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  1. HACKING SECRETS REVEALED
  2. Information and
  3. Instructional Guide
  4. HACKING SECRETS REVEALED
  5. Production of  S&C Enterprises
  6. Table of Contents
  7. Disclaimer
  8. Introduction i
  9. C H A P T E R 1
  10. System Intrusion in 15 Seconds 1
  11. C H A P T E R 2
  12. The Trojan Horse 1
  13. The Hack 15
  14. NewsGroups 18
  15. Grapevine 18
  16. Email 19
  17. Un-Safe Websites 19
  18. IRC 19
  19. ChatSites 19
  20. C H A P T E R 3
  21. Acceptable Files 20
  22. Readme & Text Files 20
  23. Chapter 4
  24. Who are Hackers 24
  25. Anarchist Hackers 24
  26. Hackers 25
  27. Crackers 26
  28. Chapter 5
  29. Tools of the Trade 27
  30. Portscanners 28
  31. Trojans 29
  32. Joiners 34
  33. ICQ 34
  34. Chapter 6
  35. Access Granted 36
  36. Bank Account Information 37
  37. Email 39
  38. Pictures 39
  39. Resume 39
  40. Survellance Via Internet Connection 40
  41. C H A P T E R 7
  42. How To protect Yourself 42
  43. Firewalls 43
  44. Antivirus Software 44
  45. Tips & Tricks 45
  46. Protecting Shared Resources 49
  47. Disabling File and Printer Sharing 55
  48. Oh No My system's Infected 59
  49. Chapter 8
  50. Every Systems Greatest Flaw 60
  51. Chapter 9
  52. How to Report Hackers 65
  53. Chapter 10
  54. Final Words 74
  55. DISCLAIMER
  56. The authors of this manual will like to express our concerns about the misuse
  57. of the information contained in this manual. By purchasing this manual you
  58. agree to the following stipulations. Any actions and or activities related to the
  59. material contained within this manual is solely your responsibility.
  60. The misuse of the information in this manual can result in
  61. criminal charges brought against the persons in question. The
  62. authors will not be held responsible in the event any criminal
  63. charges be brought against any individuals misusing the
  64. information in this manual to break the law.
  65. (Note This manual was created for Information purposes only.)
  66. 3 3
  67. Introduction
  68. HE internet is ever growing and you and I are truly pebbles
  69. in a vast ocean of information. They say what you don’t
  70. know can’t hurt you. When it comes to the Internet
  71. believe quite the opposite. On the Internet there a millions and
  72. millions of computer users logging on and off on a daily basis.
  73. Information is transferred from one point to another in a
  74. heartbeat. Amongst those millions upon millions of users, there’s
  75. you.
  76. As humble a user you may be of the Internet, you are pitted
  77. against the sharks of the information super highway daily.
  78. Problem with that is the stealth by which it happens. Currently
  79. about 30-40% of all users are aware of the happenings on their
  80. computer. The others simply either don’t care or don’t have the
  81. proper “know how” to recognize if their system is under attack
  82. and or being used.
  83. You bought this manual because you are concerned about your
  84. privacy on the Internet. As well you should be. On the Internet
  85. nothing is quite what it appears to be. The uninformed will get
  86. hurt in many ways.
  87. T
  88. 4 4
  89. By taking interest in your privacy and safety, you have proven
  90. yourself to be above the rest. You can never have enough
  91. information. Information is power and the more informed you as
  92. a user become the less likely you are to fall prey to the sharks of
  93. the Internet.
  94. In this manual, I will cover with you things that may scare you.
  95. Some things may even make you paranoid about having a
  96. computer. Don’t be discouraged though, as I will also tell you
  97. how to protect yourself. The reasons for telling you the “dirt” if
  98. you will is that I feel it important for you to know what is at risk.
  99. I wrote this manual as a guide. To show you how hackers gain
  100. access to your system using security flaws and programs. The
  101. theory goes that if you are aware of what they are doing and how
  102. they are doing it you’ll be in a much better position to protect
  103. yourself from these attacks.
