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General Category => Discover Seattle! => Topic started by: TehBorken on Oct 09 06 08:57

Title: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: TehBorken on Oct 09 06 08:57
 Actually I'm pretty sure it's more than that.

[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"][font style="font-weight: bold;" size="4"]Home computers targeted by hackers '50 times a day'[/font]Home PCs could be under attack from hackers over 50 times a night, suggests a BBC News Website experiment. [/p]The BBC News Website team set up a honeypot' PC – a computer that looks like a normal PC online but records everything that's done to it – in order to find out the dangers facing web users.  [/p]Every single time the 'honeypot' was put online it was attacked. In one of the busiest nights of malicious online activity, the computer was attacked 53 times: [/p][ul][li]1 hijack attempt. PC suffered buffer overflow attempt to subvert web server built into Microsoft Windows. A successful attack would hand over control of the machine to a hacker[/li][li]2 "port scans" which look for weak spots in Windows software -  reconnaissance by hackers seeking new victims.[/li][li]11 attacks by the 'Blaster' worm - success would have rendered the machine unusable[/li][li]3 attacks by the 'Slammer' worm - success would have left machine crippled and prone to crashing[/li][li]36 fake security announcements/adverts for fake security software posing as warnings. Reacting to these could leave a PC clogged with spyware.[/li][/ul]Over the course of the whole experiment, on average at least one attack an hour came from a dangerous computer bug with the ability to cripple an unprotected PC. And at least one attack per night was even more serious - an attempt to hijack the computer entirely – which could lead to the computer being turned into a 'zombie PC' and used to carry out criminal activity without the owner's knowledge.[/p]The experiment demonstrates the vulnerability of unprotected home PCs to malicious hackers. [/p]According to Symantec, 86 per cent of all targeted attacks on computers are aimed at home users. There are an estimated 200,000 malicious programs in existence. [/p]Starting today, the BBC News Website is running a whole week of special features looking at the issue of hi-tech crime and giving people advice on they can stay safe online. [/p]As part of the BBC News Website's 'Cracking Hi-Tech Crime[ specials the BBC also talks to the hi-tech criminals behind the viruses, 'phishing' e-mails and malicious programs putting home PCs at risk. [/p]One hacker the BBC spoke to claims to have earned $10,000 a day from computer crime, another says that they can hack into many online shops within 3-4 hours and sell the data on for anything between $100-500. Unconcerned about the risk of arrest the hacker adds: "How can a cop catch me? Catch me if they can!"[/p]  
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Lise on Oct 09 06 09:28
Scary stuff indeed. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/forums/richedit/smileys/Shocked/6.gif)
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Gopher on Oct 09 06 11:40
Poor PC, how she puts up with this constant abuse is a matter beyond my comprehension.  But then, I suppose she's by no means average.  
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 09 06 04:15
I'm afeared ...[img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/haushalt/d054.gif" border=0]
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Lise on Oct 09 06 05:18
Attack the real Ms. PC. I fear the poor sod wouldn't stand a chance against her wrath.
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 09 06 05:49
I'm SO misjudged  [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c019.gif" border=0]  
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 09 06 06:07
I'm wrathless, I tell ya !  WRATHLESS !!!!!!![img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/figuren/a020.gif" border=0]
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: kingy on Oct 09 06 08:45
i attack my pc atleast twice a day. sometimes more.    
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 09 06 08:47
Do you feel better afterwards ?
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: kingy on Oct 09 06 08:53
only after i reboot.
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Lise on Oct 10 06 10:48
Call me crazy but I'm starting to think we're getting kinda kinky here..............................
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: TehBorken on Oct 10 06 01:38
I would only attack P.C. with a bouquet of flowers and maybe something that vibrates. (//forums/richedit/smileys/Happy/14.gif)
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Lise on Oct 10 06 08:29
TehBorken wrote:
I would only attack P.C. with a bouquet of flowers and maybe something that vibrates. (//forums/richedit/smileys/Happy/14.gif)

   I officially now call this thread X-RATED!!!
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 10 06 08:40
TheBorken......Like a badly balanced old washing machine ?????[img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="vny!://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/more/bigs/c025.gif" border=0]
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: weird al on Oct 10 06 09:02
Depends on the cycle.
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: P.C. on Oct 10 06 09:06
Gentle/delicates
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: TehBorken on Oct 11 06 05:59
 P.C. wrote:
TheBorken......Like a badly balanced old washing machine ?????

Lol, I'm gonna stop now before I get myself in trouble. (//forums/richedit/smileys/Happy/14.gif)

 
Title: Re: Average PC attacked 50 times a day
Post by: Mutilated Mind on Oct 16 06 08:59
There is one thing wrong with this test : that PC was not an average home PC as it hosted a web server, which I suppose was active (remember the buffer overflow).

Average home PC don't act as servers, so don't attract web traffic.

Furthermore, the plethora of fake security and anti-spyware is very probably due to the nature of the surfing which was going on by the people using the PC. This is a variable which can differ wildly from person to person. Go to unsafe and dubious sites, and the risk of getting spy or malware will be much higher.