Friday, September 3, 2010

Background Check on Hacking in Online Banking

Cyber crimes have been growing rampant nowadays from prostitution to identity thievery. Even as we search criminal records, there are notable persons who have done hacking on personal accounts from emails accounts to even bank accounts.
Internet Crime Complaint Center releases a background check report stating that about $559 million were lost by Americans to Internet thieves last year. This was twice than the 2008 figure where $268 million were stolen.
Bankrate.com gave advice regarding cyber crime especially on how to secure the consumer's interest. They first take note on the most dangerous account taker.
The biggest threat to banking accounts would be Banking Trojan, a malicious code designed for banking fraud. These are invisible and can steal multiple data which includes the consumer's passwords. Advance types of this virus can even make illicit transactions like money transfers that can drain one's account completely.
For those who wish to have a secure bank account online passwords and other so called "layers" before entering the account are very important. The more codes that are needed to be given before you can log in the better are the security of that account. There are even banking sites that ask for users to use a username for logging in. the key to a safer account is to have a password composed of letters and numbers as well.
In the case that your account has been hacked remember to the general rule of consumers checking the savings: the bank is liable for most of the damage. This rule however is limited only to those who report the illicit transfer in a timely manner. In the case that a user has multiple accounts from credit to business, liability to the bank is only when the customer has he has a reasonable conducted with respect to security. The court will therefore determine who more at fault of the breach was.
Business accounts are also more prone to hackers especially and is least protected by the law. Court records have listed such cases of theft that if we search criminal records there are definitely hundreds of such listed per year.
The Uniform commercial Code or UCC regulates the Business Accounts. They require banks to maintain a commercial reasonable authentication security procedure in any wire transfer. This is a background check whether breaches are caused by the consumer or the bank. In case the consumer is at fault the bank is not liable for the loss.
To protect accounts, as shown in background check on hacked accounts, it is best know the safety procedures first before undergoing online transactions. Firstly opening it should only be accessed on one's personal computer and not that which is shared; this also goes the same on the network used by the computer (the network should not be in public). Computers should also have an updated anti-virus, anti spyware, and firewall protection. Do background check of statements to see if there is an irregularity that is needs to be reported immediately. Lastly passwords should be strong (using combination of numbers and letters) and should not be the same for multiple accounts. Logging off after every session is a must as well.

