Home Hackers
New high-speed modems put home computers at risk
"I've noticed people trying to break into my system once or twice a day on average," says Chip Rouse, regional manager for the Omaha-based consultant firm Management Communication Services. This was also the case with Harry Saal, a networking consultant in Palo Alto, Calif., who downloaded the software to monitor his cable-modem-enabled home computer. "Once a day, or at least every other day, someone or multiple people are attempting to get into this computer," he says. What's more, Saal says his provider, a local independent company called ISP Channel, "never went out of its way to let me know of these potential security flaws, and I think they've underestimated the risks." And with the risks so great, who should be responsible for protecting your home system from attacks: you or your service provider?
Who pays? "I believe if you are offering services that consumers expect to conform to certain standards of security and confidentiality, you have a responsibility to uphold those expectations," says Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel specializing in consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a Washington, D.C., think tank. Indeed, home PC cracking is compelling major cable providers, including Excite@Home and Time Warner Cable Group, to consider offering consumer firewall software to their customers, though none has committed to a product, price, or time.
Meanwhile, users may find that not all hackers have nefarious intentions. That was Toronto real-estate appraiser Michael Roman's conclusion. Several weeks ago, Roman returned from a three-day conference to find that his home network had been hacked. But the marauders had not been stealing financial or credit card data; instead, they wanted his MP3 files. What were they--hard-core techno tracks, underground industrial? "No," says Roman, "just easy-listening tunes, like Cat Stevens and Neil Diamond."
The top hacks
Remote access Trojan horse probe (RAT). Crackers check to see if you've unwittingly installed remote-control software, such as Back Orifice. If so, they can then take over your PC. Advice: Never run a program sent to you via E-mail. Or install firewall software.
Nuke (also known as "blue bomb" and "blue screen of death"). As a prank during a chat or online game session, kids send data that crashes Windows 95 (usually with no long-term damage). Macintosh OS or Win 98 are protected, but pre-Win 95 and NT users can download fixes at www.winfiles.com/bugs/oob.html. Firewall software also works.
File-and-print-sharing hack. Activating the "file and print sharing" feature lets everyone on your home network share files, drives, and printers, including hackers. If file sharing isn't a must, turn it off (find instructions at http://v-wave.com/powernews/jan/REMEDY.HTM). If it is, a firewall is essential.
Cracking open your system
Any machine linked to the Internet is vulnerable to cracking, but high speed connections are the most susceptible. Here's one way crackers can break into your computer:
1 A cracker might send you remote-control software via an E-mail attachment, perhaps disguising it as an upgrade to your word processing program.
2 The attachment may appear to copy a benign piece of software when it's actually a remote-control program such as Back Orifice.
3 When you go online, the cracker can find your Internet protocol address. Then he can control you machine from his.
4 The cracker can now steal your files or use your computer as a jumping-off point to break into others, without your noticing.
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