Hack. A bad thing for good guys and a good thing for bad guys. Hacking a computer means gaining unauthorized access to a computer's data. As every coin has two sides, hackers can be seen from two perspectives: Hackers and Crackers. Term "Hacker" is largely misunderstood. It could mean either: Good hacker or bad hacker. Good hackers have no intention to exploit system vulnerability while bad hackers do. However, term Cracker always refers to those trying to exploit system vulnerabilities.
Hacking into computers have been around for quite a long. In earlier days of computers, there was a little connectivity between computers around the globe. However, hacking computers over a network started as early as in 1987 exploiting vulnerabilities of a network to which computers are attached. Today, almost all devices (Laptops, Desktops, Mobiles or Tablet devices) are somehow connected to Internet and with an advancement in technologies attacks have also been improved. It is very much important that computer systems are properly secured and protects systems from at least known computer attacks.
Hackers (and not Crackers) are those who breaks in to the system for good reasons. These people are also referred to as Computer Security experts. Their aim is to identify vulnerabilities of the computer system. The system could be for example a desktop software, a website or a corporate network. Big corporations are an easy target for Crackers since gaining confidential data/information from such corporations can make their businesses loose millions of dollar. There are various techniques used by Hackers/Computer security experts to find vulnerabilities in computer networks. Some of these methods include: Penetration attacks, Vulnerability assessment, Denial of Service attacks and Social engineering attacks.
Crackers (yes, those bad guys) are those who tries to exploit system vulnerabilities in a bad way. Their intentions could be anything: profit, a challenge or revenge. Breaking into a computer is not so easy task, at least today. The advancement in technology prevents breaking easily in to computer systems with known attacks till date. There are numerous number of attacks in computer history. I got a chance to understand some of the famous large scale computer attacks in CS 265 class last Fall. Those attacks were very sophisticated and exploited as many systems as they could in a little amount of time. Some attacks that I have studied includes: Password Cracking (passwords are very vulnerable for gaining computer access), Packet sniffing, Malware, Computer viruses, Key loggers, Trojan Horse, Denial of Service attacks and Men in the Middle attack.
It can be argued that the war between Hackers (good guys) and Crackers (bad guys) can never end. No matter how computer systems get more secured, Crackers finds another way to attack computer systems. However, this also helps in a good way in which computer experts design solutions to protect systems against these unseen computer attacks.
Based on my experience and observations, below tips will help stay protected:
1. Do not use one single password across all accounts held.
2. Try not to generate password from your personal details.
3. Do not click random websites and immediately close such websites where content look malicious.
4. Do not install software from an untrustworthy or suspicious publisher.
5. Check for a valid SSL certificate for popular websites. (e.g Facebook, Gmail, Bank websites)
6. Try not to give personal information on each website registered.
7. Have a complex password for your online bank accounts, since you know why!
