Remove Rogue Desktop Icons Created By Spyware.

If you have used a Windows machine for a while, whether it's Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows 98, you're sure to have noticed desktop icons appearing from out of nowhere. How can icons mysteriously emerge on your Windows desktop?

1. When you buy a computer, many vendors place icons to selected products and services on your desktop, such as links to high-speed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or add-on services vendors think you may need.

2. As you install software on your Windows machine, icons may appear, either to start the application or link to the manufacturer's website. Installing just one program could add three or more icons to your desktop!

3. It's easy to accidentally drag a Favorite, bookmark, text file, or other icon to your desktop, creating an icon.

Normally, it's easy to delete Windows desktop icons. Just place your mouse pointer on the offending icon, then right-click it and choose "Delete", clicking "Yes" to confirm if prompted.

However, what if the rogue icons are for adult websites, unfamiliar search engines, or other websites you don't recall visiting? You may try removing these icons but get an error, or after removal they still reappear again and again and again!

If so, then more than likely spyware, adware, or other malware has infected your machine. It may have been through file trading software, an inadvertent "yes" click when a popup window asked you to install software, 'freeware' that included adware, or other means. To remove the rogue icons, you need to remove the malware creating these icons.

Removing spyware and adware can be a time-consuming process, fraught with potential disaster as it is possible to accidentally remove files that render your operating system unusable. However, the following software products can help with this process as long as you read the instructions carefully, make backups, and get expert advice if you're not completely sure about removing what they ask you to do:

* Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.com/

* Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/

* Pest Patrol: http://www.pestpatrol.com/

* Spybot Search and Destroy: http://safer-networking.org/

* Spy Sweeper: http://www.webroot.com/

So, how can you prevent these icons from appearing in the first place? Practice safe computing.

* Backup your machine. If it does get infected to the point of being unusable, at least you won't lose all your important files.

* Install security-related operating system updates so spyware and adware cannot enter your system through well-known exploits.

* Download or buy a virus scanner, and keep it updated! Virus scanners cannot detect all spyware, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Check online or visit your local computer software store.

* Purchase a hardware or software firewall, and keep it updated! Firewalls help protect your computer from common exploits that spyware or adware can use to infect your machine.

* Consider using a different web browser. Though it is not perfect, Mozilla Firefox is currently less susceptible to spyware than Internet Explorer, mainly because it lacks certain technology (such as ActiveX) that is often exploited by malware writers. Note that depending on your web use, certain websites may not work correctly with other web browsers.

By practicing safe computing and using spyware-removal software, you can help remove rogue desktop icons from your desktop and keep others from appearing.

Andrew Malek is the owner of the MalekTips computer and technology help site. Visit his anti-spyware page for more advice on removing adware, spyware, and other malware.

Free Spyware Removal.It's Not As Easy As It Sounds.

Nobody wants to pay to remove spyware. At the very least, I don't. The blasted stuff shouldn't be on my computer anyway, so what ever would make me want to shell out cash to get rid of something that I shouldn't have in the first place?

Spyware removal tools come in many different forms, and from many different places. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is from Sweden, and Spybot: Search and Destroy is from Germany, I think. (Their error messages come up in German, so I have to assume..)

Purchasing adware removal software can even be dangerous, so to speak. If you're buying it from a pop-up then more than likely you're just lining the pockets of the person that infected your machine in the first place. I've had many infested machines have icons for spyware removers magically appear on the desktop. Of course, if you want to actually clean anything, you have to shell out some dough.

If you're going to go it alone, for free, then there are a few tools you'll need. The first is Ad-Aware, as mentioned above. Spybot: S&D is a second excellent choice. The third, and much more advanced (and therefore difficult to use) spyware remover is HijackThis. Almost all scanners will miss various adware items, simply because there is so much produced nowadays so quickly. It's impossible to keep up.

Once you have the aforementioned software downloaded, installed, and updated then you're going to want to boot to safe mode. Why not scan now immediately? Cause the adware is still running. You can't delete a file that's in use. That said, safe mode is less effective than it used to be, but it still may work.

To get to safe mode: Reboot the machine, press F8 repeatedly once it restarts until a menu comes up that has "safe mode" listed. Select it, and press enter. Windows will load nothing but the essentials.

