Free WiFi Is Not As Safe As You Think! - In Hindi

फ्री Wi-fi इस्तेमाल करें, लेकिन संभलकर

स्मार्टफोन हो, टैबलेट या फिर लैपटॉप. Internet की सुविधा के बिना इन तीनों की उपयोगिता बेमानी लगती है. यही कारण है कि मोबाइल प्लान से लेकर डेटा कार्ड के जरिए लोग 24 घंटे इंटरनेट से जुड़े रहना चाहते हैं. इसी कड़ी में एक नाम WiFi कनेक्शन का भी है. लेकिन मुफ्त कनेक्शन के चक्कर में कई बार यूजर्स हैंकिंग के भी शि‍कार हो जाते हैं.

अगर आप भी राह चलते, उठते-बैठते फ्री Wi-fi कनेक्शन का इस्तेमाल करते हैं तो जरा सतर्क हो जाइए. यह न सिर्फ आपका डेटा चुरा सकता है बल्कि हमेशा के लिए आपके फोन, टैबलेट और लैपटॉप को नुकसान भी पहुंचा सकता है. लेकिन इससे बचना इतना भी मुश्कि‍ल नहीं है. कुछ ऐसे उपाय हैं, जिन्हें अपनाकर हैकर से बचा जा सकता है.

 

जांच लें कौन सा नेटवर्क है सही

 

आम तौर पर Public Place पर कई सारे फ्री Wi-fi कनेक्शन दिख सकते हैं. लेकिन बिना जानकारी के किसी के भी साथ जुड़ना हानिकारक हो सकता है. इसके लिए सबसे पहले जरूरी है कि आप जहां हैं, वहां किसी अधि‍कारी या कर्मचारी से Official Network का नाम पूछ लीजिए. यानी अगर किसी मॉल में हैं तो वहां किसी दुकानदार से मॉल के आधि‍कारिक Wi-fi Host का नाम पूछ लें और फिर कनेक्ट करें. अक्सर एक-जैसे नाम या पॉपुलर नाम से कनेक्शन का नाम बनाया जाता है और एक बार कनेक्ट होने के बाद यह मुसीबत पैदा कर सकता है.

शेयरिंग को ऑफ कर दें

पब्लि‍क Wi-fi कनेक्शन के इस्तेमाल के दौरान Wi-Fi शेयरिंग को ऑफ कर दें. अगर आप Windows का इस्तेमाल कर रहे हैं तो इसे Control Panel में Network And Sharing Center के अंदर, Advance Sharing Settings में जाकर Public Heading के नीचे शेयरिंग को ऑफ किया जा सकता है. दूसरी ओर, अगर आप MAC इस्तेमाल कर रहे हैं तो सिस्टम प्रिफ्रेंस में जाकर शेयरिंग आइकन पर जाइए और चेकबॉक्स को अनमार्क कर दीजिए.

 
एंड्रॉयड डिवाइस का इस्तेमाल करते हैं तो Wi-fi कनेक्शन सेटिंग में जाकर शेयरिंग को ऑफ किया जा सकता है.

VPN का इस्तेमाल करें

वीपीएन यानी Virtual Private Network का इस्तेमाल भी आपके Wi-fi कनेक्शन को Secure बनाने में मदद करता है. असल में यह टूल Server और आपके Device के बीच के ट्रैफिक को Code में बदल देता है, जिससे Hackers या Virus भेजने वाले को आपके Device पर काबू पाने में परेशानी होती है. अगर आपके Device में Free VPN की सुविधा है तो बेहतर, वर्ना Internet पर कई Free VPN Service Provider भी हैं.

HTTPS की जांच करें, तभी आगे बढ़ें

 

यकीनन यह सबसे पुरान तरीका है, लेकिन यह कारगर भी है. अगर आप अपने Device में Chrom, Opera या Firefox Browser का इस्तेमाल करते हैं तो आप पाएंगे कि कोई साइट खुलने पर यह Web Address के पहले HTTPS दिखाता है. यानी ब्राउजर के मुताबिक यह एक सेफ साइट है. यानी HTTPS देखकर आगे बढ़ना भी बेहतर हो सकता है.

