The best way is to know how hackers
do what they do. Once you know that, you can counter their malicious acts. Here
are five popular hacker strategies.
1. Phishing scams
Lucky you! A Nigerian prince has selected you to help smuggle millions out of
his country. For a little bit of effort - a few simple wire transfers - you'll
get a substantial cut. What could be easier?
I bet you're asking yourself,
"Who would fall for that?" Well, tens of thousands of people do every
year. That's why Nigerian scams, or 419 scams, are still very popular.
Other versions might say you won a
contest or have a job offer. Maybe someone wants to meet you, or you can make
money for shipping some goods.
The catch is that you have to send
in personal or banking information, or pay a fee. Of course, your information
and money is going straight to hackers.
Use common sense before reacting to
any email. Scams rely on making you act quickly. If you think about things long
enough, you can usually see through them. Just remember the old saying,
"If it looks too good to be true … "
2. Trojan horse
Many hackers want to slip a virus on
your computer. Once installed, a virus can record everything you type and send
it back to the hacker. It can send out spam email or attack other computers.
To do this, the hackers disguise the
virus as something harmless. This is called a Trojan horse, or just Trojan.
One of the most popular ways to
deliver a Trojan is a variation of the phishing email scams.
For example, the email might say
it's from a shipping service, bank or other reputable company. There's been a
problem with a transaction! To learn more, you have to open an email
attachment.
The attachment might look like a
normal file, but it really contains a Trojan. Clicking on the file installs it
before you can do anything.
Similar scams appear on Facebook and
Twitter. You think you're going to watch a funny video your friend posted.
Instead, a popup tells you to update your video player. The "update"
file it provides is really a Trojan.
3. Drive-by downloads
Security software is good, but it isn't always enough. Programs on your
computer might have weaknesses that hackers can use to bypass security
software.
To take advantage of these
weaknesses, hackers set up website embedded with viruses. You might get there
by clicking a malicious link in a phishing email or on social media. You can
even find these sites in a search for popular programs or topics.
It isn't just malicious sites,
though. Hackers can sneak malicious code on to legitimate websites. The code
scans your computers for security holes. If it finds one, a virus can download
and install without you doing anything.
To stay safe, you have to keep your
programs up to date. Every month, Microsoft releases updates for Windows and
Internet Explorer. These updates close critical security holes that hackers
exploit. Click here to learn how to update
Windows.
4. Bypassing passwords
In Hollywood movies, hackers are masters of guessing account passwords. In the
real world, however, very few hackers bother.
Instead, they go around passwords.
They might get your password from a data breach at a company or website you
use.
Perhaps the hacker slipped a virus
on to your system. It records your passwords and sends them to the hacker; no
guessing needed.
As I mentioned above, you can stop
viruses with up-to-date security software and programs.
A hacker might tackle your account's
security question. Most security questions can be answered with information
people post publicly.
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Carl Thorne
Expert Computer Consulting
Related Posts: Safety