Best and Worst Computer Hacking Movies

BEST:
Wargames (1983): The top of the list! What can you say about this movie other than marvel at it's greatness. What's that you say? You're not convinced it's the best... well then your probably under 40. For those of us that were around during that time, the accuracy of the equipment and methods used were 100% spot on. I'll forgive a little poetic license with the voicebox (even though they did exist at a more primitive level), but if you had to read what was on the screen the movie would get tiresome real fast. It added to the creepiness of the emotionally void WOPR when the voice says, "To win the game." The voice, BTW, was provided by the director who recorded the lines by speaking them in reverse, then played back in the opposite reverse forward direction...??? You know what I mean. It completely represented the aura of the time. If you buy the DVD that has the director's comments, you'll find that they purposely used a hodgepodge of older computer equipment so it would accurately represent what a teenager would be able to afford or scrounge up during that time. Incredible accuracy, especially the part showing how to jack a pay telephone with a soda can pull tab. What's a pull tab? Go away kid, ya bother me!
Tron (1982): Even though this film came out in the 80's, it feels like a late 70's film. I don't know why. Basically it's about a hacker that is transported into the digital universe inside a computer, and must survive combat as a cyber gladiator in order to stop the villainous Master Control. It wanes a little in places, but make no mistake this was a groundbreaking adventure at the time. The graphics, while dated now, were extremely cutting edge at the time and wowed movie audiences lucky enough to see it on the big screen.
Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999): Not so much a hacking film as a corporate espionage film... involving computer companies. Fantastic tale from start to finish. My only gripe is that it does leave out some key information. For instance, the only reason Bill Gates got in to see the higher up's at IBM was that his mother served on the same board of directors for a charity that the IBM chairman served on. She got the wheels rolling on the meeting. It also makes Bill Gates out to be some rebellious drop out who risked everything to start his company. Truth is, Bill was a multi millionaire by the time he went to college thanks to a generous trust fund from his grandparents and parents, who were also very wealthy. So was Paul Allen, who knew Bill from their grade school days at one the most exclusive and expensive private schools in Seattle. They weren't hurting for anything... unlike Jobs and Wozniak. Still the historical bend of this movie makes it one of the best biopic films for computer nostalgia nerds.
WORST:
Sneakers (1992): Some of the hacking was OK, but the social commentary peppered throughout by Robert Redford made this film unwatchable. If you want to blame Republicans for everything, watch a Michael Moore movie. If you want to make a hacking movie, leave your left wing garbage out and just make a damn hacking film. Is that too much to ask there, Bobby? The story revolves around two college buddies who take different paths in life. One becomes an "ethical" hacker, and the other...well, he is not quite so noble, although rich. The underlying message is that capitalist greed is bad but being broke, running from the FBI, and working in a run down, abandoned warehouse is morally superior. Some great plot twists and comic scenes ruined by over the top political grandstanding make this a movie I would only watch if it were free... and beer was free.
The Net (1995): Ugh. The only saving grace of this movie is Sandra Bullock. Technology at that time was emerging at a great pace. This thing called 'Internet' was finally taking off and the filmmakers and writers took a lot of poetic justice to portray what computers might be able to do in the 2 months between shooting the movie and releasing it. It had it's moments but the whininess of Bullock and the whole portrayal of the security software hack made it almost unwatchable. A good MST3K candidate.
Swordfish (2001): This movie's tagline should tell you just how unrealistic the hacking is: "Log on. Hack in. Go anywhere. Steal everything." Yeah, it's that easy. If you watch the movie, you'll realize that's exactly what the filmmakers believe. John Travolta is a villain who's grand scheme is to steal billions from the U.S. government through yes, you guessed it... hacking. The entire premise of the plot is that in the vast, computerized world of modern finance, $9.5 billion could slip through the cracks so that a clever hacker could, with hacking, transfer it to his own account unnoticed. Heck, I could use a new car... I'm gonna hack a few grand right now using my Hollywood generated CGI screens with 3d hacking tools where the mouse moves even though your hands are busy typing! It might have fooled the unwashed masses, but we know better.

The Effects of Computer Hacking

Computer hacking is a term that is used to refer to the unscrupulous use of technology to obtain illegal access to delicate data that is stored and computer, which obstructs the security and confidentiality of the computer user. It is a method which is employed by a lot of identity thieves to steal valuable personal information. Most hackers focus on hacking personal computer of individuals who are connected online while other's focus their hacking energy into accessing company computers.
How does hacking affect its individual victims? Read on if you want to know more.
1. Hacking is a clear breach of the security of the computer. It renders important user data exposed and risks the user into various threats like identity theft. Various hacking activities are directed mainly towards exposing or stealing confidential user information like social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account information and individual photographs. These important personal information, when in the hands of computer hackers, can be very vulnerable to illegitimate use and manipulation like that of identity theft's.
2. When your computer is hacked, the criminals may delete valuable information and sensitive data inside your computer. They can deliberately or unwittingly manipulate sensitive data for their own personal gain. This gain can be both financial, as with the cases of credit card identity theft, or medical, like that of medical identity theft.
3. Denial of service attack is another consequence of attacking. This is typically known as the DOS attack, which simply makes various computer resources unavailable to its authorized users. For instance, hackers may change your log in username and password which thereby blocks you totally out of the entire computer system. More often than not, websites are the ones who fell prey to these DOS attacks, which makes the entire website unusable to all its members.
4. Hacking can also lead to theft of essential business information like client's database as well as customer's record can be either lost of maneuvered by computer hacker's. These databases can be sold to identity theft sites where personal information is being posted for sale to other individuals who might otherwise have other purposes for this information.
5. Information that is crucial to national security, confidential government data, data regarding national defense, security and crimes, can be exposed through computer hacking and these can have very serious consequences to the welfare of the entire society. It can create total panic among the people especially if exaggerated information is posted and issues are blown out of proportion.
These are among the various effects of computer hacking. If you want to keep yourself protected, you need a reliable antivirus program as well as an anti-spyware program. You also need to closely monitor the various programs that you download online as some of them come with a free virus that can be very destructive to your computer.
Hacking is a real threat, just like identity theft. You need to keep yourself protected and secure against any attacks from the outside.