  104. (Through out this manual you will see reference to the term
  105. “Hacker.” This is a term I use very loosely for these individuals.)
  106. These are just a few of the topics that will be covered:
  107. • How “hackers” get into your system
  108. • What tools they use
  109. • How a hacker can effectively “Bug” your house via your
  110. computer. (Don’t believe me, read on you’ll be very
  111. surprised)
  112. • What information they have access to. And why you
  113. should try to protect yourself. (You might be surprised to
  114. find out what they know.)
  115. • Tips and tricks that hackers use
  116. • How your Antivirus software alone is not enough
  117. • What to look for if you suspect you’re being hacked
  118. • What the greatest flaw to all computers are
  119. • And more…
  120. 5 5
  121. By no means am I going to make a ludicrous claim that this
  122. manual will protect you from everything. What I will say is that
  123. by reading this manual hopefully you will be in a better situation
  124. to protect yourself from having your information compromised.
  125. Did you know it doesn’t matter if you’re connected to the net
  126. 24hrs a day or 15 min’s a day your system is vulnerable. Not
  127. only is it vulnerable in that 15 min’s you can possibly loose all
  128. your data get locked out of your own system and have all your
  129. confidential information like your “Bank Account Numbers”, “Your
  130. Budget”, “Your personal home address” compromised.
  131. Don’t give me wrong, I’m not trying to throw you into a state of
  132. paranoia either. What I am saying is that if you’re not careful
  133. you leave yourself open to a wide range of attacks.
  134. Perhaps you’re skeptical and saying to yourself “Oh I don’t do
  135. anything on the net except check my E-mail etc that sort of thing
  136. can’t happen to me.”
  137. Okay I like a challenge let’s do a test!
  138. 6 6
  139. SYSTEM INTRUSION IN 15 SECONDS
  140. System intrusion in 15 seconds, that’s right it can be done. If
  141. you possess certain security flaws your system can be broken
  142. into in less that 15 seconds.
  143. To begin this chapter I’d like you to do the following. Connect to
  144. the Internet using your dial up account if you are on dial up. If
  145. you are on dedicated service like High Speed connections (ie,
  146. Cable and DSL) then just proceed with the steps below.
  147. • Click Start
  148. • Go to Run
  149. • Click Run (It’s a step by step manual) :-)
  150. • Type Winipcfg
  151. • Hit the Enter Key
  152. Chapter
  153. 1
  154. 7 7
  155. This should bring up a window that looks like the following
  156. * For editorial reason the above info has been omitted *
  157. What you should see under IP address is a number that looks
  158. something like this.
  159. 207.175.1.1 (The number will be different.)
  160. If you use Dial Up Internet Access then you will find your IP
  161. address under PPP adapter. If you have dedicated access you
  162. will find your IP address under another adapter name like (PCI
  163. Busmaster, SMC Adapter, etc.) You can see a list by clicking
  164. on the down arrow.
  165. 8 8
  166. Once you have the IP address write it down, then close that
  167. window by clicking (OK) and do the following.
  168. • Click Start
  169. • Go to Run (Click on Run)
  170. • Type command then Click OK
  171. At this point you should see a screen that looks like this.
  172. Type the following at the Dos Prompt
  173. • Nbtstat –A IP address
  174. For example: nbtstat –A 207.175.1.1
  175. (Please note that you must type the A in capitol letters.)
  176. 9 9
  177. This will give you a read out that looks like this
  178. NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table
  179. ____________________________________
  180. Name Type Status
  181. -------------------------------------------
  182. J-1 <00> UNIQUE Registered
  183. WORK <00> GROUP Registered
  184. J-1 <03> UNIQUE Registered
  185. J-1 <20> UNIQUE Registered
  186. WORK <1E> GROUP Registered
  187. WORK <1D> UNIQUE Registered
  188. __MSBROWSE__.<01>GROUP Registered
  189. (Again info has been omitted due to privacy reasons)
  190. The numbers in the <> are hex code values. What we are
  191. interested in is the “Hex Code” number of <20>. If you do not
  192. see a hex code of <20> in the list that’s a good thing. If you do
  193. have a hex code <20> then you may have cause for concern.
