commerce use cryptography techniques to hide the actual information.
Encryption
The encryption is a security technique in which data is converted into a cipher text that is not understandable by the unauthorized users. There are different techniques that are used to encrypt the data stream through the software. The other built in effect of the encryption is the data compression. Encryption is an excellent method of protecting the messages and important data.
Password Authentication
Password authentication is a security mechanism that is used to authenticate the network and internet users. Password authenticated protocol sends ASCII passwords over the network and the network servers validate them. Almost all the network operating systems support PAP.
IP Sec
IP Sec is a security mechanism that works on the network layer and is used for transferring the sensitive information over the insecure networks. IP Sec provides the security services such as data integrity, data confidentiality, data origin authentication and anti replay. With the IP sec, confidential data can securely be transmitted over the public networks.
SSL
SSL stands for secure socket layer and it uses cryptography (public and private key encryption) system to encrypt the data. SSL is a protocol that is used to manage the security of the transmitted messages over the internet. SSL is an integral part of the most common browsers such as internet explorer and mozilla firefox. Another protocol that is used to transfer the information over the internet securely is https.
Digital Signature
Digital signature is an electronic signature that is used to authenticate the identity of the message senders. Digital signatures can be time stamped and it can be used with any kind of message whether it is encrypted or not.
WEP
WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy and is an 802.11 wireless network security standard. WEP is designed to provide security to the wireless networks and it must be deployed with the wireless networks. WEP provides security by encrypting the data over the radio waves. WEP works at the data link and physical layers of the OSI model.
Security Policies
Security policies are implemented to protect a computer network from the unauthorized users.