अपडेट करें लेकिन ध्यान से

सुरक्षित Wi-fi कनेक्शन के लिए जरूरी है कि आप अपने Operating System और Apps को Update रखें. लेकिन यह भी ध्यान रखें कि फोन, टैबलेट या लैपटॉप को हमेशा ऐसे कनेक्शन पर ही Update करें, जिसके बारे में आपको पता हो कि वह सुरक्षि‍त है.
कई बार ऐसा देखा गया है कि पब्लि‍क Wi-fi के इस्तेमाल के दौरान एक बार Connect होने के बाद लगातार OS Update, Patch या App अपडेट के ऑप्शन आने लगते हैं. ऐसे किसी भी ऑप्शन पर तब तक क्लि‍क न करें, जब तक कि आप यह तय न कर लें कि कनेक्शन सुरक्षि‍त है. असल में कई बार क्लि‍क करने के बाद Hacking या Virus का आक्रमण भी हो सकता है.

एक जैसा पासवर्ड न रखें

कई बार देखा जाता है कि लोग Social Networking से लेकर Mail ID और तमाम Account का एक ही Password रखते हैं. यह गलत है. अलग-अलग Password का इस्तेमाल करें. अक्सर लोग WiFi कनेक्शन के दौरान Account बनाने के लिए भी अपने उसी खास Password का इस्तेमाल कर बैठते हैं, जिससे Hackers के लिए काम आसान हो जाता है.

नेटवर्क छोड़ने से पहले चेक कर लें

एक बार Wi-fi कनेक्शन से जुड़ने और फिर काम खत्म होने के बाद कनेक्शन बंद करने से पहले अपने उन सभी Account और App को बंद कर दें, LogOff कर दें, जिसका इस्तेमाल आपने हाल ही किया है. साथ ही Connection Setting में जाकर Connect Automatically When Available के ऑप्शन को भी Uncheck कर लें.
अगर आप Android Device इस्तेमाल करते हैं तो Wi-fi नेटवर्क लिस्ट में जाकर, नेटवर्क के नाम पर कुछ सेकेंड के लिए Press करें और Forget Network पर क्लि‍क करें.
IOS का इस्तेमाल करते हैं तो Settings में जाकर, Wi-fi नेटवर्क को Select करें और Forget This Network पर Click करें.

To wind up, if you want to read some blogs, binge watch a web-series or search for images of the place you are planning to visit next, use public Wi-Fi. But avoid using it for online banking, email access or for any other sensitive data information.

8 Tips to Make WhatsApp More Secure and Private.

WhatsApp is among the fastest growing instant messengers out there, and almost a social networks in its own way. But if you are using it, there are some steps you should take to protect your security and privacy.

This is above and beyond WhatsApp’s built-in end-to-end encryption. It’s enabled by default and can’t be turned off. The encryption ensures that your messages can only be read on the recipient’s phone. It’s the same for voice calls and video calls, both of which are encrypted.

1. Check Encryption for Sensitive Conversations

Even though WhatsApp encrypts all chats by default, sometimes you want to double-check. It’s good practice to do that while sharing sensitive information like a credit card number with a trusted contact.
To verify the encryption, start a conversation with that contact. In the chat window, tap the contact’s name, and then tap Encryption. You’ll see something like this:

This 40-digit pattern is your security code. You can verify this code manually by comparing the digits, asking the contact to scan that QR code, or scanning your contact’s code with the “Scan Code” button. As security researcher Martin Shelton notes, it’s best to use a different messenger to verify that these numbers match.

2. Turn On Security Notifications.

When a new phone or laptop accesses an existing chat, a new security code is generated for both phones. And WhatsApp can send a notification when the security code changes. This way, you can check the encryption with your friend over a different messenger, ensuring its security.

To turn on security notifications, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Security > Show security notifications and flip the toggle to green, as pictured above.

3. Enable Two-Step Verification.

If a service supports it, you should be using two factor authentication (2FA). This adds a periodic passcode to WhatsApp, and also ensures your data isn’t accessed by someone else.

To activate 2FA, go to Menu > Settings > Account > Two-step verification > Enable. Follow the steps to create a six-digit PIN code that you can easily remember. Importantly, add your email address to retrieve that code in case you forget it.

