Security FAQs

What Does A Virus Signature Look Like And Which Software Do I Need To See One?

Lee — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:00:45 +0000

When people hear the word virus they tend to freeze up more than normal.

They do not know what a virus consists of so they put bad thoughts into their mind about how it is some kind of weird mechanism.

Their thoughts float to ideas like a biological virus creeping through their computer.

That is not the case at all though – a virus is just like a normal program.

The only difference is that it goes through your computer looking to do bad things to it which it is able to do in two different ways – through either bending the rules of what is allowed on the machine or by breaking the rules altogether and finding an exploit in the machine.

There is a slight but subtle difference between the two methods and that difference matters.

If the software that is being run allows the virus to do bad things to the computer then that means that it is a sloppy written program.

If the virus is able to do the bad things to the computer because it has found an exploit then that is another matter all together.

That goes beyond a sloppily written program and borders on carelessness.

virus signatures and IDA Pro

Most companies have code review boards that try to make sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen.

Sure, everyone makes mistakes, but this is kind of a big one.

If a virus is nothing but a normal program then how can someone tell they have been infected?

And how is the antivirus program on my system able to distinguish between an infection and a safe program?

In the following paragraphs I will take a look at this question and show you how you and your software is able to tell when a virus infection is going on in your computer.

You Don’t Need A Microscope To Read A Virus

When you are looking at a virus, you do not need a microscope or any special piece of hardware.

There are several software programs that anyone can run on their computer to see the insides of a virus; there are many programs both free, open sourced and premium that will allow you to do this.

One of the most popular pieces of software is one that is called IDA Pro.

It is very popular with both side of the security community.

There is no other software out there that will give you such a detailed graphical representation of the programs on your computer and it is able to read many different formats as well.

While you are in your x86 based computer you will be able to read the byte code from other CPU based computers.

This is amazing because this type of software is not supposed to be able to run on your type of computer but thanks to IDA Pro it can.

But, as I said before, there is more software out there that will do the same thing but IDA Pro is the best in my opinion.

It does have a steeper learning curve than the other software out there but once you learn it you will be off and running.

Virus Signatures

When I say signature what I mean is what the software is accessing at the time.

There are different functions that reside in your computer; to be able to interact with your computer a program must be able to access these functions.

There are some functions that are fairly benign and there are some functions that can cause a little damage if a program got hold of them.

Functions like this are usually in the kernel of the operating system.

No user access programs are supposed to have access to this level of the kernel which means that the virus was able to use an exploit to get there and cause a corruption.

If that is the case then the rest of the system can be in real trouble.

So when a researcher is looking at the program and seeing what functions it accesses, he is making sure that the program is not able to do considerable damage.

The thing about a virus is that it doesn’t have to go kernel deep to cause damage, all it has to do is to be able to disrupt your computer in some manner.

If that means that it is able to throw pop ups at you every five minutes to get you to buy some fake antivirus software then that is what it will do.

That doesn’t take a lot of skill and is easy to fix if the person knows what they are doing.

A Virus Is Not The Only Program That Leaves A Signature

All programs leave a signature of some kind and that includes other types of malware as well; a virus is not the only one.

Security researchers are able to tell the difference between the threats because of looking at the signatures.

It is a hard job to be able to stare at assembly language all day trying to find the threats on your computer but security researchers are the kind of guys who love doing it.

What Does A Virus Signature Look Like And Which Software Do I Need To See One? is a post from: Security FAQs

What Are The 3 Ways That Someone Could Use Social Engineering To Get Your Password From You?

Lee — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:00:57 +0000

When most people think of hacking they usually only think about the technical aspects of the act.

They see images on the television of people sitting behind their computers and working through the night time hours and they think that is all it is.

But there is another part of hacking that does not get that much recognition from the general populace.

People forget that a lot of hackers also have to use the social engineering part of the discipline to be able to trick you and get what they want.

Most of the attacks that you see on the internet are not technical in nature.

They may use a little bit of technology but they are mainly trying to fool you into doing something that they want you to do.

In this article I will take a look at the ways that hackers will try to get important data from you.

Hopefully by being exposed to some of their techniques, you will be able to recognize it and then stop them.

protect your passwords from social engineering attacks

Fake Web Sites

A lot of the attacks that you will see coming are based on having a fake web site on the internet.

The general populace knows nothing about what goes into making a web site; they think that it is harder than it really is so they will take a look at a web site that they go to and not bother to look at the URL of the site.