  194. Now you’re probably confused about this so I’ll explain.
  195. A hex code of <20> means you have file and printer sharing
  196. turned on. This is how a “hacker” would check to see if you
  197. have “file and printer sharing” turned on. If he/she becomes
  198. aware of the fact that you do have “file and printer sharing”
  199. turned on then they would proceed to attempt to gain access to
  200. your system.
  201. (Note: To exit out of the DOS prompt Window, Type Exit
  202. and hit Enter)
  203. 10
  204. I’ll show you now how that information can be used to gain
  205. access to your system.
  206. A potential hacker would do a scan on a range of IP address for
  207. systems with “File and Printer Sharing” turned on. Once they
  208. have encountered a system with sharing turned on the next step
  209. would be to find out what is being shared.
  210. This is how:
  211. Net view \\<insert ip_address here>
  212. Our potential hacker would then get a response that looks
  213. something like this.
  214. Shared resources at \\ip_address
  215. Sharename Type Comment
  216. MY DOCUMENTS Disk
  217. TEMP Disk
  218. The command was completed successfully.
  219. This shows the hacker that his potential victim has their My
  220. Documents Folder shared and their Temp directory shared. For
  221. the hacker to then get access to those folders his next command
  222. will be.
  223. Net use x: \\<insert IP address here>\temp
  224. If all goes well for the hacker, he/she will then get a response of
  225. (The command was completed successfully.)
  226. At this point the hacker now has access to the TEMP directory of
  227. his victim.
  228. Q. The approximate time it takes for the average hacker to do
  229. this attack?
  230. R. 15 seconds or less.
  231. 11
  232. Not a lot of time to gain access to your machine is it? How many
  233. of you had “File and Printer Sharing” turned on?
  234. Ladies and Gentlemen: This is called a Netbios attack. If you are
  235. running a home network then the chances are you have file and
  236. printer sharing turned on. This may not be the case for all of you
  237. but I’m sure there is quite a number of you who probably do. If
  238. you are sharing resources please password protect the
  239. directories.
  240. Any shared directory you have on your system within your
  241. network will have a hand holding the folder. Which looks like
  242. this.
  243. You can check to find which folders are shared through Windows
  244. Explorer.
  245. • Click On Start
  246. • Scroll Up to Programs
  247. At this point you will see a listing of all the different programs on
  248. your system
  249. Find Windows Explorer and look for any folders that look like the
  250. above picture.
  251. Once you have found those folders password protect them. Don’t
  252. worry I’ll show you how to accomplish this in Chapter 8 in a
  253. visual step by step instruction format.
  254. 12
  255. Netbios is one of the older forms of system attacks that occur. It
  256. is usually overlooked because most systems are protected
  257. against it. Recently there has been an increase of Netbios
  258. Attacks.
  259. Further on in this manual we shall cover some prevention
  260. methods. For now I wish only to show you the potential security
  261. flaws.
  262. 13
  263. THE TROJAN “HORSE”
  264. I found it necessary to devote a chapter to Trojans. Trojan’s are
  265. probably the most compromising of all types of attacks. Trojans
  266. are being released by the hundreds every week, each more
  267. cleverly designed that the other. We all know the story of the
  268. Trojan horse probably the greatest strategic move ever made.
  269. In my studies I have found that Trojans are primarily responsible
  270. for almost all Windows Based machines being compromised.
  271. For those of you who do not know what Trojans are I’ll briefly
  272. explain. Trojans are small programs that effectively give
  273. “hackers” remote control over your entire Computer.
