1、我们不再纯真的年代我们不再纯真的年代篇一:Unit 8 Computers and Security课文翻译大学体验英语二 Unit 8 Computers and Security Passage A You Are the Weakest Link, Goodbye. Do you remember the good old days? Innocent times spent sharing uments and e_ecutable files without a care in the world. Okay, every month or so you might encounte
2、r a boot sector virus - but they were easy to deal with even if the anti-virus software didn t pick them up. But those long lazy summers disappeared too fast. Macro viruses made Information Technology (IT) administrators grow up fast as they realized there was a type of virus which could spread very
3、 quickly throughout an organization. It wasn t unusual to find hundreds of computers within personal company infected by viruses transmitted via email attachments. The IT staff were amongst the fittest departments in your company, running from Personal Computer (PC) to the ne_t cleaning them up. The
4、re had to be a better way. Companies now realize that viruses aren t urban myths , and can have a serious impact on their operations. They invest in anti-virus software on the desktops, servers and email gateways and even put in place procedures to ensure their anti-virus is up-to-date with the very
5、 latest detection routines. It sounds like companies have put in place adequate defenses to protect against viruses. But have they? Anti-virus software detects most of the viruses your users are likely to encounter - often without the user even knowing. However, the software must be updated regularl
6、y, preferably daily in any large company. Even then, a very new virus can infect your users. With the rapid transmission of files through networks and the Internet, a virus can spread a considerable distance before it can be identified and protected against. Fortunately, only a few viruses ever do t
7、his but the likes of Melissa and the Love Bug can inflict serious damage before their progress is stopped. Whilst employees become suddenly aware during the ensuing media e_citement, they soon forget about the virus threat as the stories disappear from the news headlines. This is the danger. Complac
8、ency can set in when there is no perceived action on the virus front with no global crisis, and the importance of being vigilant about viruses recedes in your users minds. They forget what the big deal was in the first place - after all, the anti-virus software deals with the viruses, doesn t it? An
9、d isn t it the IT department s job to look after this sort of thing? Before you know it your users are opening unsolicited attachments once more, downloading unauthorized software, and putting your company s data and credibility at risk. All because the users think that they are working in a safe en
10、vironment. Employees see anti-virus software, firewalls and IT departments as guarantees that their computers will work and will be safe. Of course, there aren t any guarantees. Anti-virus software plays one, albeit important, part in the defense of your company from malicious attack but the securit
11、y of your computer system is only as strong as the weakest link. And that, more often than not, is the human factor. No employer wants to come across as a killjoy or an ogre. Most will willingly accept that the happiest employees are those who feel that they are respected and trusted by their employ