If it looks like the site that they usually go to that is good enough for them.

But it is really not good enough.

It is easy for an attacker to duplicate the look and feel of a popular web site.

This is why you must check the URL of a site before you log on.

If not then you are asking for trouble.

The URL is the address that you type in at the top of your browser.

When you click a link you get directed to a web site so you do not have to type the address in but it still shows up – make sure that you are on the right address and everything should be fine.

Fake Emails

Another way they will try to get you is by sending fake emails to your email account.

The emails will look official and seems as if they have all of the proper information on them.

This again is not hard to duplicate.

So when you get an email that claims that it is an official correspondence then you should look at it with some skepticism.

If it has a link that it wants you to follow then do not click it.

Type in the URL address in the address bar that it wants you to go to.

This way they are not able to mask the link request.

Masking the link request means that they are showing one address but they are trying to send you to another.

If you follow that rule then you should be fine.

Through Your Social Media Account

Most people expect attacks in their email but they do not expect it in their Facebook account.

This is the new home for hackers and they are using every trick in the book to get all of the information that they can.

You have to be real careful when it comes to clicking links that are in your social network.

Even people that you consider friends may have had their account hacked and will send you a dangerous link.

Always be on guard when you are using a social media network account.

There are a dozen ways in which people will try to get your username and password from you.

Make sure that you are always on alert and you should not have a problem.

What Are The 3 Ways That Someone Could Use Social Engineering To Get Your Password From You? is a post from: Security FAQs

Kernel Hackers And Network Hackers – Which Should Worry Me The Most?

Lee — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:00:07 +0000

The word hacker is used in general terms these days; and even that general term is wrong.

When people hear the word hacker they automatically think of a cyber criminal but this is not what it is – a hacker is someone who wants to know how something works.

In the world of computers this can apply to a lot of things.

The two main activities of computer hackers are to focus on the kernel, meaning the operating system, and the network hackers.

Network hackers are people who focus on the Internet and the inner workings of it.

kernel hackers and network hackers

I will give a fuller description of both of these activities and then show you which one you should really worry about -

What Is A Kernel Hacker?

The term kernel hacker can have two different meanings.

One of the meanings is someone who works on an operating system to be used by other people.

An example of this is someone who codes for the Linux kernel.

Another meaning for the term kernel hacker is someone who tries to find holes in an operating system.

This is the type of kernel hacker that I will talk about in this article.

When there are millions of lines of code in a piece of software then you have the potential for there to be holes in there.

Actually, there is more than a potential; it will almost certainly happen.

So kernel hackers go through the operating system with a debugger and try to find any hole that can be exploited.

These are the type of people that can find the holes that can really damage your system.

What Is A Network Hacker?

A network hacker is someone who concentrates on finding holes in the network layer.

The more that we use the internet for our everyday life, the more people who hack on the network are able to do damage.

There are several layers of the network that security administrators must worry about securing.

When you have someone that knows the network as intimately as your average network hacker then they can find a lot of holes that they are able to exploit.

A network hacker can find holes in the router, the firewall, and the actual browser that someone uses to browse the internet.

A network has more layers to worry about than the kernel hacker but the kernel hacker’s layer is a lot more technical and complex.

Both Types Of Hacker Pose A Threat

When you are trying to secure your network you have to worry about both types of hackers.

They both can cause a lot of damage.

When it comes to who is more dangerous than the other the fact is you will have to deal with a network hacker more since kernel hacking is a lot harder to find exploits.

The network layer is everywhere and you have to worry about the dangers every day.

Kernel Hackers And Network Hackers – Which Should Worry Me The Most? is a post from: Security FAQs

The Best Antivirus Programs For 2011 – Kaspersky Antivirus 2011

Lee — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:00:42 +0000

Like other antivirus packages from the leading security vendors, Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a very comprehensive antivirus solution which offers real-time protection against the usual suspects, i.e.

Viruses
Worms
Spyware
Bots
Trojans

Kaspersky Labs are rightly well known in the security arena and this latest incarnation of their antivirus software will do their reputation no harm at all.

Kaspersky antivirus 2011 has an easy installation

Easy Installation

To be fair, most antivirus programs can be installed quite easily, and Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is no exception.

All you need to do is follow the sort of setup wizard that you have probably seen many, many times before with just about every program you’ve installed on your Windows computer.

You get to choose between a standard or custom install; the standard installation will do just fine for almost all users.

