New Technology Reviews!.: Hacker

Anonymous to “kill” Facebook come November 5th?

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<img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-83839" height="240" mce_src="http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2594/operationfacebookanonym.jpg" src="http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2594/operationfacebookanonym.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="operation_facebook_anonymous" width="348" />Ever needed a reason to make the jump to Google+ permanent and exclusive? Well it seems that the hacker group Anonymous has just declared war on Facebook, claiming that they will “destroy” Facebook come November the 5th, which just so happens to the be Guy Fawkes Day.</div>
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Anonymous to “kill” Facebook come November 5th?

Ever needed a reason to make the jump to Google+ permanent and exclusive? Well it seems that the hacker group Anonymous has just declare...

Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot'

Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot'

He's jailbroken the iPhone and been sued by Sony over alleged hacks, and now George "Geohot" Hotz is grappling with the bigges...

Facebook Hacker Cup announced

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/computing/internet-and-broadband/images/facebook-hackercup-200-200.jpg"></div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0470569646&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Facebook has announced the arrival of the Facebook 2011 Hacker Cup, which calls on those with a hacking brain to come and try and improve the website for cold, hard cash. 
The Hacker Cup is a worldwide contest that begins in January and is focused on bringing the next big product to Facebook. 
According to the social-networking site, the 2011 Facebook Hacker Cup is "the first annual Facebook programming contest where hackers compete against each other for fame, fortune, glory and a shot at the coveted Hacker Cup." 
Algorithm of the night 
If you look beyond the hyperbole, the reality sounds a little like a school test. But if successfully solving algorithmic-based problem statements sounds like your bag, then there's prize money at stake.

Facebook Hacker Cup announced

Facebook has announced the arrival of the Facebook 2011 Hacker Cup, which calls on those with a hacking brain to come and try and improve th...

Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dFoCpCMHfvQr-9IksoD93x23VmSBk7Y8UReW9J9cXlj8048luskK9HcJQPiUjxFe8MetvJG9sVl7JU5xn9eSWZ-oA6q_63ae94QdIv3QAhHsuee5-hnLaiObc0oqp7DljF-ab7HzOuA/s1600/iphonecydia10102010-1-1286667833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dFoCpCMHfvQr-9IksoD93x23VmSBk7Y8UReW9J9cXlj8048luskK9HcJQPiUjxFe8MetvJG9sVl7JU5xn9eSWZ-oA6q_63ae94QdIv3QAhHsuee5-hnLaiObc0oqp7DljF-ab7HzOuA/s320/iphonecydia10102010-1-1286667833.jpg" width="320"></a></div> 
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003H0WQHU&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved iOS 4.0's jailbreak detection API with no explanation given. While this has little effect on the average user, Network World explains that this is bad news for enterprise IT and MDM (mobile device management) vendors, who will now have one fewer channel for checking whether a user's iOS device has been jailbroken and thus become vulnerable to attacks. That said, apparently this isn't a huge loss for the MDM vendors, anyway; but the real question is why drop the API now? Could its presence alone be a threat? We'll probably never know.

Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored

It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved...