As soon as safe mode is loaded then go ahead and do a full system scan with Ad-Aware and Spybot or whatever you happen to have. Following that, reboot and see how your computer runs. If it still has issues, then HijackThis will be neccesary. In order to use this tool, you'll need to have a pretty good grasp on what should and shouldn't be loading in startup, as well as a grasp of what Browser Help Objects you need. (Technically, none, but some software you have installed may use them)

You can get HijackThis help, but if it eludes you then you really should have an experienced user have at it.

Kevin Souter is a full time computer repair technician, and runs sites in his spare time dispensing his knowledge on free spyware removal and computer repair.

Keeping Worms Out of Your Network.

No auntie Sookie, not earth worms, computer virus worms that can get to you computer and slowly dig deep into your files and eat them away. Put that eggnog down and I'll tell you some more about these new worms.

This worm is a self-replicating (makes a copy of itself, aunt sookie!) program that reproduces itself over a network. It can be hidden in an email attachment from an unknown sender, a movie download from a suspicious website, or an application sent from someone you don't know.
Once on your computer it then can replace a single file, like a winsock.dll or many files and send copies of itself along with email or newsgroup messages that you can post.

The following are ways to keep these type of worms out of your network:

a) Never, I said never (for emphasis) connect an unpatched, non updated computer or other Internet related device to the Internet. How do you update and patch a computer without connecting to the Internet? Get a cd from Microsoft with the latest and greatest patches and updates, then connect the device and then check for updates while connected to make sure you have protection.

b) Always, I said always (yes I am being redundant) use a firewall between your network of computers and the Internet. Even if your network of computers is 1 or 2 computers, it is still a network and needs a firewall to protect it, really protect it. A single computer connected to the Internet is now part of a world wide network thru it's Internet connection and is therefore vulnerable without protection. Get a firewall, a real firewall.

c) Educate and train anyone who uses your computer(s) network. Many times an infection is invited by careless users who download infected email, visit infected sites, or bring infected machines (laptop's, pda's) into a network from outside.

d) Patch and update, patch and update, patch and update (redundant, oh yeah). Yes it's a pain, and it requires time to do and verify that it's actually patched and updated. However it's definitely simpler and cheaper than trying to fix an infestation, or explain to everyone why the network is down or their computers won't work because a worm is eating through everything they have worked hard to save and protect.

e) Make sure up-to-date anti-virus software is on every machine, everything connected to the Internet. Anti-virus packages aid in protection and detection against worms.

f) Establish security rules for your network and educate everyone who touches the network. They must be enforced, daily.

g) Frequently check your network for vulnerabilities. Visit vulnerability website's, take advantage of free scanning tools on the Internet to test your machines. New vulnerabilities and new exploits are released constantly, and you can't protect against what you have no idea what is coming your way.

********************************************************

Daviyd Peterson: 10-year consultant, instructor, trainer
Helps african american homeschools bridge the digital
divide by becoming computer homeschools. Free article
on "Computer Homeschooling" and other related articles
http://www.homeschoolwireless.com/homeschoolwireless.htm

Virus Nightmare..Lessons Learned

I got a virus the other day, Thursday I believe and since then I have been making FRANTIC efforts to save all my info.

The most important thing for me to save are my Outlook Express emails and my Roboform passwords. That way I can at least access all the places I need, to download and re-install all the software I use.

Thankfully I was able to still access my Laptop and very, very slowly(the system was painfully slow because of the damge done by the virus) start a process of trying to save my system without having to reformat the whole disk. I say thankfully because after a virus attack not everyone is able to even access the system.

I tried anti-virus software, I attempted to fix things using the various "malicious advertising" expulsion applications(Ad-aware, Spybot etc.). All to no avail. After almost three days I resigned myself to the fact that it would have to be a re-format which means restoring my Laptop to factory settings. What a nightmare!

First of all I made a backup of my Outlook express email software, emails, account settings etc. For this I downloaded a great little free trial software application called Outlook Express Back Up Wizard, a free trial can be downloaded here:
http://www.outlook-express-backup.com/ This software met by needs better than others I tried.

