|
|
|
Is Web Ranking Software Right For You?
The battle for targeted traffic to your website is an ongoing concern with almost every business that has an online presence. To meet this demand, a whole industry has grown up around providing web ranking and search engine optimization services....
Is your E-mail Protected?
Recent history demonstrates that when e-mails wind up in third-party hands, the results range from mild embarrassment to theft of proprietary information and multi-billion dollar lawsuits (think Merrill Lynch). But prying eyes won’t be smiling for...
Microsoft Great Plains Integration with Microsoft Access – overview for developer
Microsoft Business Solutions stakes on Microsoft Great Plains as main Accounting/ERP application for US market. At the same time it seems to be staking on Navision in Europe and has Axapta as high end large corporation market competitor to...
SEO 101 – The Basics Of How To Get To The Top Of The Search Engines
Search Engine Optimization (commonly referred to as SEO) is one of the best waysto get traffic to your site. The best thing about SEO is that the traffic you get is free! If you manage to get top ten listings in a major search engine like...
Software Integration for SMEs
The Problem
Software integration aims to solve a problem that started when large companies automated processes that had previously been manual; such as finance or human resources. This in itself was a very successful idea, and sent costs...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Script Kiddies - Vermin of the 'net
....well, a close tie with Pyramid scheme pushers
My prompting for writing this article is occurring right this moment. My personal firewall software has thrown up a dialog box stating that someone is probing port 27374 on my computer. ...again ..... this is the eighth time today.
This is not a technical document, but serves as an alert to the new surfer and the unaware. I will leave the technical aspects to the more expert writers among us.
Hackers seem to have gained a fairly respectful reputation in society these days, mainly due to glorification by the media. This article is not about the true hackers, but about their wannabe counterparts - the Script Kiddies.
A Script Kiddie is someone who is "socially challenged" and has very little respect for the privacy of others. They utilise freely available software, which is easy to use, to scan networks in the hope of finding a computer that is compromised enough to allow them to have some fun.
Fun includes crashing your machine, opening the CD-ROM tray, controlling your mouse, stealing your files or other "really cool" activities such as stealing your PWD (password) file for cracking later on. Script Kiddies gain this type of control through utilising Trojan programs that have been installed on your computer by other means (usually by executing unscanned infected email attachments or software downloads). The Trojan broadcasts it's presence to the world, so as the Script Kiddie sits back and picks his nose, or engages in other such habits, the port probing program he is running detects any suitable Trojan, makes a connection and he's in.......akin to home invasion.
These Trojan programs take up residence on certain ports on your computer. And here's the scary bit. There are approximately 65 000 ports on your PC. Each Trojan has its "favorite" port, so that makes the Script Kiddie's cushy job even easier. Since installing my firewall a month ago, I have had notifications that these particular ports have been probed over 300 times.
Script Kiddies can get a little more creative with their attacks, but mostly it is random opportunist vandalism and theft. And these are considered punishable crimes in many countries. The act of port probing is considered by most ISP's to be hacking.
The reason for my tone in this article is that I would like these people, mainly young, bored and misdirected, to realise
that what they are doing is not "cool". We do not consider them to be "hackers"....just annoying, immature criminals. If the entire Internet community took on the same attitude towards this behaviour, it may encourage them to cease it. There is no glory in what they are doing, and very little skill involved.......
Even using the term "Script Kiddie" in reference to them relays the derision that they deserve. Calling them hackers is a boost to their rather sad egos.
If this article has stirred your interest in the subject of Internet security, and the security of your own computer, I strongly recommend a visit to http://www.grc.com and testing your computer out on their online diagnostic - "Shields Up". I ran this test last year and was horrified at what information I was unknowingly giving away. The owners of grc.com, the Gibson Corporation, are well respected in the Internet Security Community and the tests are carried out under secure conditions. And yes, it's free................
Even if you do use the latest virus scanner that can detect these types of Trojans (they aren't actually virii), it's still worth a trip out there. The method of attack stated above is only just one of the many invasion strategies currently in use.
As for personal firewall security, check out http://www.zonealarm.com. Zone Alarm is one of the best products on the market - and there are free versions for home users.