Definitions of the Terms Hacker, Cracker and Coder

Introduction 
There are frequent debates about the meaning of the terms "Hacker" and "Cracker". What is a Hacker? What is a Cracker? There are no conclusive definitions and if you ask randomly 5 people on the street, you probably end up getting 5 different explanations and definitions of those terms as well. 
There are numerous discussions at online communities and blogs about this subject like this one* (see link at the end of this article) by documentary film director and computer history preservationist Jason Scott titled "ASCII" at TextFiles.com. It illustrates that the problem of differing understandings and meanings of the words is for a great number of people a very serious one. This is especially true for members of the IT security community. 
This particular discussion got me thinking and I decided to attempt a new a different, but at the same time also more complete definition of the terms "Hacker" and "Cracker'. I would add to that mix the term coder, because it will become important in the details of the definition of each of those terms. 
Disclaimer 
There are three important facts that I would like to mention first. 
1. There are hundreds of definitions for the term hacker out there and they are all different ranging from portraying a hacker as an ethical and selfless whiz kid who does things for the greater good to the evil and selfish wannabe who cannot create stuff himself and thus prefers to destroy other people's work. 
2. The meaning of the word hacker did change over time. People used the word in much broader terms in the past and even outside of computers. 
3. Mass media put their mark on the term and helped to add to the confusion and misconception. 
I recommend avoiding the use of the words whenever possible, because everybody perceives and understands it different. Especially if you are using the words in a positive context are misunderstandings just waiting there to happen. Instead of cracker, use "computer-crack" or in instead of hack, use the term "exploit" or "work-around" instead for example. However, if you have to or want o use the terms, clarify what you mean by them and not just let the terms out there on their own. 
The Definitions 
My definitions incorporate the changes in the computer industry and the fact that it is not the world of single mainframe computers at individual universities anymore. Computers became a commodity and a large number of users are normal people today, who are not geeks and often not have very much practical understanding of the matter at the same time. 
Definition of "Hacker" 
A "hacker" is for me a person who is an "advanced power user" and not necessarily somebody who is a programmer. A person who analyses software, tests it, automates requests via tools to scan a broad range of possible options in a short time-period. A person who wants to gain access and or control over another system by exploiting known security flaws, using brute force (scanning, dictionary attacks etc.) or human weaknesses and flaws (why use parents the first name of one of their child's as password so often?). 
He maybe finds technical security holes by accident, but is not the one who can seek them out as well. The hacker was spending time to find out the new frequencies for AT&T, MCI or SPRINT to break their lines, scanned for valid calling card numbers, attempts to find new working credit card numbers by creating similar siblings from an existing credit card that works etc. 
Definition of "Cracker" 
A "cracker" is for me somebody who "eats code raw", a person who is comfortable using software debugger, mostly doing debugging at the Assembler level. A cracker enjoys dissecting other people's code and "fixes" little inconveniences and "flaws" in software, like skipping license key input screens to speed up the software installation process. Crackers are not necessarily great programmers themselves, but have a deep understanding of technology and computer software. 
Definition of "Coder" 
A "coder" is somebody with remarkable programming skills. A coder is this type of person who spends countless hours on something of little or no practical value (just by itself), just because he wants to figure it out. Things like writing a program that listens to IO operations of a hardware component and displays it on the screen, which looks like your TV screen, if you did not select a TV channel, showing nothing but seemingly random noise. 
Each One Could be One, Two or all Three of Them at the same Time 
A hacker could be a cracker and coder as well, but often are the three different types of characters found in three distinct and different persons. They can excel by working together in conjunction with each other and as part of a group. 
I reduced my definitions to what kind of skills each of them has and less on what exactly each skill is being used for. That each of the people is often living in its own little world is probably true. The world they live in is not always the same world normal people perceive as reality. 
Hypothetical Collaboration between a Hacker, Cracker and Coder 
If you ask how the collaboration between a hacker, cracker and coder would look like, here is how I see it. The hacker would be the person who is in charge and coordinates the efforts. He is the one who has clear goals and ideas in his head. He would be the one, for example, who thinks up how a tool would have to work to do something very specific. The coder could write that tool for the hacker. 
A port scanner for example (just to keep it simple) could be such a tool. The hacker needs a cracker, if the hacker encounters specific software and cannot get around it by using brute force or guessing. He would try to get a copy and have the cracker take a look at it to find flaws or have him create an altered version, the hacker could try to sneak in as replacement for the original. 
By Default Neither Good nor Bad 
Here is a positive example to avoid the misconception that it is all about breaking into something and stealing data etc. What they do and what they do it for are two distinct and very different things and independent of the definition. 
The coder writes a piece of software. The hacker tests the software thoroughly and approaches it from all kinds of different angles. He does in essence the quality assurance. The cracker is the one who is looking under "the hood" and checks the software for deep build in flaws and errors. 
Quality Assurance 
In the example of a piece of security software would the coder write the interface to enter the password, the encryption routines etc. 
The cracker checks the code to make sure that the encryption is strong enough and that nothing is being exposed that reduces the effectiveness of the protection, like loading the key pairs in plain text into the memory for processing and stuff like that. 
The hacker checks more like things such as minimum keyword length, supported characters and flaws in the interface. 
The best encryption is worthless if the password can only be a set of numbers and the password is three digits long = only 1000 possible combinations which can be tried out in no time, via a script or even manually. 
The best protection software is also useless, if you can simply press ALT-F4 and close it and then be able to move on and do what you want to do anyway. The hacker is the one who would look for this kind of stuff. 
Conclusion 
Keep in mind that none of the mentioned terms have a conclusive and generally accepted definition. The debate will continue and probably never end. However, the subject itself is very interesting and I hope that my arguments (just by themselves) added some value to the debate or at least had some entertainment value. 
I am convinced that most people should be comfortable with my definitions and explanations, if they are thinking about it for a moment, including hackers, crackers and coders themselves.

