Potential security threats on a home personal computer Essay

Potential security threats on a home personal computer - Essay Example In this context, one can easily shop and buy goods online without necessarily having to travel to the business premises. This mode of conducting business has boosted computer crimes, by creating an alternative avenue for defrauding unsuspecting customers, mostly through phishing (Quarantiello, 2006). Phishing involves the creation and designing of rogue websites by criminals, imitating websites belonging to genuine businesses, with the intention of capturing personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords, among others; which is commonly known as identity theft. After attaining the details, criminals can access bank accounts and make purchases without the knowledge of the bank holder (Quarantiello, 2006). The internet comprises of numerous sites, most of which are genuine but with some designed to spread malicious programs and computer viruses (Gollmann, 2005). These sites are difficult to suspect and they create curiosity in the user by displaying attractive messages in form of pop up menus, prompting the user to click, for example to unhide a free gift.