Preventing Hacking?

[Elfstalker]

I visited one of my favorite cosplay seamstress' website today, and her site was hacked, poor thing. Now there's an ugly picture of some political nut spewing his crap.

It got me wondering. What can I go to better protect my online stuff? Email and familiar website passwords have been changed. I only give out sensitive info when required, as in eBay and bank websites. But what else can I do? And I definately don't hand out my info easily, I always use fake info when I can.

Being hacked is one of my fears...right along identity theft. Isn't it the same thing?

[Cloud]

And. Tell me more about your problems.

[zerospace]

Well, hacking someone's website and hacking their personal computer are two different things. Most of us who have websites use a hosting provider - and thus our stuff is stored on their servers. Those computers are out of our control - and it's up to our hosting providers to keep those from being hacked.

Hacking someone's PC is different. And in general, these days, it's not done through brute force attacks (ie password cracking). It's done via viruses and spyware. Both of which are capable of collecting information like passwords, bank websites visited - everything and anything - and reporting it back to the virus/spyware creator.

Therefore, the best way to protect yourself is to keep your computer free and clear of all viruses and spyware - which means using the most secure software you can, keeping it updated, and running regular virus and spyware checks. I'd also recommend a hardware and/or software firewall - both if you're really paranoid. And if your computer has been infected with something particularly nasty - rather than risk reinfection or residual effects - reformat the drive and begin fresh.

As far as keeping your website safe - don't hand out your password and use a good hosting provider I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty of stuff, but this should be a good place to start.

[Elfstalker]

Thanks for the info! I need to look into firewalls, since I don't know anything about it.

As for virus protection and spyware, I use Norton Antivirus and Adaware, keeping up with updates of course.

[zerospace]

No problem - I hope it helps you a bit ^_^

Firewalls can be complicated - software ones can especially be a pain - but once you get used to them and understand how they work, you'll be ok. So long as you keep your antivirus updated & run it say, once a week, you should be just fine in that department.

You should choose your firewall depending on the type of Internet connection you have. If you have a high-speed connection and are using Ethernet (looks like a large phone cord), I'd strongly recommend a hardware firewall (firewall is built into the firmware of a cable/DSL router). What's nice about hardware firewalls is they do their job and you'll never even know it was there (unless of course, you use bittorrent to download stuff - then it'll slow your download speeds). Software firewalls (like BlackIce, ZoneAlarm, Norton Internet Security, etc) can be a pain in this regard because they'll sometimes block stuff you don't want them to - or at least that's been my experience with them in the past. And they can be difficult to configure - depending on the available options.

Anyway - didn't mean to write ya a book here - so I'll stop. But, feel free to PM me if you want more info

[Krafty]

Yep, what Zero said above ^__^

If you already have a broardband internet connection, check the instuctions that came with your modem/router as it's possible it already has a built-in firewall. You can keep its default settings and it'll be a help to you.

These hardware firewalls are best because they limit any attacks that may be made agaisnt your computer from the outset, stopping unauthorizsed access before an intrudrer can even reach your computer.
It's also simple to add a password/passcode to your connection which will block someone else from trying to 'piggy-back' on your internet connection.

Then it's up to your additional firewall, antivirus and spyware software to mop up the residue and save you from the other forms of 'nasties' that we encouner via email and on the web.

Stick with your current software, Elfstalker, you're doing good as that will keep your computer pretty safe!

[Not Sir Phobos]

I'm hosting a website in my garage from a dedicated server. Must protect!!!!!!

[Xelloss]

If you are using Windows XP, it comes with a firewall. Be sure to turn it on.

Two ways to start:

Path A
- Goto your desktop.
- Right click on "My Network Places"
- Goto "Properties."

Path B
- Goto Start->Control Panel
- Double-click on Network Connections

Either way, you'll be staring at a network connection screen.

On *every* active connection
- Right click
- Goto properties
- Click Advanced Tab
- Click Settings Button
- Turn Firewall ON

Now, it is possible that some games/programs will not work right with the firewall turned on. If this happens...
- Follow the steps above until you reach the firewall screen from before.
- Click the Exceptions tab
- Click on Add Program
- Find your program on the list
- Click OK
- Repeat for every problematic program.

If this doesn't fix the incorrectly working programs, go to the websites associated with those programs, and find out what ports you need to open. Follow the general directions above, but click on "Add port" instead of "add program".

Hope this helps...

- Karen

[Elfstalker]

It says that I'm 'firewalled.'

[Cloud]

I've heard that before.