Definitions of the Terms Hacker, Cracker and Coder

Introduction There are frequent debates about the meaning of the terms "Hacker" and "Cracker". What is a Hacker? What i...

Website Security - Be Hacker Proof!

At first glance, online shopping seems easy as 123 because of how easy it is to choose, compare and purchase different products with the help of search engines. According to a survey of American online shoppers, 41% abandon their carts once they face difficulty in the transaction process. This only indicates that the story doesn't always have a happy ending. Some online shoppers do encounter difficulties, confusion and misleading tactics that make them discontinue the shopping or subscription process. Can all this be blamed to a weak website security?If you are online merchant, you want to avoid your potential sale from turning into thin air. Surprisingly, it is not other e-commerce businesses that you should feel threatened about- even more if you know for yourself that you sell top notch products or services. It is those attackers trying to find a vulnerable spot in your website security that you should be careful of. 95% of cyber attacks are targeted to banks and businesses processing credit cards. And if you have no protection, then you have higher chances of being hacked.Cyber crime is rising rapidly and it has become a weapon of destruction because in the year 2008 alone, the loss due to cyber crimes has reached $1 trillion. What's even more alarming is the fact that tracing these cyber criminals is almost close to impossible. Even government institutions have fallen prey to hackers, and sad to say, due lack of evidence and difficulty in tracing, they haven't had prosecuted almost any of the guilty party.Computers were invented out of necessity and we store everything in it! This is followed by the creation of internet -a real world where we buy, sell, exchange goods and services. Are you a 100% sure that information is securely saved on your computer network and website?Take note that hackers are privacy invaders and will try incessantly to steal your that identity and hard earned income. Cyber attackers are masters when it comes to sophisticated technology. They can insert viruses and malicious files into your system without you even knowing it. The truth is having only anti- virus software can be a false sense of security. If you really want to prevent your business from becoming a statistic in cyber crime damages, then be educated about website security. You'll have higher chances of beating the bad guys if you are aware of how they play the game of fraud.You can only be prepared if you know what you are dealing with. Here are some cyber attacks you may not have heard of:1. Phishing- method to steal credit card information, passwords and other important information in forms of suspicious links, and emails of spoofed websites.2. Clickjacking - this is one of the new and most dangerous threats because there isn't any effective solution for this problem yet. So what hackers and spammers do is that they hide a malicious content under the cover of legitimate buttons or clickable items in the website. For example, you clicked 'enter' into a website but instead the hacker directed the click you made into downloading viruses. They can also create spoofs of legitimate websites, where they steal credit card information entered by shoppers.Online shoppers face more risk of fraud than those who do physical shopping. They might thought that they have purchased real goods from a legitimate merchant, but it can be possible they were actually misled. Online merchants also face the possibility of being hacked of names, addresses and credit card information. It is no surprise that for this reason, e-commerce businesses come and go. Having no website security is like having no burglar alarm on your property. You may wake up one day and everything has been taken away.Hackers don't only target only large businesses. In fact, they easily find unprotected systems which are mostly small to medium businesses. According to hacker safe, 75% of e-commerce is not secure. Isn't it a disgrace to be a part of that statistic? There are many ways to get started with <a href="http://www.trusttheseller.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">website security</a>. So go ahead and get started.1. Get covered with the basics. So install at the same time: a firewall system, anti-virus program and anti spy-ware program.2. Get trust seals. This works both ways- it increases consumer confidence thus increasing sales and secures your website from vulnerabilities that hackers can take advantage of.3. Get a consultant. If you have a budget and you can't handle it on your own, get a consultant to take care of your system and network. They too can make professional recommendations on ways how to secure your network.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Katrina loves to write and is dedicated to doing her best in all that she does.