The periodic checks for the passcode are randomized, so it’s not exactly the same as password-locking your chat. But that’s not 2FA’s purpose anyway. The purpose is to stop someone else from accessing your WhatsApp account without your consent. It’s truly one of the best new WhatsApp features, and even available on WhatsApp Web.

4. You Can't Password Protect WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to lock WhatsApp with a password. WhatsApp has said so explicitly and recommends using a third-party locking app for it on Android.
On iPhones, there is simply no way to password-protect WhatsApp. Apple doesn’t allow it, whether with a passcode or Touch ID.

So for now, the periodic 2FA pin is your only hope. Apart from that, the only way to keep WhatsApp private from snooping eyes is to use a password or pattern lock on your phone.

5. Disable Cloud Backups (If You Care About Privacy)

The end-to-end encryption is awesome, but there’s one loophole: WhatsApp backs up chats to Google Drive or iCloud. That way, if you reinstall it later, you can retrieve your old messages. But this backup isn’t encrypted.

So if you really care about your privacy, then that’s something you need to disable. Remember, storing your data with Apple and Google might not protect you against eavesdropping by governments.

To disable automatic cloud backups:

• On iPhone: Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Auto Backup > Off
• On Android: Go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup to Google Drive > Never

6. Beware Of Common Scams.

Since it’s an instant messenger, you might get some scams on WhatsApp periodically. You need to know some of the popular ones and not fall for them.

The most persistent ones talk about a premium version of WhatsApp, “WhatsApp Gold,” or your account expiring. No matter how it’s worded, the scam is about making you pay for WhatsApp. It shouldn’t need to be said, but don’t ever pay money for WhatsApp. The company has made it clear that WhatsApp will forever be free.

7. Get The Official WhatsApp Desktop Apps.

To use WhatsApp on your computer, you need to sync your phone with either WhatsApp Web or the WhatsApp desktop apps. To be on the safe side, get the official desktop app.

The main reason for this is that WhatsApp Web can be easily manipulated, the Electronic Frontier Foundation says. It’s one of the biggest security threats WhatsApp users are facing.

And when the EFF wrote that report, the recommended solution was to provide desktop clients.

Sure, the WhatsApp desktop client is only second best and there are better options. But don’t trade in security for a few extra features.

8. Protect Your Privacy Ob WhatsApp.

WhatsApp isn’t the most private messenger out there, but it gives users at least some control. Go to Settings > Account > Privacy to see everything at your disposal.

You can control who can see your Last Seen, profile photo, about, status, and live location. You can also turn off Read Receipts here, so the blue check marks are switched off.
There’s no recommendation here, you can choose what works best for you.

Do You Think WhatsApp Is Safe And Private??

Even with all these features, you should know that WhatsApp isn’t completely secure. In fact, there are other more secure communication apps you can try instead. But for 99 percent of regular users, WhatsApp’s security protocols should be good enough.

Cyber Security Tips for Your Users

10 Most Important Cyber Security Tips For Your Users:

No matter how effective—or expensive—the security tools protecting your network are, there’s no way to predict the damage caused by a single careless user. The war against cyber criminals is fought each time a user decides to click an unfamiliar link or open an attachment—and just a single mistake could be the reason for massive data loss.

Read our top 10 Cyber Security tips below:

1. You Are A Target. 

 

 

Realize that you are an attractive target to hackers. Don’t ever say “It won’t happen to me.”

 

 

 

2. Eight Characters Is Not Enough.

Practice good password management. Use a strong mix of characters, and don’t use the same password for multiple sites. Don’t share your password with others, don’t write it down, and definitely don’t write it on a post-it note attached to your monitor.

 

3. Lock It Up.

Never leave your devices unattended. If you need to leave your computer, phone, or tablet for any length of time—no matter how short—lock it up so no one can use it while you’re gone. If you keep sensitive information on a flash drive or external hard drive, make sure to lock it up as well.

4. Practice Safe Clicking.

Always be careful when clicking on attachments or links in email. If it’s unexpected or suspicious for any reason, don’t click on it. Double check the URL of the website the link takes you to: bad actors will often take advantage of spelling mistakes to direct you to a harmful domain.