Once installed you will want to run the update immediately and then you are good to go and will be safe from all manner of threats.

Simple To Use

I’ve tried many antivirus programs over the last few years and most of the ones I’ve looked at have been good or at least ok.

Some, however, have been a nightmare to get to grips with, despite the fact that I like to think I know what I’m doing.

Thats been down to poor interfaces that leave the user wondering what on earth they should be doing with the program.

Fortunately, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 doesn’t fall into that category – it is, in fact, very easy to navigate around and has a straightforward and simple interface.

The main screen that you will see in this program is the dashboard which displays navigational tabs on the left hand side; these tabs lead to the main features that you will want to use -

Scan
Update Centre
Tools
Quarantine
Reports
Scheduler

Advanced users will find plenty to tinker with in there but basic users need not be worried that running a scan or updating their virus definitions will be beyond them.

Features And Benefits

Unlike some free antivirus programs, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is fully featured as I’m sure you would expect.

It also has one interesting key feature – the virtual keyboard.

Naturally, a virtual keyboard isn’t something you would want to be using all the time (I have one on my laptop and it isn’t fun to use for long periods of time) but it does add another layer of security when it comes to typing in sensitive information such as online banking passwords, etc.

This is because it will effectively freeze out any keylogging programs that may have crept onto your system.

Some of the other features include the ability to schedule future scans as well as determining how deep those scans should be.

And when you do run a scan you may be pleasantly surprised by how quick it is as Kaspersky use iSwift technology which will vary the speed of the scan according to what demands are being placed on the syste,, i.e., if you are not doing anything else on your computer then the scan will be quicker and, conversely, it will be slower if you are multitasking at that time.

Another feature, iChecker, allows for scanning of only those files that are new, or that have been changed since the last scan, which again decreases the time taken.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 also comes with a Gamer mode which is a feature that I personally like as there is nothing worse than having a notification pop up on your screen when you are frantically trying to kill your online mates in the latest online shooter!

Kaspersky offers a Gamer mode

Scope Of Protection

As mentioned at the very beginning of this review, Kaspersky Antivirus protects your machine from a large range of threats such as -

Viruses
Worms
Spyware
Bots
Trojans

but there is a lot more to it than just that.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 offers you protection from other threats too, such as -

Keyloggers (see the virtual keyboard comments above)
Browser exploits
Operating system exploits
Adware
and other malicious scripts

Kaspersky antivirus 2011 offers effective scanning

Regular Updates

A staggeringly large number of new threats are released every week.

For an antivirus program to combat these new threats, as well as the numerous variations of existing ones, it needs to be updated frequently.

Kaspersky Antivirus has that covered because it updates itself hour in order to ensure that your computer is well protected.

Such updates are performed automatically which is never a bad thing as I know far too many people who would forget if it was left to them to keep their security software up to date.

For those of you who prefer manual updates that option is still possible as well.

If an update goes pear then you don’t need to panic as you can revert back to the previous working version of the database via the update centre tab.

Kaspersky antivirus updates hourly

My Opinion

After playing with several free antivirus programs over the last month or two it was quite refreshing to get into a program that was familiar to me, fully featured and easy to use.

Everybody’s needs are different of course and I have always said that the best antivirus program for one person isn’t necessarily the best choice for someone else.

For me, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 would certainly be good enough and the gaming mode is a feature that all the vendors should include by default in my opinion – not having notifications during gaming sessions is a big deal for those of us who like to get immersed in what we are doing.

I’ll be looking at other paid antivirus programs over the coming weeks which may or may not be better than Kaspersky but, for now, I’m happy with the antivirus program I have running on my laptop.

The Best Antivirus Programs For 2011 – Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is a post from: Security FAQs

Look Into The World Of A Security Expert And See How They Are Able To Find The Bad Guys

Lee — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:00:17 +0000

The internet is a large and vast place.

Luckily for us, it is easy to navigate around.

We have places that will help us navigate the net such as Google and other link providers.

Search engines are not the only places that index the links of web sites though as you have places such as directories, which Yahoo used to be, that also do it.

uncovering the bad guys isn't as easy as you many think

In Cyberspace, No-One Can Hear You Lurk

But there is also another part of the internet that few people know about.

It is where people who do not want to be found lurk at.

It is called the darknet and it is a part of the internet that is never indexed.

This is where you will find the most exciting parts of the internet.

To quote the movie “Hackers”, these are where the keyboard samurai (aka ‘hackers’) like to hang out at.

