How secure is your computer?<\/p>\n
By Vishnu \"Ramius\" Mahmud<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): I was working an excel worksheet at my desk when
\nAlbert, the company's network God, looked up from his computer
\nmonitor.<\/p>\n
\"You better save it now, dude.\"<\/p>\n
One look at Albert's mischievous face said it all. I
\nimmediately saved and made a quick backup of all my documents.
\nWhen I was done, my computer froze; no keyboard input accepted,
\nno cursor movement recognized. It just hung for no reason. By the
\nway, Albert is also the company's network security expert.<\/p>\n
What he did was actually very simple. He found a hacker
\nprogram on the Internet called \"Jolt\" for his Linux box (computer
\nrunning the Linux Operating System). All he did was download and
\nrun the program from his computer targeting mine within the
\ninternal corporate network. Almost immediately my computer
\ncrashed, forcing a cold reboot. It was that simple.<\/p>\n
This and other hacking programs are available all over the
\nInternet. These applications are designed by hackers to explore
\nthe various holes in operating system security or applications
\nthat were not properly closed (or found) by their creators. The
\nrationale of these programs is twofold: to understand the
\nworkings of programs, computers or networks and to wreak havoc on
\nanyone who may have offended them, the hacker elite.<\/p>\n
According to Winn Schwartau, author of the book Cybershock,
\nthere are many types of hackers. There are the \"Black Hats\", who
\ndo the illegal things such as infiltrating company networks,
\nobtaining passwords, changing or deleting entire web sites; the
\n\"White Hats\", usually former Black Hats who no longer conduct
\nunlawful activities, who focus on computer network security; and
\nthere are the \"Script Kiddies\" otherwise known as hacker
\nwannabes.<\/p>\n
It is this last category that is probably the most dangerous.
\nThese clueless hacker wannabes sometimes get access to powerful
\nprograms that can cause considerable damage. All they have to do
\nis point and click or type in a command without knowing how the
\nprogram really works or what it does. The end result sometimes
\nbackfires on them.<\/p>\n
I love you<\/p>\n
Much has been written about the \"Melissa\" and \"I love you\"
\nviruses that spread around the world in hours. A coworker
\nrecently double-clicked an attachment in her e-mail hoping to see
\na cool \"The Matrix\" screensaver. Instead, the e-mail propagated
\nitself, sending copies to everyone in her address book and
\noverloading the e-mail server. It took six hours and a lot of
\ncursing by the system administrator to get the server back online
\nagain.<\/p>\n
So, how do you protect yourself from all this? Before you
\nstart to shout \"Red Alert!\" and raise shields, the chances of
\nyou, the home user, being targeted by a hacker are rather slim.
\nThe probability still exists but is small (it actually gets
\nhigher if you've ever insulted a nerd in your life!). For a
\ncorporation, the risk is higher since its website is more
\nprominent and the address is public knowledge. Still, most
\ncorporate networks have adequate protection and system
\nadministrators to ensure their security.<\/p>\n
How to protect your computer<\/p>\n
It is better to be safe then sorry. So here are a few
\nguidelines to ensure your computer is protected (or at least not
\neasily hacked):<\/p>\n
1. Install and keep updated an anti-virus program. There is
\nusually a small cost involved (if not free) but it is a
\nworthwhile investment. Make sure you have the latest data files
\nfor the anti-virus so that it can find the newest viruses that
\ncontinuously spawn all around the globe. You can easily
\nget McAfee Anti-virus (www.mcafee.com), Norton Anti-Virus
\n(www.norton.com) and their data files off the net or from CD's in
\nvarious Internet magazines.<\/p>\n
2. Keep the anti-virus program running! Too many times I have
\nseen people running Microsoft Word or Photoshop with their anti-
\nvirus program turned off. They justified it by saying that their
\ncomputers slow down whenever the anti-virus is running in the
\nbackground. Keep the program active and schedule your computer
\nto periodically scan for viruses, preferably at the beginning or
\nend of the day or whenever you receive e-mail.<\/p>\n
3. Update your computer system. If you are using Windows 98, ME,
\nNT or 2000, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) occasionally issues