5. Beware Of Browsing.

Sensitive browsing, such as banking or shopping, should only be done on a device that belongs to you, on a network that you trust. Whether it’s a friend’s phone, a public computer, or a cafe’s free WiFi—your data could be copied or stolen.

6. Back It Up.

Back up your data regularly, and make sure your anti-virus software is always up to date.

7. Physical Cyber Safety.

Be conscientious of what you plug in to your computer. Malware can be spread through infected flash drives, external hard drives, and even smartphones.

8. Share Less Sensitive Information.

Watch what you’re sharing on social networks. Criminals can befriend you and easily gain access to a shocking amount of information—where you go to school, where you work, when you’re on vacation—that could help them gain access to more valuable data.

9. Cut Out The “Middle Man”.

Offline, be wary of social engineering, where someone attempts to gain information from you through manipulation. If someone calls or emails you asking for sensitive information, it’s okay to say no. You can always call the company directly to verify credentials before giving out any information.

10. Stay On Top Of  Your Accounts.

Be sure to monitor your accounts for any suspicious activity. If you see something unfamiliar, it could be a sign that you’ve been compromised.

 

Why C is The Default Drive in Windows?

Here is Your Answer

A question that has bothered almost everyone of us at some point of time has been answered

Computers, which were thought as a luxury few years ago are now a necessity. Computers are making lives easier for almost everyone. Windows is a dominant OS used by majority of computer users. Actually it is used mostly in fields where computers have to be used for non technical tasks.(And hence those trolls on Facebook, describing how Linux wins).

There are many things which are usually ignored, And the question on naming of default drive in Windows is one of them.

It could be anything if it had to be C as it does not follow any order. Logically A should be the default drive.

Then why? why did Windows do this?

Actually the reason is something historical. And it is related to the classic floppy drives . Before hard disks became standard(1980), floppy disks were used for booting the computers. These were available in two sizes at that time: 5 1/4 ” and 3 1/2?.

Those two floppy disk drives were labelled as Local Disk (A) and Local Disk (B). After the invention of Hard disk, floppy disk of size 8 inch came into existence.

The hard disk drive was named C. Once hard disks became standard and floppy disks became obsolete, the drive names A and B vanished.

As a result , drives other than default drive (C) labelled as D, E etc. DVD drive and USB drive are labelled as F, G and so on.

This is the answer of our question.

Despite of all this, you can rename your default it to whatever letter you want( if no other drive is present with same alphabet as its name) if you have administrative rights.

If you have one such question that you think has been ignored for a long time and should be searched for answers, you can post it here in the comments.

 

 

 

What is Surface Web, Dark Web, Deep Web and Dark Net??

Understanding:

Well if you are a tech enthusiast, you must have come across these words just like I have a lot of times! But I had never looked so deeply into finding out the differences as I thought deep web and darknet are the same, but it’s not. So, let’s understand the difference between Surface Web, Deep Web, Dark Web and Darknet. Also understand what darknet browsers are needed to enter darkweb and darknet.

What Is Surface Web?? 

Let me tell you one thing, if you are reading this blog then you are exploring the surface part of the web. The websites, webpages and information that you find using web search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. only portray that you are exploring just the surface of the web. Search Engines use the crawling process to index the webpages. Thus, the general public access only surface web. Now, let’s go little deeper.

Did You Know??

4% of the content is only available for the general public in the entire ocean of the web.

What Is Deep Web??

The content that you cannot find using the search engine is termed as deep web. For example- If you search for something specific in the search engine it will give you many links and you will only find the content that you are looking for after clicking those links. Every website has its own search box. Thus the search engine’s search is limited to navigate the website. It won’t give you the links that are deep inside the website even if your search is specific. You have to go through different websites to find the particular link.

In simple terms, there are places in web that cannot be accessed by search engines but can be accessed if you have an address.

Did You Know?? 

96% of the content is available in the entire ocean of web.

What Is Dark Web??

The data that are purposefully unrevealed and is not attainable through any standard web browsers is termed as dark web. Dark Web is mostly used for illegal and nefarious activities. The content inside Dark Web is usually found using the Tor network.

Did You Know??

