Posted on 08/12/2008 10:01:16 AM PDT by decimon
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - In the end, it was hackers at DefCon that got hacked.
After three days of software cracking duels and hacking seminars, self-described computer ninjas at the infamous gathering in Las Vegas found out Sunday that their online activities were hijacked without them catching on.
A standing-room crowd cheered admiringly as Tony Kapela and Alex Pilosov showed them how they were "pwned" by a simple technique that could be used to "steal the Internet."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Dang...that really is scary!
Yeah, that is a scary kid. ;-)
Perhaps the only answer to hacking is to simply dedicate one computer with a very small Hard drive to nothing but internet surfing and leave it completely open to hackers.
A scrubbing each day of anything left new on the hard drive would prevent use of the HD for storing hacker’s info.
With no infomation and no email, wouldn’t they quickly tire of your computer and leave it alone?
I doubt that you are often targeted as an individual. A particularly important institution would be consciously targeted but for the rest of us it is catch as catch can.
I should have added that I like the idea of a dedicated internet computer. You wouldn’t need anything powerful/expensive. A second computer, rarely or never attached to the net, could hold what you would keep to yourself.
I was referring to the reputed practice of hackers/scammers using ‘zombie’ computers for their nefarious deeds.
They certainly can’t get much of any importance off my computers, including my banking ids since I’m chronically broke. ;-)
I was an early user of online banking. Citibank gave me a rom cartridge for my Commodore 128 to access my accounts online. These days I avoid online transactions.
They're called honeypots, and they are in wide use today.
A scrubbing each day of anything left new on the hard drive would prevent use of the HD for storing hacker’s info.
With no infomation and no email, wouldn’t they quickly tire of your computer and leave it alone?
Actually, there is a program you can get that saves your clean system configuration to a separate part of the hard drive, then restores that configuration every time the computer boots up. It's very nice for schools and libraries and such.
One word: NetBeui.
Microsoft makes a program called Steady State that wipes a machine to a known configuration at every boot. It can even be set to wipe everything in the documents folder.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx
Is that a Howard Stern thing?
No, it’s a non routable networking protcol. Hackers can’t hack what hackers can’t see.
Thank you, I like that idea. I have uses for it already! :O)
YIKES! Not the feared NetBEUI! I can see tokens rolling out of my token-ring in fear as we speak!
they would then use YOUR computer as a zombie proxie to attack other computers.
This would leave you wondering why the FBI has you face to the floor and snapping cuffs on you. (oh and they would also shoot your dog, just kidding.)
Yes, but I can see a network that you can’t. LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.