If you don't use Outlook Express then you can download others by searching here:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2004-35,RNWE:en&q=email+backup+free+downloads

The I did a search for some backup software to back up the files that I could and also to use for future occasions. After trying a few that either wouldn't work on my system, or didn't back up to the medium that I wanted(CD Rom Discs) I found a great tool that just did the trick and in fact I plan to buy as soon as the free trial is up. The software is called "NTI Backup Now 4 Deluxe Suite" and it is so straightforward that even a tech dummy like me found it simple.

Again you can use the full version for 30 days free:
http://www.ntius.com/

I added my Roboform(www.roboform.com) passwords, my Internet Explorer favourites, my Outlook Express backup, my Microsoft Money backup files(For accounting purposes), as many software installation files as I had and most of the files and folders that I have used recently.

Of course what I also ralised is that I have not kept the Install files of loads of the software that I have on my Laptop. Bad mistake! This means that I will have to go search for these again to download to my reformatted system.

What I will do in future is save every Install file in it's own folder with passwords, serial numbers and any other useful info in a notepad file alongside them.

The hard lesson I have learned is to make sure in future I do frequent backups of my system. I have been online since 1998 and never had any major problems. This is the first and I foolishly underestimated the damage a virus could do.

My next step is to get an external drive to use as a backup and as I mentioned to use it frequently.

I hope this has given you some food for thought. As I sign off here I am going to insert my Toshiba Product Recovery CD-Rom.

If I had taken the necessary precautions I wouldn't have just lost three days of my time. Three days I could have been putting to better use.

Ah well, there is positive in every bad situation. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself:-).

Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter:
http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/
For more help and support from Mal Keenan visit his online training site:
http://www.pluginprofitstraining.com

Does Your Firewall Do This?

The first thing people think about when defending their computers and networks is an up-to-date antivirus program. Without this most basic protection, your computer will get a virus, which could just slow it down or potentially bring the pc to a complete standstill!

So anti-virus software is the answer?

An anti-virus solution on it's own is not the answer to all of your problems, it can only protect you so much; in fact test have shown that a new pc running Windows XP if left connected to the Internet unprotected will be infected with viruses and remotely controlled via unauthorised persons within 20 minutes! To protect you against hackers and often to prevent spyware and 'scumware' from communicating directly with their servers about information it may have picked up from your pc, a firewall should form the key part of your e-security solution. Previously, the targets of hackers were large institutions, banks and government organisations; now hackers try to steal your personal information, including bank details and passwords directly from your PC on a daily basis.

But perhaps you don't consider that your data is particularly valuable?
You will be the one who suffers the consequences when it is destroyed, and these consequences are usually expressed in economic terms. If you lose your data, you will have to pay someone to try and recover it for you, and if your computer is illegally hijacked and used to attack others, then you will also have to handle any legal issues that may result from this.

What will a firewall do to limit the danger to your systems?
A decent firewall is sometimes referred to as a 'choke-point' or 'bridge'. Every piece of data that comes into your network has to go through the firewall in order that data of undesirable content and unauthorised users cannot gain access to your computer or network.

A good firewall will also hide the fact from others, that you are actually connected to the Internet, stopping software that pings, sniffs and queries IP addresses in the hope of finding a system to attack.

A firewall will cloak me, but which one do I need?
There are two different types of firewall available for you to use; a software firewall that is loaded onto your computer and a hardware firewall. In truth, both types are software, but the hardware one is a dedicated firewall appliance, whose only job is to perform firewall functionality. A clear advantage of a hardware firewall, is that if you happen to install some sort of maleware or virus on your system, it cannot take over your firewall.

Unified Threat Management firewall functionality
Unified Threat Management products are defined as those that act as firewalls, include intrusion detection and protection, and also deal with viruses.

Does your current firewall perform content filtering, spam filtering, intrusion detection and anti-virus duties? All of these functions are usually on a number of different pieces of hardware, taking up valuable space in your server racks.
The technology within business grade firewalls has become considerably more robust recently, and paved the way to add these additional, but vital functions to the one appliance.

The administration time has been cut significantly, as there is only one appliance; product selection is quicker and easier, as is product integration and ongoing support. With only one appliance, troubleshooting also becomes a lot less of an issue. If the firewall were to fail, then only one piece of hardware needs to be swapped out; which means that your business can be back up and running faster.