Have you heard of the Silk Road? It is an online black market, infamous for selling and purchasing illegal drugs. In October 2013, FBI shutdown the website and arrested the owner but still in November 2013 Silk Road 2.0 came online. It was shutdown again by the FBI in 2014.

What Is darkNet??

A different network that is encrypted and is created upon the existing internet is Darknet. It can only be accessed by using some specific configuration of the tools and software.

DarkNet Browsers: 

Some of the popular darknet browsers are Freenet, Tor, GNUnet, I2P, OneSwarm, RetroShare, etc.

Two types- i. Friend-to-friend networks (used for sharing files using peer-to-peer connection) ii. Privacy networks (such as Tor). Darknet is mainly used for doing illegal activities- computer crime, Purchase or sell illegal goods and services, news leaks, mass surveillance, pirated movies, child pornography, etc.

Did you know?

Tor Browser is not totally secure and has vulnerabilities through which attackers may be able to find who is using a Tor Browser. Maximizing the Tor Browser can reveal the window and screen size.

 

 

What Is 127.0.0.1 (Local Host)??- In Hindi

Computer Localhost Kya Hai(क्या है)?

Computer Localhost वर्ड को आप सभी ने बहुत से लोगो से सुना होगा. But क्या आपको पता है की Computer Localhost Kya Hai(क्या है)? or 127.0.0.1 kya hai (क्या है)? और किस लिए Use होता है. अगर नहीं पता है तो आप बिलकुल सही जगह है, क्योकि अगर आप Website Development या Computer हैकिंग का practice करना चाहते है. तो इसके लिए Computer Localhost के बारे में जानकारी रखना बहुत जरुरी है. क्योकि ये दोनों Practice करने के लिए एक Server की जरुरत होती है और Localhost से ही सबसे सस्ता और सबसे Safe Server बना सकते है.

• Computer Localhost Kya Hai(क्या है)? या 127.0.0.1 kya hota hai(क्या होता है)?

  Localhost यानि 127.0.0.1 Microsoft Computers का Local Server या local Network होता है. जिसके Help से Windows Computer को एक Local Web Server बनाया जा सकता है और सभी HTTP Web Application को Offline run/test किया जा सकता है. इसे Internet Information Services (IIS) के नाम भी जाना जाता है. अगर आप Website Development करते है और आप अपने Website को HTTP Web पर test करना चाहते है तो आप IIS Feature को Enable करके अपने Computer को एक Web Server बना सकते है और कंप्यूटर पर ही वेबसाइट को टेस्ट कर सकते है.

  अक्सर आप सभी ने Ethical Hacker या black Hat Hacker से ये सुना होगा की Localhost जैसा और कोई जगह नहीं है. Hacking Practice करने के लिए और सीखने के लिए, तो ऐसा इसलिए है क्योकि Localhost पर किसी भी तरह के हैकिंग practice करना legal है और आप अपने Computer पर कुछ भी कर सकते है 

  आप सभी को शायद पता ना हो, Internet Network पर जितने भी Website, Web Applications, Servers मौजूद है इन सभी के पास दो तरह के Address होते है. 

  Physical Address: Localhost, Google.com, Facebook.com, blogspot.com ये सभी Physical Address है और इन्हें हम नाम से याद कर सकते है.

  Logical Address: हर एक Web Application, Servers का जो Original Address होता है वह IP (Internet Protocol) के रूप में होता है. जैसे की Localhost का 127.0.0.1, इसे ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) की मदद से Physical Address में कन्वर्ट किया जाता है ताकि लोगो को नाम याद रखने में आसानी हो.

  • दोस्तों, यहाँ पर बताया गया है की  Computer Localhost Kya Hai(क्या है)? या 127.0.0.1 kya hai (क्या है)? अगर आप Server Side Website (PHP, JSP, ASP) बनाना चाहते है तो आपको ये पता होना चाहिए की localhost kya hai (क्या है) क्योकि कोई भी Dynamic Website बिना Server के run नहीं होता है और Localhost सबसे सस्ता और सबसे अच्छा Server है. दोस्तों अगर आपको ये Computer और Networking इनफार्मेशन पसंद आया हो तो आप इसे Share जरुर करे 

   

Types of Hackers

7 Types of Hackers You Should Know

 

• Script Kiddie – Script Kiddies normally don’t care about hacking (if they did, they’d be Green Hats. See below.). They copy code and use it for a virus or an SQLi or something else. Script Kiddies will never hack for themselves; they’ll just download overused software (LOIC or Metasploit, for example) and watch a YouTube video on how to use it. A common Script Kiddie attack is DoSing or DDoSing (Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service), in which they flood an IP with so much information it collapses under the strain. This attack is frequently used by the “hacker” group Anonymous, which doesn’t help anyone’s reputation.

