What's a Hacker?
"Hacker" is one particular terms that's a different meaning depending on who uses it. As a result of Hollywood, most people think a hacker is an individual who gains illicit access to a computer and steals stuff or breaks into military networks and launches missiles for fun.
These days, a hacker doesn't have to be a geek from a top university who breaks into banks and government systems. A hacker may be anyone, even the kid next door.
Having an ordinary laptop, anyone can download simple software off the Internet to see anything that adopts and out of a computer on the same network. And individuals who try this don't always have the most effective of intentions. Hire a hacker to catch cheating spouse
A Brief History of Hackers
Nowadays, the phrase "hacker" is becoming synonymous with those who sit in dark rooms, anonymously terrorizing the Internet. Nonetheless it was not always that way. The initial hackers were benign creatures. In fact, they certainly were students.
To anyone attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the 1950s and 60s, the definition of "hack" simply meant a classy or inspired solution to any given problem. Many of the early MIT hacks tended to be practical jokes. One of the most extravagant saw a replica of a campus police car placed on the top of Institute's Great Dome.
As time passes, the phrase became associated with the burgeoning computer programming scene at MIT and beyond. For these early pioneers, a hack was a task of programming prowess. Such activities were greatly admired while they combined expert knowledge with a creative instinct.
Why Does a Hacker Hack?
Hackers' motivations vary. For some, it's economic. They earn a living through cybercrime. Some have a political or social agenda - their aim would be to vandalize high-profile computers to create a statement. This kind of hacker is called a cracker as their main purpose would be to crack the security of high profile systems.
Others take action for the sheer thrill. When asked by the internet site SafeMode.org why he defaces web servers, a cracker replied, "A high-profile deface gives me an adrenalin shot and then after a few years I need another shot, that's why I can't stop." [1]
These days, we're faced with a brand new kind of hacker - your next door neighbor. Every single day, tens and thousands of people download simple software tools that allow them to "sniff" wifi connections. Some try this just to eavesdrop on what others are doing online. Others try this to steal personal information in an attempt steal an identity.
The Most Common Attacks
1. SideJacking / Sniffing
Sidejacking is a net attack method where a hacker uses packet sniffing to steal a program cookie from a web site you simply visited. These cookies are usually sent back again to browsers unencrypted, even though the initial website log-in was protected via HTTPS. Anyone listening can steal these cookies and then use them access your authenticated web session. This recently made news because a programmer released a Firefox plug-in called Firesheep that makes it easy for an intruder sitting near you on an open network (like a public wifi hotspot) to sidejack many popular website sessions. As an example, a sidejacker using Firesheep could dominate your Facebook session, thereby gaining access to all your sensitive data, and even send viral messages and wall posts to all your friends.
2. DNS Cache Poisoning
In DNS cache poisoning, data is introduced in to a Domain Name System (DNS) name server's cache database that didn't originate from authoritative DNS sources. It's an unintended result of a misconfiguration of a DNS cache or of a maliciously crafted attack on the name server. A DNS cache poisoning attack effectively changes entries in the victim's copy of the DNS name server, then when he or she types in a legitimate site name, he or she's sent instead to a fraudulent page.
3. Man-In-the-Middle Attacks
A man-in-the-middle attack, bucket brigade attack, or Janus attack, is an application of active eavesdropping in that the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them, making them believe that they are talking directly to one another over a personal connection, when in fact the whole conversation will be controlled by the attacker. The attacker must manage to intercept all messages going between the 2 victims and inject new ones. As an example, an attacker within reception range of an unencrypted wifi access point can insert himself as a man-in-the-middle. Or an attacker can pose as an online bank or merchant, letting victims sign in over a SSL connection, and then your attacker can log onto the real server utilizing the victim's information and steal bank card numbers.
4. Smishing
Packet sniffers allow eavesdroppers to passively intercept data sent between your laptop or smartphone and other systems, such as web servers on the Internet. Here is the easiest and most basic sort of wireless attack. Any email, web search or file you transfer between computers or open from network locations on an unsecured wireless network may be captured by a nearby hacker utilizing a sniffer. Sniffing tools are readily available for free on the net and you can find at the least 184 videos on YouTube to exhibit budding hackers how to use them. The only path to safeguard yourself against wifi sniffing in most public wifi hotspots is to utilize a VPN to encrypt everything sent within the air.
5. Mass Meshing
Also called mass SQL injection, this is a method whereby hackers poison websites by illegally imbedding a redirection javascript from legitimate websites previously infected and controlled by the hackers. These javascripts redirect the visitor's computer to servers which contain additional malicious programs that may attack a user's computer.
The Most Common Targets
Hackers are interested in various types of computers on the Internet. The next list describes several types of targets and their attract hackers. [2]
1. Corporate Networks
Corporate computers are often heavily fortified so hacking into you've got high cachet. Behind corporate firewalls are repositories of customer information, product information, and sometimes, in the case of a pc software publisher, the product itself.
2. Web Servers
Web servers are computers that contain websites. Though some contain customer financial information, web servers are usually targets for vandals because they could be defaced to display information the hacker chooses to the public.
3. Personal Computers
With the ever growing use of wifi, laptops are becoming one of the most hacked devices. Everything an individual visits online can be exposed to an individual using software to "sniff" that connection. The website URL, passwords used to log into an on line banking account, Facebook pictures, tweets, and an entire instant message conversation may be exposed. It's the simplest type of hacking since it requires little skill.
4. Tablets and Palm Top devices
Tablets, cell phones, and other mobile-ready devices are just as popular as laptops come in wifi hotspots. A hacker in a public hotspot could see a mobile device, in addition to all data going into and out of it, just as easily as he is able to a laptop.
How You Can Protect Yourself
The easy truth is that anyone connecting to the Internet is vulnerable to being hacked. Thus, there's a need to be proactive when it comes to protecting yourself from such attacks.
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