Winding up
In conclusion a good firewall should do the following things:

• Protect your personal data
• Protect your computers resources
• Protect your reputation and that of your business
• Protect your liability
• Ideally be capable of Unified Threat Management

Rob Green is the CEO of Century Computing Support Services, a WatchGuard Firewall Expert Partner, who provide both business grade hardware and software firewalls at http://www.firebox.uk.com. Fill in the contact form at http://www.firebox.uk.com/catalog/contact_us.php to sign up for the Century Computing newsletter.

What to Look for before You Purchase Spyware Software.

Huge number of spyware software applications are available in the market, some being offered as shareware while rest as freeware. (Shareware means a software available for download / CD, and can be used for a particular length of time, usually 30 days. Some are disabled as well). Before making a decision to purchase any such software we should check the reliability and should consider various attributes possessed by them and then select the best and the most appropriate one. The various attributes that one should consider to be the most important when purchasing spyware detection and removal software are -

The spyware software should include tools to enhance the ease of spyware detection and removal. The software should be able to offer descriptions of detected spyware so we can determine whether or not to keep each item. The software should also have auto-update and auto-scheduling capabilities. Auto-update facility ensures that we never forget to download latest spyware definition file. Auto-scheduling ensures that the system is scanned for these malicious codes at a defined interval. This means that even is the system user has changed, the computer is still safe from these spywares. There should be "undo" capabilities in case we accidentally delete something we actually need, and many other features as per individual requirements. The product should provide real-time protection from spyware. In other words, the software should help us prevent spyware installation instead of just removing it afterward. The product should be effective at finding and removing the many different types of spyware.

The product should be easy to use. Its features should be user friendly avoiding any technical jargon, not so easily understood by an average computer user. The user interface should be pleasing to look at, and more importantly, should offer the ease of navigation. The product should be easy to download and install, it should be comfortable enough for running and us to get it up without consulting a book or a tech support person.

There should be a help section installed with the product and should offer easy to understand answers to our questions. There should be someone we can call for support, and the support staff should respond quickly to our email questions. With the right solution for removing and detecting spyware in place, you can keep your computer privacy protected and PC ad-free.

Few top most Spyware software are- Spyware Eliminator, Spyware Doctor, Spy Sweeper, CounterSpy, MS AntiSpyware, Ad-Aware, McAfee, Pest Patrol, NoAdware, Spybot S&D. Best Personal Firewalls are- ZoneAlarm, Outpost Pro, Sygate Firewall, Norton Firewall, Norman Firewall, SurfSecret, Windows Firewall, BlackIce, Injoy, McAfee Firewall.

Computer security awareness is certainly on the improve however it is still amazing how many computer users leave themselves wide open to malicious attacks. Get more free info at: http://www.nichearticles.com/spyware/

Personal Firewalls - Secure Your Computer

There has not been a time in the history of the personal computer that firewalls and anti-virus programs have been more necessary and in-demand. Today, personal computer security is not only threatened by viruses and worms, but also by spyware - those severely annoying programs that are illegally loaded onto your computer from the internet. Spyware programs can seriously undermine the operating structure of your computer, as well as make you vulnerable to identity theft and other criminal activities. Firewalls, long since a staple in the corporate world for defending large, expensive internal intranets or other networks, has now come into its own as a tool for personal computer owners as well. Your home computer is just as susceptible - if not more so - to online attacks, so why should it not be protected?

What is a firewall, anyway?

For those of you who may not be as versed in the pc security lingual as some, we offer here a fairly simple definition. A firewall is a collection of security programs that act to block unauthorized users from gaining access to a particular computer network (or single computer). Most firewalls also comprehensively monitor and report the data transfers between the network and the outside internet environment. Thus, they are quite effective in keeping your computer or network safe, allowing you to access the internet without taking a high security risk.

Sygate Personal Firewalls

There are few highly reputable firewall providers out there, and Sygate is certainly one of them. Here we go over some of the features of the Sygate line firewalls, so that you may choose the best one for your pc or server.