  274. Chapter
  275. 2
  276. 14
  277. Some common features with Trojans are as follows:
  278. • Open your CD-Rom drive
  279. • Capture a screenshot of your computer
  280. • Record your key strokes and send them to the “Hacker”
  281. • Full Access to all your drives and files
  282. • Ability to use your computer as a bridge to do other
  283. hacking related activities.
  284. • Disable your keyboard
  285. • Disable your mouse…and more!
  286. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of more popular
  287. Trojans:
  288. • Netbus
  289. • SubSeven
  290. The Netbus Trojan has two parts to it as almost all Trojans do.
  291. There is a Client and a Server. The server is the file that
  292. would have to get installed on your system in order to have
  293. your system compromised. Here’s how the hack would go.
  294. 15
  295. The Hack
  296. Objective: Getting the potential victim to install the server
  297. onto his/her system.
  298. Method 1
  299. Send the server file (for explanation purposes we’ll call the file
  300. netbusserver.exe) to you via E-Mail. This was how it was
  301. originally done.
  302. The hacker would claim the file to be a game of some sort.
  303. When you then double click on the file, the result is nothing.
  304. You don’t see anything. (Very Suspicious)
  305. Note: (How many times have you double clicked on a
  306. file someone has sent you and it apparently did
  307. nothing)
  308. At this point what has happened is the server has now been
  309. installed on your system. All the “hacker” has to do is use the
  310. Netbus Client to connect to your system and everything you
  311. have on your system is now accessible to this “hacker.”
  312. 16
  313. With increasing awareness of the use of Trojans, “hackers”
  314. became smarter, hence method 2.
  315. Method 2
  316. Objective: Getting you to install the server on your system.
  317. Let’s see, how many of you receive games from friends?
  318. Games like hit gates in the face with a pie. Perhaps the game
  319. shoot Saddam? There are lots of funny little files like that.
  320. Now I’ll show you how someone intent on getting access to
  321. your computer can use that against you.
  322. There are utility programs available that can combine the
  323. (“server” (a.k.a. Trojan)) file with a legitimate “executable
  324. file.” (An executable file is any file ending in .exe). It will
  325. then output another (.exe) file of some kind. Think of this
  326. process as mixing poison in a drink.
  327. For Example:
  328. Tomato Juice + Poison = something
  329. Now the result is not really Tomato Juice anymore but you can
  330. call it whatever you want. Same procedure goes for
  331. combining the Trojan with another file.
  332. For Example:
  333. The “Hacker” in question would do this: (for demonstration
  334. purposes we’ll use a chess game)
  335. Name: chess.exe (name of file that starts the chess
  336. game)
  337. Trojan: netbusserver.exe (The Trojan)
  338. (Again for explanation purposes we’ll call it that)
  339. 17
  340. The joiner utility will combine the two files together and output
  341. 1 executable file called:
  342. <insert name here>.exe
  343. This file can then be renamed back to chess.exe. It’s not
  344. exactly the same Chess Game. It’s like the Tomato Juice, it’s
  345. just slightly different.
  346. The difference in these files will be noticed in their size.
  347. The original file: chess.exe size: 50,000 bytes
  348. The new file (with Trojan): chess.exe size: 65,000 bytes
  349. (Note: These numbers and figures are just for explanation
  350. purposes only)
  351. The process of joining the two files, takes about 10 seconds to
  352. get done. Now the “hacker” has a new chess file to send out
  353. with the Trojan in it.
  354. Q. What happens when you click on the new chess.exe file?
  355. Answer: The chess program starts like normal. No more
  356. suspicion because the file did something. The only difference
  357. is while the chess program starts the Trojan also gets installed
  358. on your system.
  359. Now you receive an email with the attachment except in the
  360. format of chess.exe.
  361. The unsuspecting will execute the file and see a chess game.
  362. Meanwhile in the background the “Trojan” gets silently
  363. installed on your computer.
  364. 18
  365. If that’s not scary enough, after the Trojan installs itself on
  366. your computer, it will then send a message from your
  367. computer to the hacker telling him the following information.