12、er. Many companies accept that employees will send and receive a certain amount of personal email and make the odd personal telephone call. However, the worry comes when employees start risking company security in pursuit of personal amusement. Funny screensavers and games downloaded from the Intern
13、et can seem harmless enough but they could easily be harboring a dangerous virus. Software downloaded from the net is often unlicensed and unsupported, and may cause conflicts with e_isting software in use at your company. Unlicensed, pirated software is an ideal vector for a computer virus. Virus w
14、riters and hackers often use such software as the ideal kick-start for their virus distribution. It is vitally important that employees be educated about the virus threat but this cannot be a one-off event. The potential threat should always be in the back of an employee s mind and precautionary mea
15、sures should be taken as a matter of course. There is no harm in reminding people about what could happen if they let their guard down. In the end, education is the key to a virus-free environment and this is a continual process. It may not be the most e_citing thing on the agenda but it works. The
16、lesson is simple. You can have the best software in the world protecting your company s defenses; you can even be the biggest IT company in the world; but without your users practicing safe computing they will always be the weakest link. PA 你是最薄弱的环节,再见 还记得美好的往日时光吗?在那样的纯真年代,我们共享文档和可执行文件,根本没有半点顾虑.不错,每
17、隔一个月左右你可能会碰到一个引导扇区病毒,不过这些很容易对付,就算杀毒软件没有把它查出来也不要紧. 那些长长的夏日,悠闲自得,可惜消逝得太快.宏病毒使IT管理者们迅速成长起来,他们意识到有的病毒能迅速扩散到整个机构.一家公司里的数百台计算机感染了通过电子邮件附件传播的病毒,也是十分平常的事.公司各部门中身体最好的当属IT员工,因为他们奔走于各台计算机之间,清理病毒. 防病毒得想个更好的办法才行.各家公司现在都意识到病毒并不是现代神话,而确实 会严重影响到公司的运作.他们投资杀毒软件,安装在计算机.服务器以及电子邮件网关上,甚至还采取措施确保使用最新的检查程序,随时更新杀毒软件. 听起来好像各公
18、司已经采取了充分的措施防范病毒.可事实真的如此吗? 杀毒软件确实能检测出用户会碰到的绝大多数病毒,而且往往在用户毫不察觉时就已经处理完毕.然而,软件必须定期更新,大公司则最好是每天更新一次.即使是这样,新的病毒也还是可能感染用户.通过网络和互联网,文件可以快速地传输,等到人们发现一种病毒并加以防范时,病毒可能已经扩散到了相当的范围.好在只有少数几种病毒有这么大的破坏力,不过像梅利莎和爱虫病毒则是例外,人们还来不及制止,它们就已经造成了严重的破坏.然后媒体轰动,员工会突然警觉起来,但一旦新闻头条不再报道这些事件,他们就会很快将其抛之脑后. 这正是危险所在.若病毒战线没有能察觉到的大动作,也没有全
19、球性的危机,人们就会洋洋自得,对病毒保持警惕的重要性的意识就会在用户的脑子中渐渐淡化.他们会忘掉这件首要大事毕竟杀毒软件会对付病毒,不是吗?何况,这不也正是IT部门的职责所在吗? 你还没有反应过来,用户们又一次打开了来历不明的附件,下载了非法软件,将公司的数据资料和信誉置于危险之中.这一切都是因为用户们认为他们的操作环境很安全.员工们认为杀毒软件.防火墙以及IT部门足以保障他们的计算机正常运作,而且没有危险.其实保障根本没有的.杀毒软件的作用固然很重要,但在保护公司不受恶意攻击的战斗中,只能起到一定的作用.公司的计算机系统安全与否实际上系于最薄弱的一个环节,而这个环节往往就是人的因素. 身为雇
20、主,谁都不愿扮演令人扫兴或者令人生畏的角色.大多数人都愿意相信,员工若能感受到雇主的尊重和信任,肯定会很开心的.很多公司都默许员工接发一定数量的私人电子邮件,偶尔打一两个私人电话. 但是,如果员工为了追求个人乐趣而置公司安全于不顾,就着实堪忧了.从互联网上下载有趣的屏保或者游戏,看起来好像没有危险,不过它们很可能是危险病毒的藏身之所.从网上下载的软件经常是无使用授权的,而且不提供支持,可能与公司使用的其他软件发生冲突.未经许可的盗版软件是计算机病毒的理想的携带者,制造病毒者以及黑客们经常利用这类软件作为病毒扩散的理想开端. 对员工进行有关病毒危害的教育至关重要,但这种教育不能一劳永逸.员工的潜
21、意识里应该随时留意潜在的危险,而且应该总是采取防范措施.应该提醒人们如果放松警惕会有什么后果.归根结底,营造无病毒环境,教育才是关键,而且应该坚持不懈.这可能不是日程表上最激动人心的事,但是行之有效. 道理很简单.你也许拥有世界上最好的软件来保护公司的防护系统,甚至可能是世界上最大的IT公司,但如果你的用户不注意计算机的使用安全,他们将始终是最薄弱的环节. Passage B So Sorry to Bug You You d think after all these years I d know better than to spread a virus by email. You d b
22、e wrong. The email was from a woman I knew decades ago, back when we were spooning teenagers. We had corresponded electronically maybe three times since then, I swear. The subject line on this latest missive was Homepage. The message read, simply: Hi! You ve got to see this page! It s really cool. I
