Reference no: EM13852323

Background Malware (short for malicious software) refers to software designed to damage or perform undesirable actions on a computer system. Malware has become an increasingly profitable industry for business savvy hackers. Malware has also become highly sophisticated, capable of infecting many operating systems throughout a range of devices. As a consequence traditional anti-virus software is no longer the only mitigation strategy that should be used within a home network.

Task Utilising the background information as a starting point, your task is to develop a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating the countermeasures and strategies that should be utilised to stop or reduce the impact of malware on a home computer network. The target audience of your virtual presentation are home users with an intermediate computing skill set. Thus your virtual presentation should be detailed with sufficient information for someone to implement your recommendations.

For each countermeasure method you should clearly state what it is, why it would be effective and any specific actions that need to be taken for the countermeasure to be effective. A contemporary "home network" may include a desktop computer, laptop, ADSL router, smart television, multimedia server, network printer, smart phone and tablets. All of these devices can be potentially susceptible to malware.

Thus you should consider these devices when formulating your solutions. In addition, you should avoid presenting generic security solutions (e.g. anti-virus software) and focus on identify a specific safeguard (e.g. AVG anti-virus v7.4) with the appropriate justification.You should also include configuration and administration related approaches which have the potential to stop or reduce the impact of malware. In addition to the above task, you must also name and justify the specific malware specimens which would theoretically be mitigated through the countermeasure and strategies you have developed.

Additional Task Information

• Your presentation will not be formally presented; you are only developing the slides.

• You may include images or screenshots to emphasise specific points in your presentation. However, any images/screenshots which are not yours would need to be referenced.

• You may include videos or short snippets to emphasise specific elements but these should be your own i.e. not just taken from YouTube etc.

• Avoid filling each slide with sentences/paragraphs of text. Be creative, make your PowerPoint presentation both interesting and engaging.

• When recommending a solution, name specific products/versions/configurations and justify your recommendation. This may require research and analysis of existing literature.

• Read through the marking key and ensure you understand where and how marks are allocated.

• Communicate with your tutor on a regular basis to ensure you are meeting the assignment requirements adequately. Assignment Submission The submission must be a Microsoft PowerPoint document.You are only submitting 1 document through blackboard. All diagrams, text, references etc. must be incorporated into the 1 document. You do not need an ECU assignment cover sheet. Presentation Requirements Must be submitted as a Microsoft PowerPoint document and contain Title slide (1 slide) Assignment title, name, student number, campus, tutor's name. Introduction slide (1-2 slides) A brief overview of your presentation and what you will be presenting. Main body (~35 slides) This section will contain your slides detailing your malware countermeasures and strategies. In-text referencing should be utilised throughout the entire presentation. You should to allocate between 1-4 slides per countermeasure, depending on the amount of depth required. Reference List (1-2 slides)