Hacking in the 21st Century
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 8/8/2017 1:00:00 AM
Here's what you need to know to protect yourself from today's hackers.
When most people think of "Hacking", they envision a genius programmer hammering away at the keyboard in a attempt to break into your computer. The truth is, most hackers aren't like that at all. In fact, many hackers today aren't even computer savvy. They're just good at tricking people into giving away their passwords and other personal information.
That's because today's hackers know that it's much easier to trick somebody into GIVING them their password than it is to try to hack it. All it takes is a few cut and paste skills to put together realistic looking emails and web sites that fool people into thinking they're the real thing. Then it becomes a numbers game. If they send a realistic looking email to a thousand people, chances are they'll get quite a few of them to think it's real enough to enter their actual password and other personal information,
In fact, this is exactly what happened to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 campaign, which was bogged down over email scandals that were the direct result of a staff member who was tricked into giving his actual password to somebody who sent him a fake email requesting him to change his password. That's all it takes. There's no high tech programming or hacking involved. They simply sent a realistic looking email asking somebody to enter their password, and they fell for it.
Unfortunately, that's just one of many techniques hackers use today, including quite a few that have nothing to do with using a computer. Many hackers bypass their computers entirely, and simply call people directly, claiming to be from Microsoft, Google, McAfee, or a number of other companies. The approach is pretty much the same, trick people into thinking they're somebody they can trust, then ask them for their passwords and other personal information.
The bottom line is this. You need to be prepared before you get into trouble. NEVER give your personal information to ANYONE who contacts you directly, whether it be though emails, phone calls, or even in person.
If a company contacts you via email, assume it's a fake, and don't click any of the links in the email itself. If they contact you by phone, simply hang up.
If you think the communication was real, take a few extra minutes to try to contact the company on your own, NOT from the phone number or links they used. If it's a bank or credit card company, use the number on the back of the card. If it's from an email, locate the website on your own.
When in doubt, do nothing. Don't call back, and don't follow any links.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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