Absolute Beginners Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware & Viruses

Chapter 3. Hackers: There's a Man in My Machine

In this chapter

• What Is a Hacker?

• When Is a Hacker a Cracker?

• How Do Hackers Sneak into Your Computer?

• What Damage Can Hackers Do?

• What Is a Software Firewall?

• Is the Windows Firewall Any Good?

• Is a Hardware Firewall Better?

• I'm Under Attack! What to Do If You've Been Hacked and Cracked

• Batten down the Hatches10-Minute Anti-Hacker Tactics

• Wall off the WorldBlockade Your Computer in an Afternoon

If your computer is a fortress, hackers are the interlopers with pointy metal hats who charge the gate, scale the walls, or use stolen keys to get inside. Their mission? To steal your crown jewels or carve graffiti on the walls, such as "The king is a weenie." In this chapter I'll tell you why they want access to your computer, how they gain access to it, and what you stand to lose if they do. There's also a really exciting section on how to stop them and what to do if one of them succeeds. It's like a medieval video game, but scarily, it's real.