Hacking is an act of penetrating computer systems to gain knowledge about the system and how it works. What are Hackers
Technically, a hacker is someone who is enthusiastic about computer programming and all things relating to the technical workings of a computer. Under such a definition, I would gladly brand myself a hacker. However, most people understand a hacker to be what is more accurately known as a cracker.
What are Crackers?
Crackers are people who try to gain unauthorized access to computers. This is normally done through the use of a ‘backdoor’ program installed on your machine. A lot of crackers also try to gain access to resources through the use of password cracking software, which tries billions of passwords to find the correct one for accessing a computer.
What damage can a Hacker do?
This depends upon what backdoor program(s) are hiding on your PC. Different programs can do different amounts of damage. However, most allow a hacker to smuggle another program onto your PC. This means that if a hacker can’t do something using the backdoor program, he can easily put something else onto your computer that can. Hackers can see everything you are doing, and can access any file on your disk. Hackers can write new files, delete files, edit files, and do practically anything to a file that could be done to a file. A hacker could install several programs on to your system without your knowledge. Such programs could also be used to steal personal information such as passwords and credit card information.
How do Hackers hack? There are many ways in which a hacker can hack. Some are as follows.
NetBIOS ICMP Ping FTP rpc.statd HTTP
NetBIOS
NetBIOS hacks are the worst kind, since they don’t require you to have any hidden backdoor program running on your computer. This kind of hack exploits a bug in Windows 9x. NetBIOS is meant to be used on local area networks, so machines on that network can share information. Unfortunately, the bug is that NetBIOS can also be used across the Internet – so a hacker can access your machine remotely. ICMP Ping (Internet Control Message Protocol)
ICMP is one of the main protocols that make the Internet work. It standards for Internet Control Message Protocol. ‘Ping’ is one of the commands that can be sent to a computer using ICMP. Ordinarily, a computer would respond to this ping, telling the sender that the computer does exist. This is all pings are meant to do. Pings may seem harmless enough, but a large number of pings can make a Denial-of-Service attack, which overloads a computer. Also, hackers can use pings to see if a computer exists and does not have a firewall (firewalls can block pings). If a computer responds to a ping, then the hacker could then launch a more serious form of attack against a computer. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP is a standard Internet protocol, standing for File Transfer Protocol. You may use it for file downloads from some websites. If you have a web page of your own, you may use FTP to upload it from your home computer to the web server. However, FTP can also be used by some hackers… FTP normally requires some form of authentication for access to private files, or for writing to files
FTP backdoor programs, such as
Doly Trojan Fore Blade Runner simply turn your computer into an FTP server, without any authentication.
rpc.statd
This is a problem specific to Linux and Unix. The problem is the infamous unchecked buffer overflow problem. This is where a fixed amount of memory is set aside for storage of data. If data is received that is larger than this buffer, the program should truncate the data or send back an error, or at least do something other than ignore the problem. Unfortunately, the data overflows the memory that has been allocated to it, and the data is written into parts of memory it shouldn’t be in. This can cause crashes of various different kinds. However, a skilled hacker could write bits of program code into memory that may be executed to perform the hacker’s evil deeds. HTTP HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol..
HTTP hacks can only be harmful if you are using Microsoft web server software, such as Personal Web Server. There is a bug in this software called an ‘unchecked buffer overflow’. If a user makes a request for a file on the web server with a very long name, part of the request gets written into parts of memory that contain active program code. A malicious user could use this to run any program they want on the server.
Where and how to start Hacking
After you get yourself a good scanner, scan some prefixes and find some cool dialups, then do the following: First Method:
From your terminal, dial the number you found. You will hear a series of Beeps. (Telling you that you are connecting to a remote computer. After few seconds you will hear something like CONNECT 9600. It then identifies the system you are on. If nothing happens after it says CONNECT 9600 try hitting ENTER a number of times. If you get a bunch of garbage adjust your parity, data bits, stop bits etc. until it becomes clear. Now when you get connected to the server you can apply either of the above mentioned methods.
Second Method: The TELNET way
Get your local dialups. Then you dial the number from your terminal & connect. Press Enter and wait for a few seconds. Then it will say Terminal Type your terminal emulation. If you don,t know what it is hit ENTER. It will give you a prompt @. Type c(connects to the host) Type NAU (Network user address) that you want to connect. Find out the type of system you are on UNIX, VAX/VSM, PRIME. Here is a list of some Telenet commands and their functions.
c Connect to a host. stat Shows network port. Full Network echo. half Terminal echo. Telemail Mail. (need ID and password) mail Mail. (need ID and password) set Select PAD parameters cont Continue. d Disconnect. hangup Hangs up. access Telenet account. (ID and password)
What is cracking?