Protecting Your Passwords From Hacking

You can have the best security software and hardware deployed in your home and office, but if someone can easily guess your passwords, you've left the worst possible hole open to hackers.
Strong passwords should be the norm. Too many people do not take password selection to heart and leave themselves open to the easiest method that hackers use to compromise your data. You may laugh when you read that numerous people use the word password, as their account password. If you are one of those people that do use "password", I'm sorry, but keep reading. Another common one used is the series of numbers: 123456. A lot of sites that don't require strong passwords will at least require six characters, so that's the reason for some to lazily pick the six number sequences.
Systems are broken into by hackers that easily guess some passwords and for others, they will run password cracking software. A password cracking program will run through a dictionary, common password phrases, and birth date combinations. Once a password is cracked, you are vulnerable to loss of privacy, identity and financial theft. Your computer could be used by the hacker to victimize other computers.
Here are some tips for better password use.
1. The longer the password the better. You may worry about remembering a longer password but there is a trick that you can use. Try to create phrase that you will easily remember and use the first letter from the phrase. If you throw in some numbers, or characters, you will really have boosted the strength. Here's one example of that technique. Say you love your mom's cooking and who doesn't? "I love my mom's cooking no matter what she makes!" Ilmmcnmwsm! If you capitalize the letter I, followed by lower case letters and throw an exclamation on the end, you've built a pretty hard to crack password.
2. Do not use text found in the dictionary. A password cracker program can run through millions of words in seconds. I have seen them work, as part of my computer forensics training. Some password cracking programs are freely available on the internet and others are sold, that can crack specific programs.
3. I know you may not want to, but change your passwords on a regular basis. Some recommend that you do so every two to three months. Set a reminder on your calendar program.
4. If a hacker gets sent to a password reset link, then they will guess the answers to your security phrases. If you pick simple ones, then you have just made the hackers task a little easier. It was reported that the Vice President nominee, Sarah Palin's email was hacked, because the hacker had done some research on her. The report said that he knew her zip code, birthday, and where she met her husband.
There are some software tools and hardware devices that can help you secure you passwords. I will write about some of those in a future article. For now, use the best passwords you can and make them strong.

Guide to Computer Hacking

Computer hacking is a process of accessing the computer intentionally without any kind of authorization. It modifies the programs on the system in order to accomplish a goal other than the original purpose of the computer. Cracking passwords, extracting important information stored, and decoding files are all part of the computer hacking process. Professionals who master this art are popularly known as hackers.
As the two sides of a coin, hacking also has its own pros and cons. In the present day competitive world, many companies hire hackers as an important part of their technical group to ensure security of their company's key essentials. In the business war there are many who try to extract important information and data of renowned companies through hacking. Therefore, it becomes really significant for companies to hire hackers. Such hackers are true technical buffs and take this job with a desire to master this art and get into the depth of computer technology. Some renowned hackers like Dennis Ritchie, Ken Thompson, and Shawn Fanning made significant contribution to constructive technological advancements. The innovations created by them like the UNIX operating system by Dennis-Ken and Napster by Shawn was a breakthrough in the computer industry. This positive side is truly beneficial to one and all.
On the other hand, computer hacking can be negative in many ways. There are hackers who play fraud and intrigues to various disparaging purposes like breaking security code to access unauthorized network, stealing personal information, altering financial data of a company, stealing significant business information, breaking computer security, extracting bank details of an individual, and enjoying unauthorized access to the system. Hacking can be more destructive if any kind of national security information or confidential government data is exposed. Apart from this there are many destructive activities a hacker can perform for his or her own benefit. This side of hacking is very gloomy and can lead to many computer-related crimes.
There are many ways that can be used to prevent the negative activities of hacking. The first and the most important way is to install an anti virus software that helps in blocking the way of hackers from uploading malicious files onto the system. Avoid using simple passwords for any important data stored on the system or for accessing online bank account. It is always recommended to use a combination of alphabets and numbers that is usually difficult for hackers to figure out. A password involving the name of an individual, name of the company, or any birth date can easily be decoded by hackers. Delete all kind of suspicious emails received through an unknown sender and also avoid using P2P file sharing software.
If used for a constructive purpose, computer hacking can be a blessing but when it approaches to destructive activities it is a curse. Everyone using a computer at home or office should be smart enough to take a wise judgment to ensure high levels of computer security.

