Hacking FAQ

I get a lot of people asking about hacking. It’s hard for me to answer each and every question which is asked more frequently. So here I have compiled some of the Most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Hacking. Hope it helps. Don’t forget to pass your comments.

What is Hacking?

• Computer hacking is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose. Hacking is the art of exploiting the flaws/loopholes in a software/module. Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills.

Who is a Hacker?

• A Hacker or White Hat Hacker, also known as Ethical Hacker, is a Computer Security expert, who specialise in penetration testing, and other testing methodologies, to ensure that a company’s information systems are secure. Such people are employed by companies where these professionals are sometimes called Sneaker.

Who is a Cracker?

• Black Hat Hackers, who may also be known as Crackers, are Hackers, who specialise in unauthorized penetration of information systems. They may use computers to attack systems for profit, for fun, or for political motivations, as part of a social cause. Such penetration often involves modification and/or destruction of data, and is done without authorization. They also may distribute computer viruses, Internet Worms, and deliver spam through the use of bot nets.

Who is a Script Kiddy?

• A script kiddy is a wannabe cracker. These individuals lack knowledge of how a computer really works but they use well-known easy-to-find techniques and programs or scripts to break into a computer to steal porn, music files, SPAM, etc.

What skills do I need to become a Hacker?

• There is no magic to Hacking, but like anything else that is worthwhile it takes dedication, a willingness to learn. It is most important to have a good knowledge of topics such as Operating system and it’s working, Computer networks, Computer security and of course Programming. It’s not possible to become a hacker overnight. It’s the skill developed over a long time.

What is the best way to learn Hacking?

• The best way to learn Hacking is to start learning about the basics of hacking right from now. There are many books about Hacking that are available today. But before you start learning about the details you must have a basic skills of Programming and knowledge of Computer network security. Internet is the best source to learn about hacking.

How do I secure my computer from being Hacked?

• Having a basic knowledge of computer security and related topics such as Virus, Trojans, spyware, phishing etc. is more than enough to secure your computer. Install a good antivirus and a firewall.
  

Many a time, it becomes necessary for us to write protect our USB flash drive so as to protect it from viruses and other malware programs. Because flash drives are so popular and most widely used to move data between computers, they are the prime target for attackers as a means to get infections spread around the computer world. Also, since USB drive is not a Read-Only Memory (ROM), the data inside it can easily be modified or deleted by malware programs.


But unfortunately, most of the new flash drives do not come with a write-protect feature as the manufacturers wish to cut down the cost of production. Hence, the only way to write-protect your USB flash drives is to enable this feature on your own computer.

This can be done by adding a small entry to the Windows registry which acts as a switch that can be enabled to make use of the write protection or disabled to allow write access. Just follow these steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor (Open the “Run” dialog box, type regedit and hit “Enter”)

2. Navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\

3. Create a New Key named as StorageDevicePolicies. To do this right-click on Control, and click on New->Key and name it as StorageDevicePolicies.

4. Now right-click on StorageDevicePolicies and create a New->DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it as WriteProtect.



5. Double-click on WriteProtect and set the Value data to 1.

Now the right-protection for USB drives is enabled on your computer (no restart required) and thus it would not be possible for anyone or any program to add/delete the contents from your USB flash drive. Any attempt to copy or download the files onto the USB drive will result in the following error message being displayed.



Sometimes it may seem difficult to remember and follow the above mentioned steps each time you want to enable/disable the write protection. Hence as an alternative way, there are many tools available to automatically enable/disable the write-protection feature. One of my favorite tool is USB Write Protect by Naresh Manadhar. Using this tool you can limit write access to your USB drives with just a click of a button. You can download this tool from the following link for free and safe:

http://www.nareshmdr.com.np/index.php?pg=mysoft_info&soft=usbwp

Enjoy....