Internet Tip of the Week
by Bob Osgoodby
Cultural MisfitsI was talking with someone I know who is a real wiz with
computers. He was telling me that if someone is persistent
enough, they can basically break into any computer. Our
service provider was recently attacked and the hackers placed
programs in the system, which were disruptive.Their priorities were to first get the server back up and
running. In order to do this, they had to find and remove the
disruptive files the hacker had placed on the system. Their
next step was to identify how the access was gained, and close
that doorway. Finally they will make a concerted effort to
identify the hacker. If, and when they do identify this person,
they intend to prosecute them criminally, and sue them civilly
for the damages they caused.Surprisingly many of the Hackers are kids still in High School
taking computer science classes. As an exercise, not approved
by their teachers, they create viruses or hack into their
friends computers just for fun, and prove that they can do it.
Every once in awhile however, it backfires and they create
something that doesn't work the way they intended. This can
quickly spread and have world-wide implications.Other Hackers know exactly what they are doing and have a
malevolent purpose. These people are sick. Their intention is
to hurt others, which they do. These people should be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law.Hacking is something that must be stopped. eCommerce is growing
everyday, and the actions of these cultural misfits can cost
millions in both money and lost time.Spammers who send unsolicited ads to thousands by the hour are
also a major problem. While admittedly I have a high profile
email address, and probably receive more than my share of spam,
this can be similarly disruptive to the operation of a
business. There is no reason why I should have to sort through
several hundred ads to find my email. This is disruption of
service and the spammers should be held liable.Now there are two kinds of spam. At the risk of offending
someone, the first is perceived spam. Someone" either signs
up for something, or requests information, and having a mental
lapse, forgot they did. They then complain bitterly when they
receive it, or worse yet file a complaint with the senders ISP,
or with Spam Cop.Others may subscribe to a newsletter or ezine under one email address, which is forwarded to their main one, and forgot they did it that way. For
security purposes, they have to be using the mail address they
subscribed under to be removed, and don't. They find it easier
to simply fire off an expletive filled missive to anyone they can
identify. A courteous note will yield far better results.Be aware that there are some people, who hate spam with such a
passion, they actually get software that parses a message and
automatically sends a complaint to every email address and domain
it finds.Someone had published an article I had written, and since it
included my domain name, a complaint was fired off to my ISP. That is
simply not fair. I didn't send the email, it wasn't sent from my
account, but I received a warning. The person who did that
apparently doesn't care who they hurt in pursuit of their "holy
grail".While spam is a major problem and is disruptive, it is at the
worst simply an annoyance. A hack attack or a malevolent virus
is another story. Everyone should at a minimum have virus protection software.You are especially at risk to a hack attack if you have either a
DSL or Cable connection, as you are always connected when your
computer is on. Someone could break into your computer and spam
to their hearts content using your account, and you will be blamed. We have our computers networked together, and it requires a password to access the
files. While that will protect us from the majority of attacks,
a determined effort could gain access.The best protection the average person can use is a "firewall"
which prevents people from accessing their computer. Search
engines will quickly reveal where they can be obtained.
Now if we could only get the hackers to concentrate on the
spammers, maybe this entire problem would go away.-----
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