  368. Username: (A name they call you)
  369. IP Address: (Your IP address)
  370. Online: (Your victim is online)
  371. So it doesn’t matter if you are on dial up. The potential
  372. hacker will automatically be notified when you log on to your
  373. computer.
  374. You’re probably asking yourself “how likely is it that this has
  375. happened to me?” Well think about this. Take into
  376. consideration the second chapter of this manual. Used in
  377. conjunction with the above mentioned methods can make for
  378. a deadly combination.
  379. These methods are just but a few ways that “hackers” can
  380. gain access to your machine.
  381. Listed below are some other ways they can get the infected
  382. file to you.
  383. News Groups:
  384. By posting articles in newsgroups with file attachments like
  385. (mypic.exe) in adult newsgroups are almost guaranteed to
  386. have someone fall victim.
  387. Don’t be fooled though, as these folks will post these files to
  388. any newsgroups.
  389. Grapevine:
  390. Unfortunately there is no way to control this effect. You
  391. receive the file from a friend who received it from a friend etc.
  392. etc.
  393. 19
  394. Email:
  395. The most widely used delivery method. It can be sent as an
  396. attachment in an email addressed to you.
  397. Unsafe Web sites:
  398. Web sites that are not “above the table” so to speak. Files
  399. downloaded from such places should always be accepted with
  400. high suspicion.
  401. IRC:
  402. On IRC servers sometimes when you join a channel you will
  403. automatically get sent a file like “mypic.exe” or “sexy.exe” or
  404. sexy.jpg.vbs something to that effect. Usually you’ll find
  405. wannabe’s are at fault for this.
  406. Chat Sites:
  407. Chat sites are probably one of the primary places that this sort
  408. of activity takes place. The sad part to that is 80% are not
  409. aware of it.
  410. As you can see there are many different ways to deliver that
  411. file to you as a user. By informing you of these methods I
  412. hope I have made you more aware of the potential dangers
  413. around you. In Chapter 3 we’ll discuss what files should be
  414. considered acceptable.
  415. 20
  416. ACCEPTABLE FILES
  417. From the last chapter you’re probably asking yourself what
  418. exactly is safe to accept as a file from anyone. Hopefully I’ll
  419. answer most if not all your questions about what types of files
  420. can be considered safe or more to the point normal.
  421. I’ll show you what normal extensions should be for different types
  422. of files and what type of files should never come in .exe formats.
  423. We’ll start with something I’m sure most if not all folks have had
  424. happen to them at least once.
  425. PICTURES
  426. Ever had someone send you a picture of themselves? If you
  427. hang around on a chat site of any kind then chances are
  428. you’ve met someone or a group of people perhaps who’ve
  429. wanted to send you their picture. If they did then hopefully it
  430. was not in the form of (mypic.exe). If it was you may want
  431. to run a virus check on those files in particular.
  432. Chapter
  433. 3
  434. 21
  435. For all intensive purposes pictures should really only come in the
  436. formats listed below.
  437. • Jpg (jpeg) For example (steve.jpg)
  438. • Bmp (bitmap) For example (steve.bmp)
  439. • TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
  440. For example (steve.tiff)
  441. • Gif (Graphics Interchange Format)
  442. For example (steve.gif)
  443. These are all legitimate!
  444. Your browser can view almost all of these files short of the tiff
  445. format. Other programs that can be used to view these files are
  446. Photoshop, Paintshop, Netscape, Internet Explorer and Imaging
  447. just to name a few.
  448. WARNING!
  449. These are the file types by which images should come as.
  450. Anything else should be unacceptable. There is no reason to
  451. have an Image of any kind come as a .exe file. Don’t ever
  452. accept the excuse that it’s an auto extracting image file!
  453. READ ME AND TEXT FILES
  454. Almost all program information documents on the net come in
  455. one of these formats. These files are simply information
  456. documents typed up in some word processing program or text
  457. editor.