Sygate currently offers two main personal firewalls: the Sygate Personal Firewall (SPF) and the Sygate Personal Firewall Plus (SPFP). The major differences between the two are the advanced features you will only find on the SPFP. With the Plus version you will get VPN support, intrusion detection system (IDS), active reponse, and anti-mac, anti-ip spoofing. Both versions of the software come with the material that any pc user should really make sure they have: the main "application" firewall, intrusion alarm system, attacker tracing system, and security policy customization. These features are what are really necessary for a firewall to protect your home computer. The firewall needs to be able to block outsiders from gaining access to your computer, and they need to alert you when an attack has been attempted (or is in progress). Considering that the SPF is essentially free to download, and contains the elements you really need, this is the application we recommend for home pc users. For small business networks, the more advanced features offered by the Sygate Personal Firewall Plus is certainly worth the $40.00 pricetag. Both options are solid firewall applications and can be highly trusted to perform well on nearly any system.

Norton Personal Firewalls

Sygates closest competition in the area of personal firewall is Norton. Norton anti-virus programs are very well known, and have largely carried the brand over the last decade. Although less well known, Norton offers a powerful and comprehensive firewall program for home pc owners. Norton Personal Firewall 2005 is similar to the Sygate Personal Firewall program mentioned above. Some of the neat features of this application include the Norton Privacy Control (which keeps information from being sent without your knowledge in email, instant messages, MS Office attachments, and various forms on the web, such as those you enter your credit card number in), and intrusion prevention system that automatically blocks suspicious incoming traffic (from hackers, etc.). If this product is anywhere near as well designed and engineered as the anti-virus programs from Norton, then it is definately worth a look. The software can be downloaded or ordered online for $49.

Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on personal firewalls, please visit our personal firewall webpage.

How to Know Whether an Email is a Fake or Not

A few nights ago I received an email from "2CO" asking me to update my personal data. The sender did not forget to insert a link to log in, too.

Following are the steps that I have usually taken to discover whether an email came from a rightful person/company or a swindler:

Position the mouse pointer above the link provided by the sender(PLEASE DO NOT CLICK IT!). See on the status bar whether the URL that appears is genuine.

If you use Outlook Express, in the message list, select the suspected message. click "File", and then click "Properties". Click "Details" to see the email headers.

Notice the "Return-path" part, where you will see the sender's original email address. Notice the domain name (e.g ...@xyzdomain.com). Now you can guess with more confidence that it is a real or fake email.

If you have ever received an email from an autoresponder, you might have noticed that the "Return-path" part contained the domain name of the autoresponder (e.g. ....@abc.getresponse.com) although the email address looked like from another domain.

If you are still not sure, do the same with the original email which you had received previously (the one from the right person/company) for comparison. If the header of the original email on the "Return-path" part reads "Return-path: ", while on the suspected email the reading is "Return-path: ", you ought to be suspicious that the second is a fake email!

If you want, you can also notice other parts of the header such as "Received-from" and "Message-id". But, please do not be influenced by the "from" part. It is the part that is usually used to manipulate you.

Additionally, please conceive that an organitation which is always cautious about malicious abuses, such as 2CO, ClickBank, etc, will hardly send a link to you to click in the email. As I have experienced personally, if the company has something to inform me, they merely ask me to log-in to my account (There is no link to click).

Dispatching a faked up email can be done very easily by anyone who possesses a little knowledge about programming (php, etc).

I hope this tip will be useful for you.

Heris Yunora

http://www.soft-promotion.com

What is Hacking?

WHAT IS HACKING?

Hacking, sometimes known as "computer crime" has only recently been taken very seriously. The activities undertaken by the real hackers have been criminalized and they are now being legally persecuted on a scale disproportional to the actual threat they pose.

For those who don't know better, a hacker, by wrong-definition, can be anything from a computer-user to someone who destroys everything they can get their evil terminals into.

Real hackers want their motivations and ethics to be viewed as legitimate, or at least understood, instead of being simply written off as malicious, vandalising, thieving, terrorist out to take over the computers of the world for personal gain, or devious teenagers who have nothing better to do than crash every available computer.

It is thanks to the mass media and people who have absolutely no understanding of computers, who use terms like "information superhighways", "IT", and "computer crime" to try and make themselves sound important that it is assumed all "hackers" (the good and the bad) fit the above descriptions. There are people who do stuff like the above but they ARE NOT real hackers, They buy the magazine "2600" and they ask questions. They do not want knowledge. They do not want to learn how things work, they do not want to explore. All They want to know is the answer to their damn questions, they are not real hackers.

They are the real criminals and are the threat to every appliance connected to the Internet, they destroy, steal and mess up the flow of information then let the real hackers take the blame!

