A student wants to protect her computer from unauthorised access. (a) Describe how a firewall can protect the student’s computer. (b) Describe two other ways the student can protect her computer from unauthorised access.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme. The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. 13(a) Up to two of: B1 for each description.
2. Monitors incoming / outgoing network traffic (1)
3. Blocks / filters traffic that matches predefined rules / is suspicious (1)
4. Prevents unauthorised access (to the computer / network) (1)
5. 13(b) Up to two different methods, with description. Each method B1, description B1.
6. (Strong passwords) Hard to guess / combination of characters / long (1) Prevents brute-force attacks / guessing (1)
7. (User accounts / access levels) Restricts what users can access / do (1) Limits damage from unauthorised users (1)
8. (Encryption) Scrambles data (1) So it's unreadable if intercepted (1)
9. (Anti-malware / anti-virus software) Detects / removes malicious software (1) Prevents malware from granting access (1)
10. (Physical security) Locks / secures computer (1) Prevents direct physical access (1)