How Hackers Do It.
All around the world computers are becoming more and more common in households and everywhere else. Computers are becoming best friends and not having one means that are missing a lot. There is endless things to do on computers, such as facebook, instagram and other social networking. These give hackers more ways to get your information. But the biggest problem with computers these days is the fact that they are so easy to hack. They can get pictures, contact information, emails, search history, passwords and your money etc. Your information could be everywhere in minutes. All you have to do is have a computer and the mind of an everyday person and anything can happen. As new software and devices come out, hackers find ways to get through it. Their traps are getting smarter. As new devices come out hackers get smarter and smarter, while technology users are falling into the same traps, allowing hackers to gain control of thousands of computers a day.
Everyone has computers now and if one does not then they are missing out on something important. Seeing kids everywhere using laptops makes others want to buy them. When a person gets a computer and they are unfamiliar with it, it can be very easy for people to fall into a hacker’s trap. Some examples of hacker traps are pop ups, using open wifi and sneaking viruses onto downloadable files. To avoid this problem many people “Use the Same Password for Multiple Accounts.” ”Sure, using the same password for multiple accounts seems like a great way to save you from having to remember so many passwords, but If a hacker hacks one of your accounts, or your account and password are involved in a data breach, a hacker is likely to try your compromised password to gain access to other accounts” This is a common mistake that many people make to help themselves remember their passwords. The smarter thing to do is change the password very little so it is not identical to others. Another way that people make the mistake is when they “Respond to Pop-up Messages and/or Unsolicited Emails.” Hackers get people a lot with this mistake because they make the emails seem so real, making people feel that you actually know that person. These pop-ups tend to reel you in with prize winning and ways to help you or your device. A lot of people are very gullible so they believe what they see because they think it will benefit them from hackers. Little do they know they have just been hacked. The most common mistake is pop ups because hackers can manipulate the pop up causing people to click exactly what they want. There are many different ways to get hacked and people need to be more conscious of what is real and fake.
Once they have gotten into a persons computer or device then that person has to do whatever it takes to get rid of them because, what hackers can do, is endless. In minutes all of the data and the person’s information could be in their hands. This is an interview with a hacker showing what they can achieve through mediocre wifi signals in a person's everyday cafe. “With the stroke of a few keys, a code flashed by and then suddenly he pulled up a list. He points to a list of names and phone numbers on the screen.” “Yes. Absolutely. I can grab the SMS (text messages). I can actually grab the contact of the actual text.” The easiest access point for hackers is free wifi cafes because they can create what seems to be a normal network connection.
One of the most common places for a person without internet is a free wifi area/cafe. People go to these places specifically for internet, so they do not waste any time checking if something seems suspicious. They join the first network that says it is free and before they are off, they have the hacker already in there computer system. Hackers make it seem like its working right by putting websites that are popular so that there is no suspicion. Then within minutes, they have you texts, contacts, passwords and pictures. With that information they can cause identity theft and more.
If you want to not be like the people who get hacked, all you have to do is find good ways to avoid hacker traps. Some people are very conscious about where they are and what they do at every moment. Ways to avoid these people are simple. Cover the laptop camera so that if they get into it, they will not be able to take pictures of people while not using your laptop. Next, be careful when downloading software updates. “When companies discover vulnerabilities in their software that hackers can exploit, they send out security patches to solve the problem that appear in the form of pop-ups or download prompts.” Finally, anything that is not 100% clean, such as emails do not open or answer to. These days people need to be very sure when making decisions like those.
Technology is a need to know part of life these days. More inexperianced people feel that they need to own computers and fancy phones because others have it. This is not true. Before buying a device of some sort people should first learn some safety precautions because they become the easiest targets for hackers. Hackers traps are getting smarter. Computers are a way of life these days causing more people to buy computers. As new devices come out hackers get smarter and smarter causing people to fall into their well thought out traps, gaining control of thousands of computers a day.
Works Cited:
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http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/09/23/how-hackers-are-using-free-wi-fi-to-hack-your-phone/
Sutta, David. "How Hackers Are Using Free Wi-Fi To Steal Your Information - CBS Miami." CBS Miami. David Sutta, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
http://www.tinhat.com/hackers/hacking.html
"What Hackers Do." What Hackers Do. EBOOK, 2000. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Thomsen, Jacqueline. "How to Avoid Hackers, from Cyber Security Experts on Campus." Newsroom How to Avoid Hackers from Cyber Security Experts on Campus Comments. Jacqueline Thomsen, 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
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