Hacking IS NOT about the mindless idiotic destruction of files and/or crashing systems intentionally.

Real hackers have an ethical code of practice, which includes things such as:

☞ Leave a system in the state it was found.

☞ Do not intentionally destroy or modify anyone else's data.

☞ Do not cause any legitimate user problems with computer resources.

☞ Do not access emergency services computers.

Real hackers are enraged when so called "hackers" cause damage to or compromise resources. Hacking is about looking for answers and knowledge, it is about learning. That's why hackers hack, to search around inside a place they have never been, to explore all the little nooks and crannies of a world so unlike the boring cess-pool they live in.

Their aim is to rise above the rest, and then to pull everyone else up to the same new level. Real hackers justify accessing computer systems by claiming that it is not unfair to break into otherwise idle computer resources and to download files with the intent to learn.

The already terrible reputation carried by the real hackers is cased by the ignorant and stupid people who like the label of "hacker" that screw things up, mainly though the destruction of stored information and or all passable activities of computer related fraud.

For those who don't know better it is thanks to the mass Media who have blown it way out of proportion. A hacker, by wrong-definition, can be anything from a computer-user to someone who destroys everything they can get their evil terminals into.

And the people who have absolutely no understanding of computers, who use terms like "information superhighways", IT, and computer crime to try and make themselves sound important that it is assumed all hackers are malicious, vandalising, thieving, terrorist out to take over the computers of the world for personal gain. There are people who do stuff like the above but they ARE NOT real hackers, They buy the magazine "2600" and they ask questions.

They do not want knowledge. They do not want to learn how things work, they do not want to explore. All They want to know is the answer to their damn questions, they are not real hackers.

They are the real criminals and are the threat to every appliance connected to the Internet, they destroy, steal and mess up the flow of information and let the real hackers take the blame!

Hacking IS NOT about the mindless idiotic destruction of files and / or crashing systems intentionally.

Hacking is about looking, searching for answers and knowledge, it is about learning, satisfying their curiosity. That's why they get into the system, to search around inside a place they've never been, to explore all the little nooks and crannies of a world so unlike the boring cess-pool they live in. They seek to rise above the rest, and then to pull everyone else up to the same new level.

Why destroy that which they love? To take away someone else's chance to succeed in getting in as he did? To fuel an already terrible reputation and increase their chances of getting caught and thus have their lives and careers effectively ruined? IT IS ILLOGICAL!

The real problems are caused by the ignorant and stupid people who like the label of "hacker" that screw thing up by destroying everything they can get their evil terminals into.

It is thanks to the mass Media and people who have absolutely no understanding of computers, who use terms like "information superhighways", IT, and computer crime to try and make themselves sound important that it is assumed all hackers are malicious, vandalising, thieving, terrorist out to take over the computers of the world for personal gain.

ARE YOU A HACKER?

Too identify users who like the label of "hacker". Even as I type this they are dammaging the already terrible reputation carried by the real hackers. This file is meant to help these people who are not helping the movement by pointing out the errors of their ways! What is that you say, "but I am a "badass" hacker". Just ask your self whether any of the following descriptions sound like you, if so then you are part of the problem!.

You have been surfing the net, and you laugh at those media reports of the information superhighways. You have a red box. You do not have to pay for phone calls. You have crackerjack, and you have run it on the password file at a Unix on which you have an account. Your computer knowledge has impressed everyone at your school, you are the one the teachers ask for help. Am I getting warmer?

Or may be you are one of the free loaders. There are thousands of you out there. You buy 2600 and you ask questions. You read phrack and you ask questions. You join #hack and you ask questions. What is that you say, "what is wrong with that? After all, to be a hacker is to question things, is it not?" Nevertheless, you do not want knowledge. You want answers. You do not want to learn how things work. You only want answers. You do not want to explore. All you want to know is the answer to your damn questions. Dose this sound like you?

Or if not the above you are what I refer to as a non event. You read 5% of 5 or 10 of the hacking FAQs and or tutorial files. You no not fully understand the essentials of hacking. Or the reasons for cacking. You have never heard of social engineering or if you have you think it is not important. You think the world of computers and security opens up to you through a keyboard and your redbox. In short you know nothing. You are brain dead, but you see your self as a master mind criminal. You brag about you hacking factices. You make it up as you go along. You lie over any and all the BBS you can.

