Computer Crime

Computers are made to make home, school, and office life easier, society relies on computers. As a result of this computer use grows minute. Along with the growing use of computers comes widespread computer crime. In my paper I will talk about different types of crimes and some ways that you can avoid getting hit by a computer crime.

The most common crimes committed on the Internet are the same basic variations of the four main time-tested, real-world crimes: Forgery (of E-mail), assault (on your Web site, E-mail box, or computer system), fraud (cyberscams), and robbery (theft of valuable information). The two most familiar being hackers and crackers. A hacker is a person who enjoys exploring the details of a programmable system and how to stretch their capabilities; one who programs enthusiastically, even obsessively. A cracker is one who breaks security on a system. Although hackers and crackers both break into computer systems, their motives are different. Hackers seem to break into computer systems for the intellectual challenge. Crackers are considered hateful with the intention of harming or causing damage to a computer system. The motivations behind crackers' actions are either profits, revenge, or a mixture of the two.

Attacks on businesses are rapidly becoming more widespread. 54% of U. S. companies reported losses related to computer crimes. Most of these crimes committed were deliberate. This raises the issue of competitors' attempts to gain information on their closest competitor. Technology-related crime loss is estimated at an annual $8 billion. The loss includes stealing computer hardware/software and fraud. Computer fraud loss is estimated at $555 million annually with each individual case of fraud costing approximately $100,000. Financial institutions, such as banks, are the biggest targets of computer fraud with an estimated annual loss of $1 billion. In most cases, computer crimes go unreported. Each year, software companies lose millions of dollars to this type of theft. Not only does software theft contribute to loss of sales, but it also adds to the spread of computer viruses. These break-in programs are becoming more and more user-friendly to allow people to point and click their way around any system.

How does someone go about protecting him or herself from a computer crime? For starters, a way to make your e-mail private is to use an anonymous remailer. A remailer is a free service that allows