Tag Archives: passwords
Understanding Computer Security Dangers in the Digital Wild West
Today, more than ever, criminals are targeting computer systems in an attempt to wreak havoc. Complacency and ignorance, regarding security issues, are computer hackers best friends. Computer Repairs Brisbane understands these risks and can help you implement a risk mitigation strategy. Some of the methods used to collect information about a system, network, and its users are: footprinting, scanning, and enumeration.
Footprinting is the methodical gathering of information about a company or individuals intranet, extranet, internet, and remote access usage. Hackers exploit publicly available information like the name, address, and contact information for the party who registered the domain by using whois services. They harvest employee, vendor, and location details from the companys website. With an employees first and last names, hackers are often able to guess their usernames. More investigation of the employee on social networks will reveal a date of birth, children, spouses, and pets names, home addresses, and phone numbers. Unfortunately, these are the very things that many people use as passwords.
Scanning is the electronic equivalent of casing a home or business for easy access. A burglar will check for unsecured windows and doors. Hackers search for unsecured networks by using ping sweeps, port scanning, and active operating system detection tools. If a hacker can access an unsecured port, they can exploit known vulnerabilities in your operating system or other application software.
Enumeration techniques seek out information about the services running on the network. Cyber criminals use banner grabbing to watch the output from remote applications. Applications like telnet send usernames and passwords across the network in plain text. Given the fact that many people use the same usernames and passwords for access to many different systems, this compromise can be devastating.
These are just a few of the methods used by hackers to document, assess, and attack your systems. Let Computer Repairs Brisbane be your first line of defense. Our technicians have the knowledge and skills to help you protect your network by implementing border protections, intrusion response and detection systems, and will provide you with the information that you need to make informed security policies.
Understanding Computer Security Dangers in the Digital Wild West
Today, more than ever, criminals are targeting computer systems in an attempt to wreak havoc. Complacency and ignorance, regarding security issues, are computer hackers best friends. Computer Repairs Brisbane understands these risks and can help you implement a risk mitigation strategy. Some of the methods used to collect information about a system, network, and its users are: footprinting, scanning, and enumeration.
Footprinting is the methodical gathering of information about a company or individuals intranet, extranet, internet, and remote access usage. Hackers exploit publicly available information like the name, address, and contact information for the party who registered the domain by using whois services. They harvest employee, vendor, and location details from the companys website. With an employees first and last names, hackers are often able to guess their usernames. More investigation of the employee on social networks will reveal a date of birth, children, spouses, and pets names, home addresses, and phone numbers. Unfortunately, these are the very things that many people use as passwords.
Scanning is the electronic equivalent of casing a home or business for easy access. A burglar will check for unsecured windows and doors. Hackers search for unsecured networks by using ping sweeps, port scanning, and active operating system detection tools. If a hacker can access an unsecured port, they can exploit known vulnerabilities in your operating system or other application software.
Enumeration techniques seek out information about the services running on the network. Cyber criminals use banner grabbing to watch the output from remote applications. Applications like telnet send usernames and passwords across the network in plain text. Given the fact that many people use the same usernames and passwords for access to many different systems, this compromise can be devastating.
These are just a few of the methods used by hackers to document, assess, and attack your systems. Let Computer Repairs Brisbane be your first line of defense. Our technicians have the knowledge and skills to help you protect your network by implementing border protections, intrusion response and detection systems, and will provide you with the information that you need to make informed security policies.
Business Website Security Tips (Page 1 of 2)
Business Website Security Tips
Whether it’s a surfer who just unintentionally entered a prohibited part of a website or those who hack into a system deliberately, your goal is to prevent it before it happens. Once a hacker gains access to a they can cause a devastating amount of damage to a business website. There is however, an awful lot that you can do to foil any would be hacker by taking steps to prevent them gaining access.
Good Web Designer With Their Own Secure Hosting
The best preventative action that you could take is to have a great web designer/builder/developer who places your website straight on secure reliable hosting from the start. One who will have tightened up your site security as they built the site. Unfortunately, many web designers don’t supply their own secure web hosting for clients and don’t feel that it’s their job to ensure that your website is secured. A good design company will be mindful of site security as they build as they won’t want either your site or their hosting compromised.
Use Digital Certificates (SSL’s)
If you’ve an ecommerce business website, you should use digital certificates. This helps to protect sensitive data when passed using a form. This could include anything from customer credit card information, to address and contact details. It’s important for business website owners to be able to assure their clients that their website is secure. A digital certificate goes a long way towards countenancing clients to trust a business is legitimate and entrust sensitive information while making a purchase on your website.
Stay Up To Date
Keep all website scripts up to date and make sure your web host is keeping their software up to date e.g. with versions of PHP and MySql on the web hosting. If you don’t you’re bound to have your site hacked! Good script and software makers release updates and patches as soon as a new exploit is identified – apply them as soon as you are notified about them.
Keep Regularly Updated
Some of the most important security procedures include methods to make sure a Web site’s forbidden pages are inaccessible to anyone who lacks authority to view them. Never leave script config files as writable and avoid using scripts that must have 777 to function.
As criminals constantly devise new ways to elude modern security, security procedures are constantly being updated to ensure that the latest version includes protection against these new security threats and risks. It’s the business website owner’s duty to make certain that their security is up-to-date. This makes the correction of such problems, if they arise, simpler.
A business website owner should also regularly change all administrator passwords and not make passwords too easy to guess. It’s often astounded me when asked to work on a website to then be told the password I need is ‘test’ ‘or sitename’! Never use dictionary words as your passwords and never use names. Instead use a mix of upper and lower case letters plus numerals.