• White Hat – Also known as ethical hackers, White Hat hackers are the good guys of the hacker world. They’ll help you remove a virus or PenTest a company. Most White Hat hackers hold a college degree in IT security or computer science and must be certified to pursue a career in hacking. The most popular certification is the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) from the EC-Council.

• Black Hat – Also known as crackers, these are the men and women you hear about in the news. They find banks or other companies with weak security and steal money or credit card information. The surprising truth about their methods of attack is that they often use common hacking practices they learned early on. 

• Gray Hat – Nothing is ever just black or white; the same is true in the world of hacking. Gray Hat hackers don’t steal money or information (although, sometimes they deface a website or two), yet they don’t help people for good (but, they could if they wanted to). These hackers comprise most of the hacking world, even though Black Hat hackers garner most (if not all) of the media’s attention.  

• Green Hat – These are the hacker “n00bz,” but unlike Script Kiddies, they care about hacking and strive to become full-blown hackers. They’re often flamed by the hacker community for asking many basic questions. When their questions are answered, they’ll listen with the intent and curiosity of a child listening to family stories. 

• Red Hat – These are the vigilantes of the hacker world. They’re like White Hats in that they halt Black Hats, but these folks are downright SCARY to those who have ever tried so much as PenTest. Instead of reporting the malicious hacker, they shut him/her down by uploading viruses, DoSing and accessing his/her computer to destroy it from the inside out. They leverage multiple aggressive methods that might force a cracker to need a new computer.

• Blue Hat – If a Script Kiddie took revenge, he/she might become a Blue Hat. Blue Hat hackers will seek vengeance on those who’ve them angry. Most Blue Hats are n00bz, but like the Script Kiddies, they have no desire to learn.

There you have it. Thanks for reading.  

What is Two Step Verification in Whatsapp???

WhatsApp two step verification:

WhatsApp has started rolling out the two step

verification security feature for its users on Android, iOS and Windows. As a part of the new feature, users will be able to verify their number on the app on a new device more securely by using a six-digit passcode.
But how secure or easy is the new feature? Here are four reasons why you could ignore the new security feature:

1) Mail trail or trouble?

The new two step verification feature provides an option to assign an email address for recovery purposes. But it is not mandatory. So if a user forgets to assign an email address, he or she will have no way to recover the forgotten password without entering an email address for the next seven days from the last time the app has been used.

2) Mail verification and exposed to promotions

WhatsApp, in case you provide an email address to activate the two-step verification, doesn’t verify the email address and hence opens the window for pranksters. The company may not be able to figure out if a user is providing a genuine email address however that might backfire on the user.

Even though the mail id is not verified, there are chances of being exposed to unwanted clutter of promotional messages and security threats.

3) Risk of deletion of chats post re-verification

The two step verification process brings with itself a risk of chats deletion. Once a user reverifies his or her account after 7 days without a passcode, then that user will lose all pending messages upon reverifying - they will be deleted.

Also, if a user reverifies his number on WhatsApp after 30 days of last using WhatsApp, and without a passcode, that particular account will be deleted and a new one will be created upon successfully reverifying.

4) Annoying passcode remembering exercises

Just like annoying pop-ups, WhatsApp’s two-step verification once enabled, may periodically ask users to enter the passcode in trying to help users to remember it. Unfortunately, there is no method to disable this nagging prompt without turning off two-step verification altogether. So much for safety.

What is encryption?

Encryption:

In computing, encryption is the method by which plaintext or any other type of data is converted from a readable form to an encoded version that can only be decoded by another entity if they have access to a decryption key. Encryption is one of the most important methods for providing data security, especially for end-to-end protection of data transmitted across networks.

