Why would someone hack me?

Please don’t read this.

Most internet users don’t even care when they read news of someone hacking someone and those left excluding the most above may get the thought “Why would someone hack me?”. What would they get?  I was one among the many common internet users who thought so. My internet activities mostly included social networking, reading news,browsing etc. I have no data in my computer which can be considered sensitive by any nature.  I don’t even have a bank account so there was no question of online transactions. So why would someone hack me?  Many internet users would agree with me. Recently I asked two of my friends about how they feel about falling victim to hacking. First one nonchalantly replied “what will they get by hacking me?”. Now this was not the answer I expected from him. He regularly does online transactions, has so many personal data in his PC that can be termed secret if not sensitive.

          Now why would someone hack? Many ordinary users think (or maybe they just assume) that hackers hack only to get something (read money, data etc). This is true of course but money and data are not the only things that crackers ( I really have  strong reservations for using the word ‘hacker’ for someone who hacks with a malicious purpose) are after. Some hack for your bandwidth, some to make your PC  a part of their botnet and some just for the simple reason why you are reading this far even after the sentence at the beginning of this article in bold instructing you not to read this. Yes, the challenge drives many of them to hack you, well atleast it drives me. Now what is a botnet? A botnet is a group of computers working as a bot( you know bot, don’t you?If not just google it.).  If your computer becomes part of a bot, the cracker can control your system at his whims and fancies. He can use your system to perform a DDOS(Distributed Denial Of Service) on any other system or he can launch an attack from your system, using your resources and most dangerously your IP address.

      Well I didn’t tell you what my second friend told me, did I? He told me he had an antivirus (hopefully updated) and a firewall. Having an antivirus and firewall is ok but this is just not enough. Having a firewall is just like having a watchman at your gate. He may stop some stranger trying to enter your gate but not some well known friend of yours who comes to meet you with an evil intention to hit you hard whatever may be the reason. I am not really telling you that the firewall is useless but only that it is only a part of the solution.

   To really protect you from crackers, apart from installing antivirus and firewall, it is necessary to do something more like,

·        Don’t click on any new and suspicious links in your email.

·        Perform full system scanning regularly.

·        Use netstat to see the connections your computer is making(who knows you may already be a part of the botnet)

·        If you regularly perform online banking, use virtual keypad for typing( who knows there is already a key logger installed on your system)

·        Scan USB devices each time it is attached to your system.

·        See what ports are open on your system. Use netstat or online tools like this one below.This gives you a idea of what an outsider(read crackers) can see about your system.

              http://www.ipfingerprints.com/portscan.php

Well I would not say this tips are the end and the final solution to protect yourself from crackers but they can help you to be aware of whats happening with your system.