Yes, they do. Hackers manage to attack computers every 39 seconds and still manage to live a life. In contrast to what you see on TV and movies, hackers will not attack a computer on a one-on-one basis nor will they do it manually. Instead, most hackers would employ the use of an script that scans computers for vulnerabilities.
The hackers used a type of software called a “dictionary script” that runs through lists of common usernames and passwords to break into the computer. Some of the most commonly guessed usernames in the study were “root,” “admin,” “test,” “guest,” and “user.”
When guessing passwords, the software tries to reenter or guess variations of the username. Following the password with the numbers “123,” guessing “password” or “123456″ were also common guesses.
A recent study, which investigated how exactly hackers crack computers, confirms those regularly issued warnings about password vulnerability. Experts advise longer passwords, regularly changed and not based on users’ biographies, that mix letters and numerals and are hard to guess.
“Our data provide quantifiable evidence that attacks are happening all the time to computers with Internet connections,” study author Michel Cukier of the University of Maryland said. “The computers in our study were attacked, on average, 2,244 times a day.”
To test how hackers break into computers, Michel Cukier’s team set up weak security on four Linux computers connected to the Internet and monitored hacker attacks.
After gaining access to the computers, hackers usually quickly changed passwords, checked hardware and software configurations, and downloaded, installed and ran a program. These programs established the computer as part of a botnet, a collection of hacked computers that can be run by the hacker remotely to perpetrate fraud or identity theft, disrupt other computer networks, or damage computer files.
“The scripts return a list of ‘most likely prospect’ computers to the hacker, who then attempts to access and compromise as many as possible,” Cukier said. “Often they set up ‘back doors’– undetected entrances into the computer that they control– so they can create ‘botnets,’ for profit or disreputable purposes.”
To protect against hackers, security experts advise choosing longer, more difficult passwords with combinations of upper and lowercase letters.
Don’t be hacked! Read books and learn how to keep your computer safe from hackers.
Just about any person or company selling a product delves into the world of advertising whether it be an ad on the newspaper, on TV, radio or the internet. Furthermore, these advertisers always want their ads to be placed above the fold – in areas that can easily be seen by the viewer, in places that would capture the attention of people.
So, one company thought… “What about putting ads in space?” And that’s just what JP Aerospace is doing right now. They’re currently lining up interested advertisers for their next flight in April to put their ads 100,000 feet above earth – just at the edge of space.
Here’s a sample of such an ad.
JP Aerospace ads at the edge of space. Credit: JP Aerospace
While the ad does look enormous, it is actually only the size of a business card photographed properly so don’t expect to see ads floating in the sky anytime soon. Disappointed? Don’t be. After all putting a supersized billboard in space would be more hazardous than helpful so business-card size ads photographed to look big would be fine.
Now, makes me think… I think any good photo editing software such as Photoshop or Gimp can do such a trick.