  458. 22
  459. Some examples of their extensions are:
  460. • DOC Document format for Microsoft Word, Word.
  461. Example: (readme.doc)
  462. • TXT Text format file can be opened by Notepad, Word,
  463. Microsoft Word.
  464. Example: (readme.txt)
  465. • RTF (Rich Text Format)
  466. Those are all acceptable legitimate formats. The truth is that a
  467. text files can come in almost any format. However there are
  468. formats that they really should never come in.
  469. For Example:
  470. • <anything>.com
  471. • <anything>.exe
  472. • <anything>.txt.vbs
  473. There is no reason for any files to be sent to you in any of the
  474. above formats if they are text documents. I can also assure you
  475. there is no reason a file should have a double extension. Such
  476. files if you should ever receive them should be treated with
  477. suspicion.
  478. By no means should you ever open a file if you do not
  479. know what type of file it is.
  480. 23
  481. If you are uncertain about what a file type is here is a method by
  482. which you can check. Go to your favorite search engine for
  483. example:
  484. Altavista: http://www.altavista.com
  485. Or
  486. Metacrawler: http://www.metacrawler.com
  487. • Click into the search field
  488. (Then type the file type you are inquiring about for example)
  489. • Doc file type
  490. • Exe file type
  491. • Rtf file type
  492. This will pull up sites that will give a more detailed explanation of
  493. exactly what type of file it is.
  494. You can use the above information to better understand what
  495. type of files you receive from individuals. Without risking
  496. installing anything on your machine.
  497. We’ve covered methods by which your computer can be accessed
  498. by a Netbios Attack, how files can be infected, and how they can
  499. be delivered. In Chapter 4 we’ll discuss who is responsible for
  500. these attacks. We will look at the type of individuals behind the
  501. keyboard responsible for these attacks.
  502. 24
  503. WHO ARE HACKERS?
  504. I feel it is necessary to clarify the term hacker. Perhaps your
  505. definition of a hacker has been influenced and tainted over the
  506. years. There have been various computer related activities
  507. attributed to the term “hacker”, but were greatly misunderstood.
  508. Unfortunately for the people who are truly defined within the
  509. underground tech world as a “hacker” this is an insult to them.
  510. There are various types of “hackers”, each with their own
  511. agenda. My goal is to help protect you from the worst of them.
  512. Anarchist Hackers
  513. These are the individuals who you should be weary of. Their sole
  514. intent on system infiltration is to cause damage or use
  515. information to create havoc. They are primarily the individuals
  516. who are responsible for the majority of system attacks against
  517. home users. They are more likely to be interested in what lies on
  518. another person’s machine for example yours.
  519. Mostly you’ll find that these individuals have slightly above
  520. computer skill level and consider themselves hackers. They
  521. glorify themselves on the accomplishments of others. Their idea
  522. Chapter
  523. 4
  524. 25
  525. of classing themselves as a hacker is that of acquire programs
  526. and utilities readily available on the net, use these programs with
  527. no real knowledge of how these applications work and if they
  528. manage to “break” into someone’s system class themselves as a
  529. hacker. These individuals are called “Kiddie Hackers.”
  530. They use these programs given to them in a malicious fashion on
  531. anyone they can infect. They have no real purpose to what they
  532. are doing except the fact of saying “Yeah! I broke into <insert
  533. name here> computer!” It gives them bragging rights to their
  534. friends.
  535. If there is any damage to occur in a system being broken into
  536. these individuals will accomplish it.
  537. These individuals are usually high school students. They brag
  538. about their accomplishments to their friends and try to build an
  539. image of being hackers.
  540. Hackers
  541. A hacker by definition believes in access to free information.
  542. They are usually very intelligent people who could care very little
  543. about what you have on your system. Their thrill comes from
  544. system infiltration for information reasons. Hackers unlike
  545. “crackers and anarchist” know being able to break system
  546. security doesn’t make you a hacker any more than adding 2+2
  547. makes you a mathematician. Unfortunately, many journalists
  548. and writers have been fooled into using the word ‘hacker.” They
  549. have attributed any computer related illegal activities to the term
  550. “hacker.”
