Sure we all know what hacking and viruses are and the majority of us have been hacked or had viruses on our computers whether we know it or not (Yes I am also including the friend/siblings etc that 'hack' your facebook page!)
and do you know what?!
Today when I received my monthly security report sure enough on the 19th of September I had 3 web threats ...
When I had a closer look at the web threats sure enough they were all from websites which provided information on hacking. (Not happy!.. so don't expect too much external research in this blog!)
I guess this goes to show how easy it is to be exposed to threats on the internet considering I was being so careful as well. Thank goodness to virus protection I say!
Sticking to what I know I was reading through the news as I do on a daily basis and I came across the following article "Googling Heidi Klum? Prepare for a virus or two" (don't worry this link has no viruses!). Sure enough we all know there are viruses out there but for there to be a list of the Top 10 list of the Most Dangerous Celebrities to Google is a worry!
In a way I guess I respect hackers as I know that what they are able to do is so very clever and I would never be able to do it myself, however what I question is whether their uses or purpose behind the hacking is...
What is your opinion on hacking? Prior to this weeks topic were you aware of viruses and hacking to its true extent?
That really is annoying that you managed to get onto malicious websites purely from searching information about hacking. It looks like there really is no way around it is there!?
ReplyDeleteThat was a very interesting article "googling heidi klum" - I never knew that virus's could target you in this way... I guess before learning a bit more about hacking - my extent of knowledge when it came to virus's was that you can get them from limewire... and I always had them for some reason. Also hacking is possible if you don't change your password often on facebook and myspace.
Still - my eyes have been opened a little more into the more positive points of hacking and it really is amazing to see that hacking has basically existed from the very first "computer"
Great, my research project is on hacking. Im scared to check how many viruses my computer has now! Haha
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question though, I hold a neutral opinion on hacking.. Although it is impossible to dismiss the negative implications that hacking may pose, it seems as though this negative aspect is all people ever seem to focus on. When you look closely, hacking can actually be a beneficial practice for many in terms of strengthening security and creative development. For example, without hacking (jailbreaking) of the iPhone many of its creative developments would not have occurred nor would any of these...
http://www.kinecthacks.com/
I guess it all just comes down to who is behind the hack and what their motives are. But we must take a step back and realise that the negative hype around the term 'hack' may not always be as horrible as we have come to believe.
Atleast it wasnt personal and you weren't hacked doing something completely normal Elise. It can be slightly obvious to the more computer-savvy of us that there is malicious software like trojan horses waiting ready to pounce when people search things like hacking... It's just an accident waiting to happen, you know?
ReplyDeleteSame as email scams, there are millions of ignorant users that click an unknown, bizzare link and then BOOM, virus protection software sets off an alarm. Really, the best idea for wary internet users are to just be cautious - keep your passwords secure and never click any popups or spam emails... Because there is bound to be something malicious hiding behind the pretty graphics.
I don't agree or disagree when it comes down to hacking. It really comes down to the purpose of the hack. If the hack is to obtain bank and any other personal details or even a simple facebook hack is really not on (so uncool) yet, when the purpose is for the freedom of information such as Wikileaks that is when I reason the action against the purpose and that the hack could be a good maneuver and is justified.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post I couldn't believe that Heidi Klum could contain a virus! Hacking and viruses is something to really worry about and it is a risk, but then again when you think about it it is also a risk to ride in a car! I guess we have to take it as it comes!
wow, i dont even have a virus scanner on my computer would hate to see what stuff it has, i allways search Justin Beiber,jks
ReplyDeleteanyway i agree with the comments and your post, in the way that its so unknown to most computer users and what damage these virus could potentially do. I was listening to this presentation yesterday in class with Ted and we learnt about black hats, white hats and grey hat hackers. Pretty much its straight from the old school cowboy movies when the good guys wear white hats, baddies black and now the people who mix in both sides wear grey. so you have hackers who work for banks and test the strength of their systems are white hats, and the guys who are unauthorized and the baddies. Hopefully they leave our computers alone.
Elise, that sucks! I'm glad you didn't have really serious ramifications. This is my problem with hacking. Although we came across many arguments this week that many hackers just like to 'poke around' to show how clever they are, I tend to be quite suspicious of this stance. The reality is, most people who are good at breaking into houses and safes aren't content to do it just for the fun of it, and are likely to either trash the place or take something with them as they go. I think that hackers tend to have the same mentality. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why there are people out there who think it's fun to punish people for searching the name Heidi Klum, but I won't pretend they're not out there either.
ReplyDeleteI took my laptop to get fixed and found it’s ridiculously slow internet and thousands of Asian pop-ups was a result of the 3,000+ viruses on it! I guess that's my fault for getting whole albums put on my iPod for less than $1 each from a little hut in Cambodia- karma!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm also on the fence with hacking, although a lot of it can be damaging to your software and hardware, it can also give more incentive for creative development and help point out security issues faced by some websites.