This is especially true for black hat hackers but even though these places are secret, there are still a group of people who know how to find them and try to stop the bad guys before they launch their next terrible attack.

Security experts know full well about these dark pools.

Even though they are on a part of the internet that most people do not go down, it is still part of the normal net.

It uses the same IP addresses that every other site uses.

If you are going to be a computer security expert then you must be able to venture down these dark holes; if you want to be able to stop the next big attack then this is the place that you have to be – you are not going to find out anything lurking on Yahoo messenger.

Instead, you have to be where the action is and most of the time this in the darknet.

But the dark net is not the only place where you are going to find the bad guys and it is not the only way that you can track them down either.

Sometimes you have to do a little bit of digital forensics to be able to find where the bad guys are at.

You can do that by learning how to read the code that they put out there for their attacks.

Reading The Code

Most programmers and even some hackers do not know that there is an art to reading code after it has been compiled.

The whole purpose of compiling a program is so that it gets translated into machine code and it is able to run faster.

Of course not all program languages follow this paradigm.

The ones that don’t are what you would call an interpreted language; those are languages that are made so that the person can write the code quick and easily and not have to worry about the time it takes the compiler to go through its paces.

Most hackers use a compiled language such as C or C++ because they are able to make the programs smaller and fit into less memory on the machine they are attacking.

The less memory you are taking up, the less likely someone is going to notice you are there.

Also, with these types of compiled languages you are able to control the memory which makes it easier to form an attack.

Since the languages are compiled, to be able to read them a security expert has to use a program called a decompiler.

The Decompiler In Action

When some people hear the word decompiler they believe that it is going to show the source code of the program again.

That is not what happens.

The decompiler allows you to see the assembly code that the program is running on.

From there a security expert who is good at assembly will be able to see little signatures that might give away who the hacker is or at least where the attack came from.

They can do this by seeing if the person used certain functions, if there are any strings in a foreign language and other little things that can tell more about the person who made the program.

Work such as this is long and tedious and is only done by people who love the job as there is so much to study before you can get to this point.

You have to have good working knowledge of software program construction, the operating system, and the processor underneath.

These factors all form together for you to be able to find out some things about the program.

Finding The Bad Guys

Finding out what is inside the program is only the first step.

Next you must be able to find out how the program was delivered in the first place.

What nodes on the internet did it take to get here?

This is when the attacker is finally caught.

In this stage of operation, everything can be exposed.

The network is the most telling of the whole process but you may have to deal with other countries to find out who did it.

Hopefully you now realise that there is a lot that goes on when trying to find the bad guys.

It is hard work but some people love it.

Look Into The World Of A Security Expert And See How They Are Able To Find The Bad Guys is a post from: Security FAQs

How Can I Create A Secured Computer Environment For My Child?

Lee — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:00:46 +0000

More and more kids are starting to use the home computer at younger ages.

They see their parents or maybe their older siblings using the computer and they want to do it as well.

The computer can be a fascinating device because of everything that it can do and this is especially true through the eyes of a child.

So you should make sure that your child is able to use your computer when they get on it.

creating a secured computer environment for your child

This means that the child should be relatively safe when they use the device.

There are so many dangerous images and pieces of text that the child could encounter during their web surfing session so you need to make sure that you have the right software to prevent this from happening.

In this article I will show you the many tools that you can use to keep kids safe while they surf the internet.

Software That Can Monitor Your Child

From third party software to programs that are built into Windows, there are many ways that you can make sure that your child is safe when they use the internet.

You have software that will monitor the child’s progress and it will send a screenshot to your email address every 15 minutes.

This allows you to see what sites your child is visiting without you having to hover over their shoulders.

There is also software that will allow you to create a white list of what sites your child is allow to visit when they get on the computer.

This way, they can only go where you say they can go.

This is especially effective for children who are really young and want to use the computer.

White list software will not work with older kids because there are too many ways to get around the limitation of the software, or they will just surf the web at a friend’s house since they cannot go to the web sites that they want to at home.

Physically Check What Your Child Is Doing

You do not have to stand right over your child as they use the internet but you should walk by the computer every 15 minutes to make sure that they are not doing anything wrong.

Most kids will not attempt to go to a web site that they should not be on if they know that their parent will walk by at anytime.

Make sure that the walk bys are sporadic.

You do not want the kids to have your pattern to walk by the computer timed so that they can do the bad things when you are not there.

