Malicious hackers query

[CurlyWhirly]

As explained in this link Microsoft are warning that malicious hackers could take "take complete control of the affected system."

Is this just scaremongering or is there some truth in these warnings? :unsure:

Don't get me wrong I always keep my PC up to date with security patches and updates, but I have never heard of a home PC getting hacked only commercial websites and online banking sites!

[andsome]

I can go for weeks without any hacker warnings, and then get several in one day. These attempts are traceable, and come from all over the world.

[CurlyWhirly]

I can go for weeks without any hacker warnings, and then get several in one day.  These attempts are traceable, and come from all over the world.

I was always under the impression that these hacker warnings weren't really hackers as a real hacker would do it by stealth tactics i.e. you couldn't trace him or her :unsure:

I believe that if you were hacked then you would never know about it.

Most of the hacker warnings you refer to are nothing more than 'handshakes', that's what I've been told anyway.

[andsome]

These attempts as I understand it are back door attempts, stopped by my firewall, which can then track them. They come from all over Europe, the Far East and the US.

[r4may]

These attempts as I understand it are back door attempts, stopped by my firewall, which can then track them.  They come from all over Europe, the Far East and the US.

I get several reports from my firewall about Back door Trojan attempts and they are from all over the world.

I guess they are just surfing for systems to hack, so maybe MS are correct.

[andsome]

I am very surprised that there have been so few posts to this thread. Come on experts, let's have an opinion on this important matter.

[CurlyWhirly]

I am still not sure about whether hackers really do bother hacking home computers but upon reflection it is probably a boring subject hence the lack of replies! :blush:

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I don't think they are actual living beings, they are probably hacker bots, who just go through the Internet, trying each IP address.

There are probably many different types of these bots, but I don't think any of their intentions are good

My rules to prevent being hacked:

- use a good firewall on every system (not Windows XP firewall!)

- have a good password for every Administrator user

- keep Windows up-to-date

[CurlyWhirly]

I don't think they are actual living beings, they are probably hacker bots, who just go through the Internet, trying each IP address.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a hacker bot.

I have heard of a search engine spider which indexes websites though.

A typical example of a good use and a bad use of a bot.

[scuzzman]

Just a few things I'd like to point out on this topic:

The most common way of getting infected is through either a) Malware or B) not having a patched OS. Keeping your Windows, Linux, UNIX, Mac, what-have-you up to date is of utmost importance. That said, you still need to be behind a good firewall (the Windows XP Firewall is not a good firewall).

As for "malicious hackers" being able to control your system, this is correct. But, as you should know, any, repeat any program running as an administrative user on any system has complete, unrestricted access to everything that computer is capable of (this includes, but is not limited to, virii, worms, & trojans, but also screensavers, calculators, and minesweeper).

A basic understanding of security is needed to safely operate a system in these days, if you don't want your computer becoming a bot (see also: botnet) and helping the propagation of these parasites.

So, to answer the original question: can a "malicious hacker" (I resent the way this title has been utterly abused by the media) take complete control of your system with teh use of a backdoor-type program or some other type of exploit? Abolutely! But so can any other program.

[CurlyWhirly]

Thanks for the explanation scuzzman :)

I may be at risk as I always log in to windows under administration status as under a limited account, it is a pain when you want to install or uninstall programs as you get an error message along the lines of:

"You do not have permission to carry out this function" (or words to that effect)

[scuzzman]

I may be at risk as I always log in to windows under administration status as under a limited account, it is a pain when you want to install or uninstall programs as you get an error message along the lines of:

"You do not have permission to carry out this function" (or words to that effect)

It is a small price to pay...

There is always the "Run as Administrator" option in the right-click menu...

[CurlyWhirly]

There is always the "Run as Administrator" option in the right-click menu...

Cheers for the above as I didn't know that option existed! :blush:

I will check it out. Thanks.