Website Security - Be Hacker Proof!

At first glance, online shopping seems easy as 123 because of how easy it is to choose, compare and purchase different products with the ...

Hacker Insurance For E-Commerce Business

Computer crimes or computer security breaches cost American companies a whopping $150 millions in lost revenues every year. This includes theft of information, sabotage of data or networks, system penetration by outsiders, abuse of internet access, spoofing, viruses, financial fraud, active wiretapping, unauthorized insider access and theft of laptops, etc. These hackers could be amateurs simply motivated by challenge to crack a system, professional outsiders hacking to gain company information illicitly or an employee hacker. Despite firewalls, computer security is inadequate against hackers.Why Hacking Insurance is Necessary:Due to increased hacking activity and flawed security, companies incur high financial and network damages. It becomes very important to take insurance policy specifically covering damages against hackers or protecting e-commerce business.Drawbacks of Existing Insurance Plans:Traditional insurance policies are inadequate against most aspects of crime damages due to computers. Their coverage is based on physical assets, not information assets. They rarely can define cyber risk coverage and even if they do, the breach in security is excluded. Intellectual property infringement, content and advertising offences over the Internet, employee dishonesty and computer fraud are all 'Greek' terms for traditional insurance companies. They do not recognize business monetary loss, reduction or shut down due to computer crimes by hackers.Advantages of Hacking Insurance:Most insurance companies have come to terms to recognize the impact of technology on business in present circumstances. They have become more sensitive to online or e-commerce businesses risks and cover them adequately.Since 2000, a few companies like Lloyd's of London, Zurich Insurance Group and Chubb Insurance Group are beginning to cover the computer security breaches. American International Group's NetAdvantage Program addresses a host of e-commerce crimes like cyber extortion, content defamation, copyright and trademark infringement, viruses, theft, destruction or alteration of data. They offer rewards for apprehending hackers and reimburse for post hacking crisis management. Many specialty insurers have come to the forefront to offer e-commerce protection packages. INSUREtrust.com, Hamilton, Ace Ltd's information technology products, Okemos, Website Insurance& Security Program are some of the recent entrants in this field.The chief advantages are that some criminal behind the keyboard cannot destroy your business. Information gives companies a competitive edge in global economy. It can be disastrous for the company, if the information is destroyed or stolen or virus infected or divulged to competitors. Many insurers have started offering insurance products to protect company from network breaches or virus attacks.Chubb Corporation's 'cyber-security' policy provides comprehensive coverage against e-theft, fraudulent e-communication, e-vandalism, e-threat and impairment of e-services. Many cyber insurers are addressing the tough issues like asymmetric information, adverse selection and moral hazards and other risk domains to provide more comprehensive solutions and coverage.Cyber insurance is a potent weapon for improving Internet security. Cyber insurance products, now being offered by insurance firms, address the needs of e-businesses today.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Alexander Gordon is a writer for <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com/" target="_new">http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com</a> - The <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com" target="_new">Small Business Consulting</a> Community. Sign-up for the <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com/public/department30.cfm" target="_new">free success steps newsletter</a> and get our booklet valued at $24.95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.Business Owners all across the country are joining "The Community of Small Business Owners? to receive and provide strategies, insight, tips, support and more on starting, managing, growing, and selling their businesses. As a member, you will have access to true Millionaire Business Owners who will provide strategies and tips from their real-life experiences.

Hacker Insurance For E-Commerce Business

Computer crimes or computer security breaches cost American companies a whopping $150 millions in lost revenues every year. This includes...