If they are not able to time when you are coming then there is less chance of them trying to go to somewhere on the internet that they are not supposed to be at.

The main key for keeping your child secured on the internet is to make sure that you always know what they are doing.

Teenagers may have a right to surf the web without you knowing everything but a child does not have those same rights.

Your job is to keep them protected and you can only do that by making sure that you monitor them.

How Can I Create A Secured Computer Environment For My Child? is a post from: Security FAQs

3 Reasons Why Hackers Love To Use Celebrities During Their Attacks

Lee — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:00:25 +0000

The use of celebrities to sell an item is something that we have gotten use to in this day and age.

We see them on billboards, on ads in magazines, and in commercials.

They are everywhere and that is for good reason.

That is because having a celebrity that is promoting your product will bring attention from both their fans and the people who hate them.

It is a win win proposition.

why do hackers love celebrities so much?

This piece of marketing is something that hackers have picked up on.

They know that if they use a celebrity in their attack methods that they will be able to get more people to click on the item.

The more popular the celebrity, the more people will click on the link or program.

Or, at the very least, they will notice it.

But there is more to the attacks than just using a celebrity.

I will take a look at why these types of attacks that use a celebrity picture are so effective.

The Trust Factor

The one thing that people think of when they see the celebrity of choice is that they are promoting the product.

If you are a fan of the celebrity then you will think that the product is good and there will be nothing wrong with it.

The trust factor is something that the hacker cannot gain on his own so by using the celebrity picture it gives him an edge.

Some people will blame the celebrity even after the virus is exposed because they will really think that they are promoting that particular product.

Most people are not computer savvy and they do not realize the many tricks that people on the internet will use to try and fool them.

The Rate Of Infection

With a celebrity picture being used on the malware the hacker will be sure that the virus is able to spread at a faster rate than it normally would.

This is especially true if they place a scandalous headline next to the image or file as well.

If you are a black hat hacker, to capture the most people before the white hat hackers figure out what you are doing, you need to be able to have the virus spread as quickly as possible.

Having anything that makes the infection happen quicker is quite helpful in this regard.

A picture along with a salacious headline is sure to do this.

The Prestige

In the past a hacker used to do attacks so that they could see their name become popular among their peers.

Now the incentive is more monetary based but they still like to get a little recognition from the attack as well.

When they use a celebrity in the attack there is more of a chance that the attack will be noticed on the news.

The news loves to cover any story that has to do with a celebrity, even if they are not directly involved with it.

If a hacker wants to get their attack noticed then there is no better way to do it.

Using a celebrity image during an attack can have many advantages for a hacker.

If you are a normal user then you should really be careful when you see an image of your favorite star.

3 Reasons Why Hackers Love To Use Celebrities During Their Attacks is a post from: Security FAQs

Antivirus Trials – Make Sure Your Protection Doesn’t Run Out

Lee — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:00:28 +0000

Antivirus is important software to have on your computer, especially in this day and age.

That is why whenever you purchase a new computer you will see trial versions of some of the most popular software packages out there.

I am sure that we have all seen the MacAfee or Norton antivirus trials that are already installed in brand new computers.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

don't let your antivirus trial run out!

It can be good because that means you have an antivirus product already working on your computer without you having to do much of anything.

It can be bad because you might be fooled into having a false sense of security because you think that you already have a full product running on your computer.

But that is not the case; the product is actually a timed trial and you have to purchase the product to keep it running.

This has fooled a lot of people over the years.

You should be sure that you do not get tricked by this as well.

When You First Purchase The Computer

Now that you have a warning that this type of thing can happen, you need to make sure that you are prepared for it.

You can do this in several ways.

The first way is that you can make sure that you purchase the software as soon as you have everything running on your computer.

Most trial antivirus software will give you up to a month to make a purchase but you can try it for free for a week and make a decision based off of that.

That way you can see if you like it and if you do not then you can try another option.

You do not have to pay for a good working antivirus if you do not want to.

I have to say that the cost of the software should be a secondary concern to how well it works but if you cannot afford it then there are several free antivirus programs out there.

Before you pick another option, whether it is paid for or free, you should read reviews about the product to see how well it works.

This antivirus software is going to be your first line of defense against the bad guys so you should be sure that it will work and stop them in their tracks.

Choosing The Vendor That The Computer Manufacturer Chose

Some people feel that the demo software is the best way to go because the manufacturer of the computer chose the company.

That is not necessarily the case.

A particular antivirus trial may have been picked by the manufacturer because the vendor paid them to do so.