Your ports have most likely been probed while you have been online today....and you probably wouldn't even know it......
Michael Bloch
michael@tamingthebeast.net
www.tamingthebeast.net
Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community
Marketing, eCommerce and General Training Services
_____________________________________________
Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming the Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to the website (www.tamingthebeast.net) and send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety and this copyright statement must be included. Thanks.
About the Author
Michael is an Australian Information Technologies trainer and web developer. Many other free web design, ecommerce development and Internet articles, tutorials, tools and resources are available from his award winning site; Taming the Beast.net (http://www.tamingthebeast.net)
|
|
|
|
|
| Tucows Downloads - Download Freeware and Shareware Software |
| Download freeware, shareware, and demos. Maintains over 45000 software titles that are tested, rated, reviewed and ready to download. |
| www.tucows.com |
|
| Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com |
| Download shareware, freeware and Demo software for PC, Mac, Linux, and Handhelds categorized into categories, plus software reviews. |
| www.download.com |
|
| Computer software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a ... Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Shareware.com - Search for shareware programs and free software ... |
| Search for shareware programs from more than a dozen downloadable software directories. |
| www.shareware.com |
|
| Jumbo: Free & Shareware MP3 files, Games, Screen Savers & Computer ... |
| Source of free and shareware computer programs and utilities for PC and Mac. Evaluate software and read product reviews. Download games and screen savers. |
| www.jumbo.com |
|
| Computer Software in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Browse categories featuring sites devoted to computer software, including shareware and freeware download sites, operating systems, desktop customization, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| IEEE Software |
| IEEE Computer Society's magazine covering all aspects of software, including software engineering. |
| www.computer.org |
|
| Free Downloads on ZDNet | Shareware, Trialware, Evaluation Software |
| ZDNet's Software Directory is the Web's largest library of software downloads. Covering software for Windows, Mac, and Mobile systems, ZDNet's Software ... |
| downloads.zdnet.com |
|
| FSF - The Free Software Foundation |
| Free software is a matter of liberty not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech". |
| www.fsf.org |
|
| Apple - Software |
| Software products for your digital life. ... The perfect addition for professional review. QuickTime Broadcaster. Encoding software for live events. ... |
| www.apple.com |
|
| Open Directory - Computers: Software |
| In Partnership with AOL Search. about dmoz | report abuse/spam | help. the entire directory, only in Computers/Software. Top: Computers: Software (38471) ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| freshmeat.net: Welcome to freshmeat.net |
| About: The Web browser is probably the most frequently used software today, ... Web professionals can use the software for functional testing and regression ... |
| freshmeat.net |
|
| Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
| Listing of the GNU software packages. |
| www.gnu.org |
|
| Sun Software |
| Get enterprise-class software--Solaris 10 OS, the Java Enterprise System, ... Sun Java StorageTek Software reduces cost and complexity with a single, ... |
| www.sun.com |
|
| Internet Real Estate.com -- owns and operates a portfolio of the ... |
| SOFTWARE.COM · SWEEPSTAKES.COM · PHONE.COM PODCAST.COM ... Software.com | Sweepstakes.com | Phone.com | Podcast.com | Shop.com | Safety.com ... |
| www.internetrealestate.com |
|
| Joel on Software |
| A weblog by Joel Spolsky, a programmer working in New York City, about software and software companies. |
| www.joelonsoftware.com |
|
| Amazon.com Software: Computer & video games, business, accounting ... |
| Online shopping for computer & video games, business & office productivity software, software from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe & more; accounting, antivirus, ... |
| www.amazon.com |
|
| IBM Software - Home Page |
| IBM home page for all of its software products, including Lotus and Tivoli, with keyword search, category browse and AZ product names. |
| www.ibm.com |
|
| Opera web browser: Homepage |
| Copyright © 2006 Opera Software ASA. All rights reserved. Skip navigation. Opera Software ... Copyright Opera Software ASA . All rights reserved. ... |
| www.opera.com |
|
| Google Directory - Computers > Software |
| Search only in Software Search the Web ... Software Categorized by Letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ... |
| www.google.com |
|
|