Dose any of this sound like you? If so you are not a hacker. You are a little child. It is thanks to you morons that get bested whilst destroying everything you can get your evil terminals into that the established order (governments, companions, the mass Media etcetera) assume all hackers are like you, malicious, vandalising, thieving, terrorist out to take over the computers of the world for personal gain or are devious teenagers who have nothing better to do than crash every available computer. Nothing could be feather from the truth!

You enrage the real hackers when you cause damage or compromise resources. You do not understand the damage you inflect When you bring down a system you take away from everyone the chance to succeed in getting in, you take away that which all real hackers have come to love more that live itself!.

Hacking is about looking for knowledge. It is about learning. That's why hackers hack, to search around inside a place they have never been. To explore all the little nooks and crannies of a world so unlike the boring cess-pool they live in. To increase the flow of information and knowledge, so that Everyone can learn and benefit.

WHAT IS A HACKER?

More times that I can remember, someone has asked me the question "Just what exactly is a hacker?"

For those who don't know better. A hacker can be anything from someone who makes furniture with an axe; (by wrong-definition) A computer-user; An expert at a particular programme; An expert or enthusiast of any kind; but the most wide spread application of the term is to describe someone who destroys everything into which he/she can get their evil terminals. This is true to such an extent that if I were to say to just about anyone (that has not being leaving on the moon since 1982) "I am a hacker", it would immediately be assumed that I am a criminal, a malicious, vandalising, a thieving terrorist, a little shit out to take over the computers of the world for personal gain, or some thing along those lines. For this we have the wanabes and the mass Maida to blame!

What I consider a hacker to be is a person who is self motivated and besotted with exploring the details of programmable systems, a person who loves the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations, and uses that knowledge to continue the fight for freedom of knowledge and information, a person who wants to know everything and most importantly a *real* hacker lives by the "hacker ethic" (the belief that information-sharing is a powerful positive and good thing), and whom follows an ethical code of practice (that typically includes things such as, Leave a system in the state it was found; Do not intentionally destroy or modify anyone else's data; Do not cause any legitimate user problems with computer resources; Do not access emergency services computers; etcetera)

Their motivations for hacking (the activities of a hacker) are generally to learn more about any think that can help them understand more about the way the would works, fore example how computer systems work by making them do things they were never intended to do and/or to challenge security measures.

This is my own definition of what the "normative" boundary markers of *real* hackers are. All real hackers tend to meat the majority of these criteria. However, this is by no means universal, like plants, there are many breads of hacker, most of which are out to achieve that same ends, the ones that do not meat any, or the ones the do all the above, but are intent on destruction are *NOT* hackers, most likely they are the wanabes. See my FAQ "ARE YOU A HACKER?" for more about them.

Now, who are the *real* hackers, whatever their motives they tend to share an, unbridled intimacy and total affinity for their life stilly, they are the ones who are so deeply consumed by learning computer science, cacking, programming, social engineering, boxing, scanning, etcetera, that it means more to them than the feeling that they experienced at the flash point of their first love, for some it is the ultimate buzz like heroin, for many to hack, to get access to a system and escape into the binary world, is to engage in sexual intercourse.

Again this is by no means universal, there are those that merely enjoy it, and the ones that find it a pain. The people that do not in *ANY* *WAY* reflect the above may be real hackers, but finding an elite hacker whom dose not is rare.

If you are a real hacker, like it or not, you are a revolutionary and know it or not every thing you do is in some way connected to your search for the truth, because although to be a hacker is to question things hacking its not about asking questions. It is simply about finding the truth because they must be able to choose for themselves, what ever the consequences, it is their right to have some say it their fate.

No one can be told what the truth is, as it is different for everyone, it is an idea, it is simply sufficient information and experience to allow a person to tell for min/her self. It is not an answer that hackers seek but rather the truth is learnt from the path that each hacker takes to gain experience, which is simply the search for knowledge.

I genuinely do not know what the purpose of this file is, maybe someone somewhere will read it, and know more about the truth concerning hackers. Not the lies of the ignorant!

I am the website administrator of the The Wandle Industrial Museum (http://www.wandle.org). Established in 1983 by local people determined to ensure that the history of the valley was no longer neglected but enhanced awareness its heritage for the use and benefits of the community.