Operating Systems: Theory and Design

Operating Systems: Theory and Design

Jacob Harrison

CPT 304 Final Project

Dr. Limon

06/01/2019

     I always believed that an operating system magically makes a computer work. I never realized there were so many "moving pieces" to the creation and implementation of an operating system. This paper will set out to describe the five major components of an operating system, with diagrams included to further enhance the understanding of the concepts.

Blog Post 7 - Understanding Network Security

I chose to write about network security, what it means and how to implement features to protect a network. Throughout our course and text, we’ve discussed the concept of information technology. Networks play a major role in IT. Whether it’s a personal home network, connecting a couple of computers to a printer, or something larger such as a major organization’s network of computers, or even bigger, the World Wide Web, all networks require some form of security. According to Cisco, “network security combines multiple layers of defense at the edge and in the network” (What is network security, 2019a). Our text discussed the different types of attacks computers can face, such as DDOS attacks, malware attacks, and trojans (Vahid & Lysecky, 2017). These types of attacks, as well as others, can go undiagnosed or prevented based on the level of security in place for each network.

Blog Post 6 - Network Security

During our week three assignment, we used the ping and tracert commands to understand better how data travels through networks. Through my research of the ping command, I learned about attacks that can be executed. DoS and DDoS attacks can be crippling to websites and are not difficult to execute. A DoS attack, or denial of service, is executed when a user uses the ping command to overwhelm a system, slowing it down or causing it to completely shut down (Vahid & Lysecky, 2017). A DDoS, or distributed denial of service, is when an attacker uses a botnet (a large network of computers under the attacker’s control) to send a very large number of requests to website blocking access for actual users. DoS and DDoS attacks are not limited to just computers, anything that is connected to the internet can potentially be a victim of these types of attacks (Delving into internet ddos attacks, 2018). These types of attacks cost organizations time by trying to block the attack; they can also cause significant monetary damage due to the downtime of the website and loss in productivity. To block these attacks, the IT department can ensure that their network is behind a firewall. The firewall will allow the team to block IP addresses of incoming attackers.  They should also have an intrusion detection system in place to identify potential threats and stop any illegal activities.

Blog Post 5 - Computers in the Workplace

I worked in the banking industry for six years, and computers are integral to the industry. The computer systems we used kept detailed information about each customer, a record of credits and debits to accounts, and payments to loans. We were able to see a lot of data about a customer’s usage and the bank would make product recommendations based on the information.