Computer Security Breach
How can I tell if I've been hacked?
A couple of the ways you can tell if you've been hacked include if you notice any kind of irregular activity on your computer such as multiple crashes, applications not behaving the way that they were supposed to, information being moved, documents, for instance, being put into folders or places that were not places you put them, data that's either missing or replicated. Once inside your computer, a hacker can see your information. A hacker can access your files. A hacker can access your address book- any kind of private documents you have, so it's making sure thing are where you left them, how you left them- that things are functioning the way that they should. If they're not, you've possibly have been hacked.
What should I do if I've been hacked?
If you feel that you've been hacked, you should immediately disconnect your computer from any network that it's on, whether it's just a local network at home or it's on a larger network at your office. You should also assess what documents/information/data is on your computer and immediately back it up. At that point you should also then use or call in a professional to use diagnostic software that can actually look and see if your system software is intact, if anything has been modified or changed, and most likely you're going to want to preserve your data into a clean installation of the system software, upgrading everything, installing more security software, and then putting your data back on the computer.
Why do hackers want to get into my computer?
Hackers want to gain entry to your computer for a couple of reasons. Often, it's just mischievous, it's the challenge of being able to do it. They're not looking for any personal gain and they're not looking to cause any real harm. They might do something mischievous, but they just want the challenge. Other hackers are looking for information. They're looking for personal information, banking records, any kind of monetary information, personal identification information. That information, those types of things, can be sold, can be used, etcetera. So, these are sort of the two camps that might be hacking into your computer or your network.
What is a "DoS" (denial of service) attack?
A denial of service attack or DOS attack is basically when the connection between a larger system and the users who would need access to the system is broken. This will allow somebody to work on or change or modify that larger system where others can't assess it or monitor it. You may have seen this in, like, the FBI site had been hacked with information that had been put up on the pages. And it seems really impossible but if you isolate that site, some people will try to access it are denied access. It gives somebody time to access it.
How much do I really have to worry about being the victim of a digital attack?
With regards to a computer security breach, you don't really have to worry too much about being a victim of a digital attack, although, anybody's vulnerable. You have to weigh and balance what is it that somebody could benefit from attacking your system or your computer. So, again, everybody's vulnerable to a digital attack, but I don't think it's something you have to worry about on a daily basis. You should certainly take precautions; firewall, being certain about your connection, having security software installed, but I don't think digital attacks are something that you have to loose sleep over.
