|
Not too long ago, when an uncle at a birthday party would ask you how to be safe on the Internet, suggesting a decent anti-virus program was a good answer. Depending on how much you like your uncle, it can still be a sufficient answer, but the truth is that viruses are no longer the only threat to home computers.
Hackers have gained interest in your home computer for several reasons. Read on to see why.
Home computers have changed
Your computer has become more powerful over time. Here are some other things that make your current home computer attractive to bad elements on the Internet:
- Always connected: If you use new broadband techniques, such as a cable connection or DSL, your computer is connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. And not only is the connection on all the time, but those broadband techniques let you use the same IP address for a long period of time, too. If a single hacker ever finds out that you have interesting files on your computer, such as the complete collection of Mozart's symphonies orchestrated for two flutes in MP3 format, just a simple message in one of the underground "Mozart rul3z" newsgroups will mobilize lots of other flute-loving hackers to flock to your computer for weeks.
- Powerful operating system: Every new version of Windows has added features and more powerful networking capabilities. This also increases the options for hackers to utilize your computer to do all kinds of tricks with your computer that weren't possible before.
- Inadequate protection: Businesses are starting to understand that they should install firewalls and think about security (not in that order). This fact automatically shifts attention to less-protected computers. Especially for Sunday-afternoon hackers, breaking into a neighbor's computer two blocks down on the same cable segment is easier than trying to penetrate a well-implemented corporate firewall.
Hackers have changed
The hacker community has changed at least as much as your home computer has. The interests and capabilities of hackers have shifted. Here are some reasons why hackers have an interest in your home computer:
- Hazard by numbers: A common misconception is that you're safe because of the sheer number of home computers that are connected to the Internet. Well, the argument works the other way around, too. The Internet has also increased the number of people who use the relative shelter of being anonymous to hack other computers. Hackers' Web sites offer easy-to-follow "how to hack" tutorials that can give anyone the skills needed to start hacking.
- Bots and scripts: Bots (an abbreviation for robots) are software programs that automatically monitor entire ISP IP ranges for computers that come online and immediately do a scan for well-known vulnerabilities. Hackers can obtain bot reports that list all the computers vulnerable for certain attacks. An even more helpful bot may have planted malicious back door programs on those home computers already. Scripts are programs that hackers use to utilize an earlier planted back door, or do whatever tasks need to be done to find and get access to a vulnerable computer. Don't make the mistake of thinking that hacking is hard work.
- Staging DDOS attacks: A relatively new phenomenon is staging attacks on well-known public Web sites, such as eBay and Amazon.com, by overwhelming those sites with data. A distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack like this only has an effect if enough data can be sent to the same Web site during the same time frame. One way to achieve the needed amount of data is to plant a DDOS agent at various home computers and let them all send data at a preset time. The hacker wouldn't be interested in the content of the files on your hard drive, per se, but only in using your home computer as one of his soldiers.
- Stealing CPU cycles: Current home computers are so powerful that you probably wouldn't even notice if some other process were running, too. Hackers want to use the combined CPU power of many home computers to do CPU-intensive processing. Believe it or not, some groups use this to earn higher marks at the various combined-CPU contests on the Internet. Some of these are just harmless secret message-cracking contests that can earn you $1,200 if you are the first to decode the secret message "You won!"
- Personal information: Don't think you have nothing of value on your computer. Of course, hackers may be interested in your credit card details and use them for fraudulent charges. However, a scam was recently discovered in which hackers were interested only in obtaining your ISP dial-in account and password. This group, or legion as they like to call themselves, used a different dial-in account every day to minimize the risk of being traced. Part of their daily task was to scan home computers to stock their supply of dial-in accounts to use for a day.
- Anti-hacking laws: Maybe the tough new anti-hacking laws work, as legislators in the countries that have them want you to believe. But if they do work, hackers wouldn't dare touch businesses that are more likely to press charges against them, but instead practice their skills on lower-profile objects, such as home computers.
|