Make your own decision of what software you want on the computer.

You must remember that the antivirus that comes installed on your system is only a timed trial version of the software.

If you want to be sure that it is going to work later on either pay for it right away or find an alternative.

Antivirus Trials – Make Sure Your Protection Doesn’t Run Out is a post from: Security FAQs

Who Can I Trust With My Password?

Lee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:00:15 +0000

We all have someone that we trust.

Even though there are some people in the world that trust no-one, for the most part we all have at least one person that we put our faith in.

Most of us have more than one.

When it comes to our web based accounts, we are going to need someone that we trust to be able to access our accounts just in case something happens to us.

Even in the digital age, people still get sick, or worse.

Just like you would have someone handle your real life affairs, you are going to need someone to handle your online affairs as well.

This is a new area that we are in since we never had to worry about this problem before.

So let’s talk about the requirements that someone should have if you are going to give them all of this power.

can you trust anyone with your password?

Who Can You Trust With Your Passwords?

The first thing that you want to look at when it comes to this question is whether you trust this person with your life.

You are giving them a lot of power over you and you must make sure that they are willing to use this power responsibly.

It should be someone that you have known for a long time.

Even though it doesn’t seem like it at the time, a lot of friendships do not last for a long time.

They may last for a couple of years but that is it.

You will have many friends over your lifetime; very few of them will be people that you know for over a decade.

So it may be better to give it to a trusted family member for safe keeping.

These are people who you have known all of your life and you will probably know them in the future as well but you should not give it to just any family member though; it should be someone that you trust immensely.

It might work out better for you if you split the responsibility of the password and the username between different people – this way no-one is tempted to open your accounts before you need them to.

You can give one person the usernames of the different accounts that you have and give them explicit instructions on when you need them to open it and you can do the same for the person that is holding the password.

Which Web Sites Should They Have Access To?

They do not need access to every web site that you visit – some of the sites may be very private and you do not want anyone to know that you visit them, but they do need access to the important web sites that you visit.

They may need your bank web site and your brokerage web site as well.

They basically need all the sites that you or a family member might need access to for important matters to if you are not able to do it.

If anything was to happen to you, you must make sure that you have someone that is able to take over.

This way, you will have the peace of mind that even if you are not able to in person, you will still be able to take care of you and your family’s needs.

Who Can I Trust With My Password? is a post from: Security FAQs

Hotels And Hackers – What Do You Need To Know?

Lee — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:00:31 +0000

Black hat and white hat hackers all know about the different targets that the black hats like to hit.

There are some places that are easier to hit than others.

When you are talking about hacking on the web one of the favorite places to go is social media web sites.

There is a large target base and they are mostly people who are not what you would call web savvy – it is easier to lay out attacks on a group like this.

In real life, a place that hackers like to hit at is hotels.

Hotels are a beacon of financial transactions and there are plenty of ways that a smart hacker can take advantage of the situation.

In this article I will talk about what is at risk when you go to a hotel.

credit cards are a juicy target

Credit Cards Are Popular In Hotels

When you are at a hotel the item that hackers are after the most is your credit card number.

You use your credit card so many times when you are at a place like this that you can easily slip up and have someone get the number.

They must do it smoothly because if you know that someone might have gotten the number you will just call for a new credit card and the number will be useless so they will do things like use a fake scanner when you are at the hotel restaurant or use a Wi Fi scanner to pick up the data that is being transmitted by the credit card machine.

A lot of these machines are wireless and the places that use them do not bother to secure them.

If you are using your debit card at some of the ATM machines that are there you must be careful as well.

There is a piece of equipment that black hat hackers can use to put on the ATM machine that makes it look normal but in reality it will steal your data.

The piece looks just like a normal extension but it is actually a second data reader.

So, instead of swiping your card in one reader, you are swiping it in two.

This can happen in more than just a hotel but it happens a lot in them.

Your Wi Fi Access

Even when you are not using your credit card at the hotel for it to be exposed there is still another place where they can get your information.

Most people, when they go to a hotel, will use the hotel’s Wi Fi hotspot to get internet access.

Black hat hackers are able to intercept data on here as well.

There are plenty of programs that will allow them to sniff the data traffic that is going over the network and use it to their advantage.

When you are at a hotel you must be careful when it comes to your data.

The bad guys are there lurking, waiting for you to slip up.

Hotels And Hackers – What Do You Need To Know? is a post from: Security FAQs