Is Your Computer Safe from Hacker Attack?

Before you lose interest, or tell yourself that this won't happen to me, understand this: 99% of the work done to hack into your computer will be done by another computer. Computers don't care how big or small you are. They don't care if you have data that would be useful in corporate espionage. They don't care at all about the data on your computer. They simply search for computers that are connected to the Internet and are not protected from attack. Everyone with an Internet connection is equally susceptible. Hacking programs "test" your computer for known vulnerabilities and then take advantage of these weaknesses to plant other programs. You may unknowingly become part of an international attack on the file servers at the IRS. Do you think the FBI will think twice before removing your entire office network?

What is a Hacker? It's important to understand that true "Hackers" are not necessarily the bad guys. Hackers are the guys that find holes in applications and operating systems. The guys that break into your computers are called (by the Hackers) "Crackers." According to Hackers, Crackers are not as well-educated, don't do serious programming and are malicious in their work. Most Crackers download software (developed by Hackers) from the Internet that allows them to break into your systems. They are looking for big hard drives and fast Internet connections, not your Quicken data or your credit card numbers. (Those guys are called "Phreaks.")

In some cases your computer is used only to find other computers to exploit. A Cracker is not likely to use his own computer to run illegal operations, but he will use yours. Most of the time, Crackers are looking for a fast computer, fast Internet (like your DSL, Cable or T-1 connection) and a lot of storage space. Your file server or workstation will unknowingly become a part of their international porn site or host their bootleg DVD movie storage. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you will "see" the files and just delete them. You won't see them. The files will be buried several directories deep in hidden or encrypted folders. If you do happen to stumble across the payload and delete the files, you may find yourself with a newly formatted hard drive the next morning. Crackers ensure that they have as much (or more) control over your computer as you. They can even set up their own user accounts and hide them from you. They may even plant a Trojan horse or time bomb to exact their revenge if/when you kick them off your systems.

I was amazed to find out just how easily you can gain access to data on most computers. Books and other instructional materials are readily available on the Internet. The Hackers How-to, Smashing the Stack for Fun and Profit and Hack the Evil Empire are just a few of the publications available to anyone on the Internet. Not to bash Microsoft, but did you realize that the "standard" installation of Windows 9x can be compromised without any hacking software whatsoever?

If you use Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you are very familiar with the (almost weekly) notifications that critical updates are available. These are usually patches for newly discovered vulnerabilities and should be installed as soon as possible.

We are all potential targets. I have focused my efforts this month on revealing the Crackers and the potential for exploiting vulnerabilities in your computer systems, but let's not forget about the other bad guys. Stealing credit card numbers is one of the easiest frauds committed on the Internet. I could set up a Web site in one day that offers products at unbelievable prices. A mass e-mailing would bring you to my site. My site would offer you guaranteed "Secured Credit Card Transactions by VeriSign" and would convince you to enter your credit card number, address information and even the security codes on the back of your credit card. All the while, I'm just capturing the information and preparing for my own shopping spree.

Determining if you are a victim is not easy. (See quiz at left.) Some companies are lucky. Someone actually sees the mouse moving on its own on the screen of the file server. Others simply run out of disk space or suffer from a compromised server that frequently crashes and is no longer reliable. Meara, King & Co. now utilizes Intrusions Detection Software designed to watch for known hacker activity signatures in the data being sent to and from your computers. We have also aligned ourselves with a company that installs and configures quality Internet firewalls. For more information about these services, contact Meara, King & Co. today.

Are you a victim?

Take this short quiz and determine for yourself if you need to have a security evaluation performed.

• Does your Internet connection get slow for no particular reason?
• Does your workstation's hard drive light blink when you are not doing anything?
• Do you find yourself waiting for your computer to complete tasks that it once performed instantly?
• Do you find it hard to believe that you have already used that much space on your hard drive?
• Has your network-attached printer printed garbage pages for no reason?
• Do you have to reboot your Internet router more than once every 6 months?
• Have you forgotten to update your Windows Operating Systems with patches?
• Do you lack a quality firewall between your computer and the Internet?
• Have you neglected to run anti-virus software?