Avoid SWTOR Account Hacking

SWTOR- Star wars: the old republic is the upcoming story driven highly anticipated multiplayer online from Bioware and Lucas Arts. The game theme is based on life of mutants 3500 years before the rise of Darth Vader Which takes place in the Star wars Galaxy. This is a link between the previous star War series Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. The events shown in it take place approximately 3500 years after the events of Star Wars: knights of the old republic. The game is not yet released and still under process. This provides a new scenario to the online entertainment; it features immersive story-telling, dynamic combat and ground-breaking companion characters. It has already gathered thousands of fans before its release and has got much more facilities than the other combat games and previous star war series.
The game requires an internet account but unlike rest of the games it demands monthly or bimonthly payment. Once you fulfill the requirements your SWTOR MMORPG account will be setup.
SWTOR ACCOUNT HACKING
Hacking is the dilemma faced by online gaming residents. Traditionally the trespassers will have you robbed and conquer your privacy. The hacker will be the user of your account and now it will use your subscription and reset your settings. It will change your player outlook and use your in-game currency and will completely demolish your gaming profile. It can even mean that you can lose your account and so lose the money you paid for it. The bad news is that there is no insurance for any theft that occurs here so you have to be extra careful when playing the game.
Level up in the game
Especially when you will level up in the game and then figure out that your account is hacked, then I can't imagine your anger and frustration. This is because leveling up requires a lot of your time and mental resources. This might go to waste when it gets hacked. The swtor account hacker may kick you out of your subscription by making you lose all the money you paid for it. It may worsen incase the hacker unlocks your personal details and takes over your identity.
Therefore the bottom-line is to be careful and make sure you don't expose your swtor account to the threat of hackers. Setting up swtor account will require a user name and a password. This safety task shields your account. The precautions you take for your other messenger accounts and social networking site accounts are the same. You should be careful that you log off your accounts before exiting the gaming website. Incase of failure to this safety it may expose it to your hacker-to-be. Or if you purchase the swtor game, ensure that the source is original and not some pirated copy. Don't fall into the trap of some guys that will sell you swtor accounts for a low price claiming this and that because they are all wrong and probably the trespassers. So beware of them!

Computer Hacking Forensics

With IT equipment and computers so widely used in modern day business, the opportunity for criminal activity to take place increases. As a result of this, more and more companies are looking for help from computer forensics specialists. Computer investigations require a high level of expertise to identify if misuse has taken place and to what extent. One of the most harmful forms of criminal computer activity is hacking, which unfortunately is not just the preserve of movies anymore. Identifying and preventing hacking is essential to safeguarding any business's operations, regardless of size.
Computer forensics can investigate instances where an individual or organisation believes their systems have been the victim of misuse. Specialists will be able to investigate a variety of misuse methods - including hacking attacks - and extract the necessary evidence in order to act in legal proceedings. We can also provide guidance to help prevent future attacks.
Computer hacking is usually undertaken by career criminals who wish to steal personal information and access sensitive company information, using highly sophisticated and difficult to trace techniques. Identifying this is central to a prosecution, which is why we are happy to act as an expert witness in court. We can often present complex and highly technical issues that go into forming a forensic examination and present these in a manner that all parties can understand.
Forensic providers draw on an array of investigative techniques for discovering data present in a computer system, and in the recovery of deleted or relevant files. This is essential to the presentation of evidence in court cases and in employment tribunals. These investigations can not only uncover evidence of hacking, but the theft of intellectual property, electronic fraud, the accessing of inappropriate or illegal websites etc.
A court proceeding can live or die by the quality of the information provided by expert witnesses. The key to providing an effective witness service is the comprehensive training given to those who appear in court. Analysts at digital forensics companies should have undergone thorough tuition that covers the broad spectrum of cross-examination and courtroom presentation. In short, they can ensure that your computer forensics and digital misuse investigations are carried out to the highest standard.