Encryption is widely used on the internet to protect user information being sent between a browser and a server, including passwords, payment information and other personal information that should be considered private. Organizations and individuals also commonly use encryption to protect sensitive data stored on computers, servers and mobile devices like phones or tablets.

Benefits of encryption:

The primary purpose of encryption is to protect the confidentiality of digital data stored on computer systems or transmitted via the internet or any other computer network. A number of organizations and standards bodies either recommend or require sensitive data to be encrypted in order to prevent unauthorized third parties or threat actors from accessing the data. For example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requires merchants to encrypt customers' payment card data when it is both stored at rest and transmitted across public networks.

Modern encryption algorithms also play a vital role in the security assurance of IT systems and communications as they can provide not only confidentiality, but also the following key elements of security:

• Authentication: the origin of a message can be verified.
• Integrity: proof that the contents of a message have not been changed since it was sent.
• Nonrepudiation: the sender of a message cannot deny sending the message.

How Hackers Hack Your Accounts And Passwords And Ways To Avoid Being Compromised

I am sure most of you have been victims of your email accounts being hacked, or your Facebook passwords not working. Well, this may be a result of your password might have been hacked.

One way to keep yourself secure is by knowing how hackers hack the passwords and the methods and software they generally use.

By knowing how hackers get into your account, you will be in a better situation to understand the ways in which you can lose your account information and passwords and thus can protect yourself from getting hacked next time.

How Do Hackers Get Your Passwords?

One of them is phishing pages. A hacker will send a login page of Gmail or Facebook which looks exactly the same as the real Facebook or Gmail login page.

Most of the times they use social engineering skills where they send a message that says “This person has posted your bad picture on Facebook, click here to check your photo”. Once you click on the link, you will be taken to the login page and as soon as you enter your password, it will be available to the hacker.

Most of the time, the victim doesn’t even realize that the password is gone.

There are many other methods being used by hackers to hack passwords or email access.

1. Keyloggers

This is one of the basic tool used for getting your passwords. Keylogger resides in your system memory and runs at every startup. These keyloggers log all your keystrokes.

A log is created and is then sent to the hacker. One of the most famous is the Ardamax Keylogger. It can be customized to not be shown in “Processes” (Windows Task Manager).

I suggest you to start using Online virtual Keyboard when typing passwords for sensitive sites like your bank account, email and Paypal account. You can also start using a password manager that autofills the login data and thus no key logs are made.

2. RAT

RAT stands for Remote Administration Tool. With RAT, a hacker can connect to your PC without your knowledge. The hacker can see your screen and also see the sites you surf. It also has the built-in functionality of keylogger.

Hackers can copy files from your hard disk to his/her computer – all this without your knowledge. A good example of RAT is Poison Ivy. It can be customized to connect to your PC on a particular port number specified while creating the RAT.

3. Trojan Horses

These are the most common types of malware. Trojans spread through warez sites mostly. All of you want free software.

Right?

Beware though!

When you download from warez sites, all the keygens and patches and even the original trial programs are infected with trojan.

This means you will get the software for free, but your computer will be affected with a trojan horse.

When you run the patch/keygen, you’ll get the desired output, but in the background, your system gets infected with the trojan.

Turkojan is a famous Trojan horse. A trojan is much more superior compared to keyloggers or RATs. It provides much more functionality so that the hacker has greater access to your PC.

These days Android phones are most vulnerable to the trojan horse a.k.a backdoors. Hackers will persuade you to install an apk file which will then install a backdoor apk. This is why you should never install .apk files from untrusted sources. We will talk more about how to safeguard yourself in future articles.

There are many other ways which a hacker uses, for example, if you are connected to the internet on a LAN, which uses the same router, a hacker can use any packet sniffer and base decoder to read all sensitive data being transmitted from your computer. Cain and Abel is one such sniffer, but there are many more.

That’s one reason why I always encourage secure browsing whenever possible. Most sites, like Facebook, give an option to use the https login, which encrypts your data. In such cases, even if the hacker uses the sniffer to capture your data, decoding passwords will not be easy.

Brute forcing is another common method, but with technology advancement, most email and web login forms come with features that can handle such attacks.