Cracking is an art of removing software copyright protection from a program normally a shareware. Most of us must have observed that when we buy a computer magazine normally a CD full of software comes with it but they have restriction like u can only use it for 15 days or 30 days or more according to company either after that software refuses to work or legally u are not authorized to use it and u have to buy it from the respective vendor or some times it boots up with annoying pop up window or they give sucking adds or it will show TRIAL mark on everything that u do with the software. Now to your rescue comes a cracker who cracks the software for u. What he does is to remove any such protection mentioned above or any other from that software so that u can evaluate it for as long as u wish and when u are totally satisfied u then buy it, cracking removes all restriction from that program.
What is a Crack
Crack is a piece of software or small program made in any programming language depending upon Cracker choice which removes restriction from the software u want and helps u in using your favorite program for as long as u want without any forced banner, adds or just any kind of restriction. There are basically three kinds of Crack that we mainly use which are as follows:
1. Serial Number 2. Patch 3. Key Generator
What type of protection does the software have?
Usually when u get a software it allows u a trial of 15 or 30 days depending upon company and either u are free to use all features or some features are blocked which are available on full version and after the evaluation period u are not authorized to use u have to but it from the vendor or others authorized source. Now how can u remove them? Of course u have to Crack them basically u can use that software after the evaluation period by either entering the registration code or serial number or u can run a patch (an exe or other file) in the folder in which the software is installed normally the folder is in place something similar to this C:\Program Files\Your software. Or there is something like a key generator that generates the required registration code for u. Some software have different kind if protection like if u want to register that program (i.e. want to use it without restriction and others) it demands a serial number or registration code which normally u can get when u pay the price of software to the company and they send it to u, according to the data u would have entered onto their site when u would have purchased the software. That means registration code for a particular name could not be used for the other so Cracker came up with something called a key generator that will generate key according to your information like name or others just as the company would have done it. So u gets to use your software without actually paying for it.
Why Cracking is not a Bad Practices?
Because cracking is done for gaining knowledge and information by a cracker and to test the weakness in the security of a program and to help people buy things worth their money software are heavily price starting from 30$ to 30000$ or even more and the company expects u too see and use it only 15 days or so which is not enough and there are time when u end up in bad deal; to help u a cracker cracks it with the intention that u get things worth your money ; a cracker never wants that u use his crack for something immoral if u like a program or software buy it , because what we all don’t know that a hell of a hard work is put into making a software and by not paying royalty to the programmer for his software by in turn paying to the company u are doing a wrong thing and doing injustice to the programmer and something that is illegal. If u like software does buy it, programmer deserves something in return of his hard work. Cause if everyone starts using a crack no one will buy the software and company will have no money to pay the programmer and no new programs will be made think on it!!!
Black hat or White hat! Computer Hacking Explained A Brief Hacking History
One might not suspect that the art, or scourge, of computer hacking was created at one of the havens for technological excellence. True, at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), a group of students developed the technique and borrowed their name from the “hackers” of the late 1800s who found amusement in pranking the emerging telephone companies.Getting their laughs and skills from hacking and cracking into primitive computers and exploiting the Arpanet (predecessor to the internet), they created a novelty that would become the target of federal crackdown in years to come. To define hacking in short, we can say that an artistic criminal offense of breaking into another remote system without the owner’s consent for the purpose of stealing information is what is hacking.
However, the act of hacking started out innocently, and was basically a method of trying to figure out how computer systems worked. The 1970s saw the rise in “phreaking,” or phone hacking, headed by John Draper. This method allowed the user of a “blue box,”, when used with a Captain Crunch whistle of 2600 hertz which accessed the AT&T long distance system, to make free long distance calls. Hackers initiated with accessing the free phone calls through a varied range of sources, thereby managing to circumvent into the nation’s radio system and the phoning system resulting in a tremendous phone fraud nationwide.
After the age of “phreaking,” computers became not only the target, but also the forum, for a growing hacker population to communicate. The creation of bulletin board systems (BBS) allowed this communication and the technological possibility of more serious government and credit card hacking became possible. At this time in the early 80’s, hacking groups such as the Legion of Doom began to emerge in the United States, giving organization, and thus more power to hackers across the country.
Once this happened, breaking into the computers became a legitimate activity, with its own groups and soon its own voice with the 2600 magazine, launched in 1984. The effects of computer hacking were serious. Two years later, inevitably, Congress launched the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that outlawed hacking. Over the years, there was a series of noticeable occurrences as the worst consequential effect of computer hacking on more high profile cases such as the Morris Worm, responsible for infecting government and university systems, and the Mitnick case in 1995, which captured Kevin Mitnick, steeling as many as 20000 credit card numbers.
In 1999, security software became widely known by the public, and with the release of new Windows programs, which were littered with security weaknesses, they became successful because of necessity. This fraudulent act of computer hacking is perhaps the major problem confronting the rapidly expanding population of Internet users today, with the systems still trying to battle online hackers.
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