23、t was signed with a goofy emotion, a winking, sideways smiling face :0). Ho, ho! You sly thing! I thought, recalling the feverish summer of 70. and clicked on the attached file. Pause. Uh-oh. It was the dumbest thing I d done since _79, when I pitched a tent on a colony of army ants in Me_ico. My sc
24、reen started shimmering like a Yucatan sunset. I had unleashed a computer virus. I felt like the tor in The Andromeda Strain; the clock was outracing me. I went to my email program, clicked on File, then selected Work Offline. That, I assumed, would cordon me off from the Net and keep me from spread
25、ing the bug while I figured out how to get rid of it. Ne_t I checked my Outbo_. Argh! Si_ty-five messages were queued up, waiting to be sent to my friends. Each was from me. Each bore the subject line Homepage. Each had a file attached, as doom-laden as a warhead. I deleted the messages and emptied
26、the Recycle Bin. Then I went to the Web for guidance. Cursing myself for not using an anti-virus program on my home computer, I learned that the Homepage virus is the most common bug - technically, it s a worm - out there. It afflicts only PC users of Microsoft Outlook and would not damage my comput
27、er. But it would immediately mail itself to everyone in my address book - that is, everyone to whom I ve ever sent a Reply message. The worm also resets your browser s home page to one of four porn sites. This last bit had not happened to mine. Was I spared? Gingerly, I fired up Outlook and connecte
28、d to the Net. Fifty messages poured into my Inbo_. Most were from corporate servers - such as Time Inc. s - informing me that my email was being returned unopened since it contained a virus. The last message was from my friend Marshall: If you don t mind my asking, which homepage? Double argh! I had
29、 spread the accursed worm. I wrote a mea culpa warning, which I mailed to everyone in my address book: Don t click on that attachment! The worst part was that many of the people I had emailed were newbies - subscribers who had emailed me for help in connection with this column. Most of these folks w
30、ere kind; only one asked me to remove her name from my address book. A guy from the Philippines, birthplace of the dread Love Bug virus, wrote, It is quite ironic that I got a worm from you. Let that irony be a lesson to you: Never open an attachment, even from a friend, unless you ve been told to e
31、_pect it. And always use virus protection. Finally, if you get an email from me whose subject is Homepage, run. PB 很抱歉打扰你 你可能想,这么多年了,还用电子邮件传播病毒,我不至于这么笨吧.那你可就错了.那封电子邮件来自我几十年前认识的一个女人,那时我们只有十几岁,痴痴地相恋着.我敢发誓,自那以后我们仅通过电子邮件的方式联系过三次左右.这最新的信件的主题是主页.正文很简单:嗨!你一定得看看这个页面.真的很酷哦.签名处是个傻乎乎的表情,一个挤眉弄眼的笑脸 :0).呵呵,你这家伙,够
32、狡猾的!我心想,思绪回到70年那个狂热的夏天然后点击了附件.没动静了.哦喔. _79年,我在墨西哥把帐篷搭在了一群行军蚁的地盘上.自那以后,这是我做的第二件傻事了.我的屏幕开始微微发亮,就像尤卡坦的落日.我释放了一个计算机病毒. 我感觉自己像是电影里的博士一般,跟时间赛跑.我打开电子邮件程序,点击文件,选择脱机工作.我想这样一来就可以切断与因特网的联系,不至于传播病毒,再想办法清除.然后我查看了发件箱.天呐!65封邮件排着队,等着发送给我的朋友们,每一封的发件人都是我,每一封的主题都是主页,每一封都有一个附件,像子弹一般充满敌意. 我删除了邮件,清空了回收站,然后上网去找相关资料.我骂自己,怎么不在家用计算机上装一个杀毒软件,然后我得知主页病毒是一种最常见的病毒,专业术语叫蠕虫,只影响Microsoft Outlook的个人计算机用户,不会破坏我的计算机,但它会很快自动发送到我地址簿里的所有联系人,确切地说是我回复过的每一个联系人.这蠕虫还会把你的浏览器的主页设置成四个色情网站的一个.最后一种情况没有发生在我的计算机上.我是不是逃过一劫了呢? 我战战兢兢地打开了Outlook,联机工作.50个邮件一下子涌到我的收件箱里.大多数是来自Time Inc.等公司服务器,通知我邮件因为含有病毒而被直接退回.最后一个邮件是我的朋友马歇尔的:要是你不介意
