Hacker Tools
There
now are more than 100,000 known viruses with more appearing virtually
daily. The myriad of hackers and their nefarious deeds can affect any
computer owner whether an occasional home user, e-mailer, student,
blogger, or a network administrator on site or on the internet. No
matter your level of computer use, you must protect your computer,
business, or even your identity. The best way to know how to protect
your computer is to understand the hacker's tools and recognize their
damage.
Viruses, Exploits, Worms, and More
The
term computer "virus" originated to describe machine code command
inserted into a computer's memory that, on execution, copies itself into
other programs and files on the computer. Depending on the hacker's
intent, the design of a virus can merely be an inconvenience or have
very serious consequences up to a potential catastrophe.
Generally,
a virus is a piece of software, a series of data, or a command sequence
that exploits a bug, glitch, or vulnerability. Each example is
appropriately termed an "exploit." An exploit causes unintended or
unanticipated behavior to occur in a computer's operating system or
applications while propagating itself within the computer.
An
exploit and operates through a network security vulnerability or "hole"
without previous access to the vulnerable system is a "remote" exploit.
An exploit that needs prior access to a system is termed a "local"
exploit. These are usually intended to increase the hacker's access
privileges beyond those granted by a system administrator.
Worms
are simply viruses that send copies over network connections. A bomb
resides silently in a computer's memory until set off by a date or
action. A Trojan horse is a malicious program that cannot reproduce
itself, but is distributed by CD or e-mail.
Protect Your Computer: Avoid Computer Holes/Vulnerabilities
Install
only trusted software and delete unknown emails. If you have any doubt
about a piece of software's function, do not install it. If you receive
e-mails from random people's names, resist your curiosity and do not
open it, just delete it.
Under
no conditions download or open attachments from anyone that you do not
know and even then be cautious. Banks and most companies that create
online personal accounts will not send you attachments. If they do, it
is probably best to go to the company site and request the download or
at least see if it is legitimate. Avoid adult web sites, a hacker's
paradise.
Whether
in your e-mail or online, do not click on ads. If the ad is of
interest, find the site. Be careful with what you physically put into
your computer. This is especially true for shared R/W CDs, USB hard
disks, or flash drives. This is an easy path for a virus to follow from
computer to computer.
Protection: Install Anti-Virus Software
Anti-virus
software searches for evidence of the presence of viral programs, worm,
bombs, and Trojan horses by checking for the characteristic appearances
or behaviors that is typical of these programs. When found the program
logs its discovery, its type, often its name or an identifier, and it
potential for damage. The anti-virus software then eliminates or
isolates/quarantines the infected files. For the individual, commercial
software is relatively inexpensive; however, there are free anti-virus
programs available.
Since
new viruses appear almost daily with new code it is imperative that you
update you antivirus program often to keep up with these threats;
therefore, make sure to set your program to update automatically. To
avoid the annoyance of computer slowdown schedule full scale scans late
at night.
The
same is true for your Windows Operating System. Very often, your OS is
where hackers discover the holes to exploit. Of course, in an
ever-continuing battle, this software is continuously updated with
security patches.
Finally,
secure your wireless network with a router that has a built in
firewall. Almost all wireless routers are set to no security when first
installed. Log into the router and at least set it to basic security
with a strong password to replace the factory setting that any hacker
knows. A firewall or router that is not configured properly or
non-existent allows hackers to scan passwords, e-mails, or files that
cross your network connection.