Web Security: User Perspective

What is security?


When you are surfing the web, do you have security in mind?  I know what some of you are wondering, "what is he talking about?" or "websites and security I didn't know its possible?".  To any web savvy person, these questions might seem ridiculous, but to the average user of the web currently, it is very common and worth discussing.

Before I describe what security should mean to the average user I am going to describe (from personal experience) what the average user's mind might be like.  I'm not saying it is like this, but it is most likely.

  • User is a young child or a teenager

    • They want to play games.

    • They want to hang out with friends.

    • They want to post pictures, and show others what they can do.

    • They just want to act crazy (at least what seems crazy to most adults).

    • They want to get free stuff.

    • They are most likely interested in things like adult sites (maybe not as much as adults but it is likely).

    • They want to see movies (sometimes free ones).



  • User is Older adults

    • They want to use email.

    • They want to download the pictures of their grand children

    • They want to do some of their banking.

    • They want to find deals on things.

    • They want to get more information on their associations and friends and groups.



  • User is a professional

    • They want to do their work.

    • They want to collaborate with colleagues and others in their fields.

    • They wish to send and receive email.

    • They wish to research things on the internet related to their field.

    • If they are in sales, they may research into client's business models, by studying that industry.



  • User is a stay at home mom, or non-technical adult who just wants to stay in touch with friends, or social adult who likes to use the social sites like facebook.

    • They are more interested in a few sites on the internet

    • They mostly check their emails.

    • They rarely do much of anything outside of their sites.

    • Sometimes they venture into shopping sites.

    • Sometimes they are a bit curious.




Well, that may not be full list of what all the users of the web will want to do there, but it is a pretty good start.

Why did I list so many different types of people?  Well security in the web would ultimately mean to keep these people safe, not only while they are surfing the web, but in their lives as well.  That is a bold statement I know, but it is what security ultimately means in the web.  Security is to keep people safe.

What in the web can keep people from being safe in their lives?


Web is a wild place to be sure, but the web is still full of people on their computers.  Some are there just to have some fun, but some are more malicious.  Others are there professionally.  For example, most of us know of online banking, and a lot of us actually use it more often than not.  Some simple things we need to be aware of when online banking.

  1. The online banking passwords are banks initially give us need to be changed.  They are rarely very secure, but just easy to remember.

  2. Never choose a password that is easy to guess, especially for people who know you.

  3. Never save online banking password to the browser, especially if you are accessing it through a public computer like ones found in the library.  Also what if you had it in a laptop and it was stolen, all your data is there.

  4. Always change passwords every 2-3 months.  This keeps anybody else from guessing


The 4 options I listed above are just few of the things that everybody needs to be aware of.  Now comes possible consequences of what happens if your online banking card number and password was guessed or stolen by someone.

  • Log into your online banking account, get all your past statements.  Now they can see your habits and can potentially stalk you.

  • They have the ability to pay their bills right from online banking.  They can use your money to pay their bills.

  • They can change the address on the account, and take your credit card, and make a new "authorized user" for themselves.  This can lead to your credit being ruined.  Good credit is your gateway to great living in North America at least.  Its never a good thing for that to be threatened.


See what a simple thing can ultimately ruin you?  So a little diligence in the steps I mentioned above would keep you much safer overall.

Sidenote:  This 1 of 4 articles I'm planning on this security issue.  Stay tuned for more articles to be on the way.

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