Well, to be safe, you have to take preventive methods and make sure you enable all security features offered by the web app you are using. I hope this article helps you to understand how hackers hack so thatt you can take all preventive measures to keep your passwords safe.
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it on Google plus and Facebook for more social awareness.

Linux is more sercure than Windows

Why Linux Is More Secure Than Windows?

Five key factors underlie Linux's superior security:

1. Privileges

Linux systems are by no means infallible, but one of their key advantages lies in the way account privileges are assigned. In Windows, users are generally given administrator access by default, which means they pretty much have access to everything on the system, even its most crucial parts. So, then, do viruses. It's like giving terrorists high-level government positions.With Linux, on the other hand, users do not usually have such "root" privileges; rather, they're typically given lower-level accounts. What that means is that even if a Linux system is compromised, the virus won't have the root access it would need to do damage systemwide; more likely, just the user's local files and programs would be affected. That can make the difference between a minor annoyance and a major catastrophe in any business setting.

2. Social Engineering

Viruses and worms often spread by convincing computer users to do something they shouldn't, like open attachments that carry viruses and worms. This is called social engineering, and it's all too easy on Windows systems. Just send out an e-mail with a malicious attachment and a subject line like, "Check out these adorable puppies!"--or the porn equivalent--and some proportion of users is bound to click without thinking. The result? An open door for the attached malware, with potentially disastrous consequences organizationwide.Thanks to the fact that most Linux users don't have root access, however, it's much harder to accomplish any real damage on a Linux system by getting them to do something foolish. Before any real damage could occur, a Linux user would have to read the e-mail, save the attachment, give it executable permissions and then run the executable. Not very likely, in other words.

3. The Monoculture Effect

However you want to argue the exact numbers, there's no doubt that Microsoft Windows still dominates most of the computing world. In the realm of e-mail, so too do Outlook and Outlook Express. And therein lies a problem: It's essentially a monoculture, which is no better in technology than it is in the natural world. Just as genetic diversity is a good thing in the natural world because it minimizes the deleterious effects of a deadly virus, so a diversity of computing environments helps protect users.Fortunately, a diversity of environments is yet another benefit that Linux offers. There's Ubuntu, there's Debian, there's Gentoo, and there are many other distributions. There are also many shells, many packaging systems, and many mail clients; Linux even runs on many architectures beyond just Intel. So, whereas a virus can be targeted squarely at Windows users, since they all use pretty much the same technology, reaching more than a small faction of Linux users is much more difficult. Who wouldn't want to give their company that extra layer of assurance?

4. Audience Size

Hand-in-hand with this monoculture effect comes the not particularly surprising fact that the majority of viruses target Windows, and the desktops in your organization are no exception. Millions of people all using the same software make an attractive target for malicious attacks.

5. How Many Eyeballs

"Linus' Law"--named for Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux--holds that, "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." What that means is that the larger the group of developers and testers working on a set of code, the more likely any flaws will be caught and fixed quickly. This, in other words, is essentially the polar opposite of the "security through obscurity" argument.With Windows, it's a limited set of paid developers who are trying to find problems in the code. They adhere to their own set timetables, and they don't generally tell anyone about the problems until they've already created a solution, leaving the door open to exploits until that happens. Not a very comforting thought for the businesses that depend on that technology.In the Linux world, on the other hand, countless users can see the code at any time, making it more likely that someone will find a flaw sooner rather than later. Not only that, but users can even fix problems themselves. Microsoft may tout its large team of paid developers, but it's unlikely that team can compare with a global base of Linux user-developers around the globe. Security can only benefit through all those extra "eyeballs."Once again, none of this is to say that Linux is impervious; no operating system is. And there are definitely steps Linux users should take to make their systems as secure as possible, such as enabling a firewall, minimizing the use of root privileges, and keeping the system up to date. For extra peace of mind there are also virus scanners available for Linux, including ClamAV. These are particularly good measures for small businesses, which likely have more at stake than individual users do.It's also worth noting that security firm Secunia recently declared that Apple products have more security vulnerabilities than any others--including Microsoft's.Either way, however, when it comes to security, there's no doubt that Linux users have a lot less to worry about.