Hack

The use of computers in everyday life is becoming more and more common, but how safe is it to use these computers? The problem is more and more people are wanting to gain access to your information for whatever reason, fun , revenge, or even just because they can. These people, called hackers, intend to make money off of you or your company. They have created hacks, that take advantage of flaws in computer systems to gain access to new information or increase their privileges on your computer. So how do we go about protecting our computers? By understanding who is behind these threats, how they get into our systems and cause problems, and lastly what you can do to help stop these threats. To get started let us take a look at the people behind the curtain of computer hacking, into the different types of hackers. Not all hackers are the same they come from different places and different age groups and there are a few ways to describe a hacker. The first is the black hat hacker who as Wilson points out in his article are people who " set out to cause damage for the thrill - or other ulterior motives". So instead of trying to achieve something they are more mischievous like an imp, they have little regard for who you are or what you do with your computer. To the black hat hacker it is a means of having fun or proving to themselves that they are better than someone else. This is not to say that all black hackers are good at what they do; There is a huge subclass of black hat hackers who are made up of "script kiddies" who use "toolkits that are based on code they may not even understand"(Wilson). The problem with this is that it has created an influx of want to be hackers who don 't even know what they are doing. Wilson points out to that if the script kiddies do indeed make up the bulk of the black hats, their lack of skill should make them less of a threat. Yet Wilson directly states that this is not the case because their numbers, their persistence, and their

Bibliography: GEIER, ERIC. "The Ultimate Pc Security Toolbox." PC World 30.12 (2012): 87-93. Internet and Personal Computing Abstracts. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Kabachinski, Jeff. "Viruses, Worms, And Trojans." Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology / Association For The Advancement Of Medical Instrumentation 39.1 (2005): 46-48. MEDLINE Complete. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Kates, Jim, and Stephen Nickson "The Reality Of Hackers." Risk Management 48.7 (2001): 50-57. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W.Wilson). Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Saporito, Bill. "Hack Attack." Time 178.1 (2011): 50-55. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Waqar1, Ahmad. [e-mail]@ieee.org. "Computer Viruses As A Threat To Home Users." International Journal Of Electrical & Computer Sciences 10.3 (2010): 33-44. Applied Science & Technology Source. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Wilson, David L. "When it comes to computer hackers, there are white hats and black hats in the cybrenetic drama of hacking." San Jose Mercury News (CA) n.d.: Newspaper Source. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Vaas, Lisa. "INSIDE THE MIND OF A HACKER. (Cover Story)." Eweek 24.24 (2007): 38. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2013. Yarberry, William A. "Modern Day Paladins: The White Hat Hackers." Information Strategy: The Executive 's Journal 18.3 (2002): 43. Military & Government Collection. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.