\nsecurity patches to plug any security holes (known as exploits in
\ngeek speak).<\/p>\n
Mac and Linux users can rejoice for the moment since most
\nviruses and hacker attacks are mainly targeted at the Windows
\noperating system. That does not mean you can be less vigilant,
\nhowever.<\/p>\n
4. Never open e-mail attachments from strangers or even friends.
\nWould you suck on a lollipop given to you from a stranger in
\nTimes Square? But too many people eagerly open a binary file in
\nthe hope of seeing a funny or naughty image. Scan them first
\nwith the anti-virus program and double check with your friend to
\nmake sure they really sent it to you. If it's not needed for
\nbusiness, I'm sure you can survive without viewing whatever \"fun\"
\nthing that attachment was suppose to provide.<\/p>\n
5. Be careful in downloading and installing software. You know
\nMicrosoft. You know Oracle (The second largest computer company
\nin the world but number one in databases, which everyone on the
\nnet uses). But do you know ripyouoff.com? Always be wary of
\ninstalling software from dubious sites (especially from sites
\nthat insist you install their program in order to view their
\nlibrary of \"special\" images). Sometimes anti-virus programs can't
\ndetect them and Trojan viruses can be embedded in the source code
\nof an application.<\/p>\n
These hidden programs can either activate a virus on a certain
\ndate, capture your password and other files to be transmitted to
\nan outside e-mail account, disconnect you from your ISP and
\nconnect you to a foreign based service provider or provide a
\n\"back door\" to your computer which can give full access of your
\ncomputer to a complete stranger on the net. In short, it can be a
\nrather nasty virus that you can unknowingly activate by
\ninstalling from a download or e-mail attachment.<\/p>\n
6. Don't go to strange web sites. This may be a ridiculous
\nsuggestion since the net offers a wide variety of sites for
\nwhatever hobby or interests. However, malicious hackers can use
\nmany methods from using JavaScript to browser cookies (see
\nwww.cookiecentral.com for more information) to dupe users into
\ngiving away information or actually grabbing information off your
\nhard drive. The chances are slim for the moment, but with
\nexploits and security holes being found daily, you may not want
\nto take the chance.<\/p>\n
7. Keep your passwords secure and long. Every time you log on to
\nthe Internet, office network or check your e-mail on the web, you
\nuse a password. Is it written down somewhere? How many
\ncharacters is it? Is it based on a person or birthday? The most
\nsecure password should be a combination of upper and lower case
\nletters with numbers and symbols (such as *, $ or @) tossed in as
\nwell. The longer the password the more unlikely it is for a
\nhacker to crack your e-mail, excel file or Internet account.
\nTheir programs probably can do it but with the longer password
\nwith many different character sets, it could take them about 2000
\nyears. It is easier to crack a password if it is \"daisy\" (you pet
\ndog) than if it is \"D@1sY\". If your password is your birth date,
\na little social hacking (and dumpster diving - going through your
\ntrash) can easily reveal the code. You have been warned.<\/p>\n
8. Install a personal firewall. If your computer is connected to
\nthe Internet constantly (cable modem or LAN) or never turned off,
\nyou may want to install a firewall. A firewall is a system or
\ngroup of systems that enforces an access control policy between
\ntwo networks (check out the Frequently Asked Questions for
\nFirewalls at www.interhack.net\/pubs\/fwfaq).<\/p>\n
It ensures that you and only you have complete control of your
\nmachine and allows traffic in and out according to specifications
\nthat you alone set. Black Ice (www.networkice.com) is one of many
\npopular desktop firewall solutions that can log any attempt of
\naccess from an outside source and help trace its origins.<\/p>\n
To get an idea on how secure your computer really is, check
\nout SHIELDS UP! at www.grc.com. This site will safely scan a
\ncomputer and inform the user what information their computer is
\ngiving away (from their I.P. number to which port is open to
\nattack). It will then provide suggestions on what to do with the
\nsecurity vulnerabilities. The service is free and they do not
\nsave any information about you or your machine.<\/p>\n
For more information about hacking and security, there are
\nmany sites you can go to. Slashdot.org (www.slashdot.org) is the
\nbastion of the open source movement. You can get information
\nabout Linux and it's tools as well as discuss computers and
\nnetworks in general.<\/p>\n
Rootshell (www.rootshell.com) is a more security specific
\nwebsite where you can get information on exploits and patches.
\nNeworder (www.neworder.box.sk) calls itself \"the resource for
\npeople to help avoid being hacked, security and exploiting
\nrelated files and links\". All sites are updated daily (if not
\nhourly) to ensure the latest information on computer security.<\/p>\n
I recommend Winn Schwartau's book Cybershock: Surviving
\nHackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and
\nWeapons of Mass Disruption. It is written for the newbie in mind
\nand explains in great detail the many dangers and glories of
\nhackerdom. Check out also some fun movies like Sneakers, Hackers
\nand Keannu Reeves' pre-Matrix hacker film Johnny Mnemonic that
\ncan give you insight on what all this hype is about.<\/p>\n
Hacker wannabes beware: whatever you do in the name of
\nknowledge and curiosity, make sure you do not upset other people.
\nDespite the nature of the net, you can be located easily and only
\nthe elite ranks of hackers can appear and disappear without a
\ntrace. Learn what you can but Internet ethics calls for
\nnondestructive education. Besides, the last thing you want is
\nthe wrath of hackerdom on your doorstep. (vmahmud@yahoo.com)<\/p>",
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