  551. Real hackers target mainly government institution. They believe
  552. important information can be found within government
  553. institutions. To them the risk is worth it. The higher the security
  554. the better the challenge. The better the challenge the better they
  555. need to be. Who’s the best keyboard cowboy? So to speak!
  556. These individuals come in a variety of age classes. They range
  557. from High School students to University Grads. They are quite
  558. 26
  559. adept at programming and are smart enough to stay out of the
  560. spotlight.
  561. They don’t particularly care about bragging about their
  562. accomplishments as it exposes them to suspicion. They prefer to
  563. work from behind the scenes and preserve their anonymity.
  564. Not all hackers are loners, often you’ll find they have a very tight
  565. circle of associates, but still there is a level of anonymity between
  566. them. An associate of mine once said to me “if they say they are
  567. a hacker, then they’re not!”
  568. Crackers
  569. For definition purposes I have included this term. This is
  570. primarily the term given to individuals who are skilled at the art
  571. of bypassing software copyright protection. They are usually
  572. highly skilled in programming languages.
  573. They are often confused with Hackers. As you can see they are
  574. similar in their agenda. They both fight security of some kind,
  575. but they are completely different “animals.”
  576. Being able to attribute your attacks to the right type of attacker is
  577. very important. By identifying your attacker to be either an
  578. Anarchist Hacker or a Hacker you get a better idea of what you’re
  579. up against.
  580. “Know your enemy and know yourself and you will always be
  581. victorious...”
  582. 27
  583. TOOLS OF THE TRADE
  584. What is a carpenter without a hammer? “Hackers” require tools
  585. in order to attempt to compromise a systems security. Some
  586. tools are readily available and some are actually written by other
  587. hackers, with the sole intent of being used for system break-ins.
  588. Some “hackers’ use a little ingenuity with their attacks and don’t
  589. necessarily rely on any particular tool. In the end however it
  590. boils down to they need to infect your system in order to
  591. compromise it.
  592. To better understand the means by which “hackers” compromise
  593. system security I feel it important to understand what tools they
  594. use. This will give you as a user insight as to what exactly they
  595. look for and how they obtain this information. In this section, I
  596. also explain how these tools are used in conjunction with each
  597. other.
  598. Chapter
  599. 5
  600. 28
  601. Port Scanners
  602. What is a port scanner?
  603. A port scanner is a handy tool that scans a computer looking
  604. for active ports. With this utility, a potential “hacker” can
  605. figure out what services are available on a targeted computer
  606. from the responses the port scanner receives. Take a look at
  607. the list below for reference.
  608. Starting Scan.
  609. Target Host: www.yourcompany.com
  610. TCP Port :7 (echo)
  611. TCP Port :9 (discard)
  612. TCP Port :13 (daytime)
  613. TCP Port :19 (chargen)
  614. TCP Port :21 (ftp)
  615. TCP Port :23 (telnet)
  616. TCP Port :25 (smtp)
  617. TCP Port :37 (time)
  618. TCP Port :53 (domain)
  619. TCP Port :79 (finger)
  620. TCP Port :80 (www)
  621. TCP Port :110 (pop)
  622. TCP Port :111 (sunrpc)
  623. Finished.
  624. Scanning for open ports is done in two ways. The first is to
  625. scan a single IP address for open ports. The second is to scan
  626. a range of IP address to find open ports.
  627. Try to think about this like calling a single phone-number of
  628. say 555-4321 and asking for every extension available. In
  629. relation to scanning, the phone-number is equivalent to the IP
  630. address and the extensions to open ports.
  631. 29
  632. Scanning a range of IP address is like calling every number
  633. between 555-0000 to 555-9999 and asking for every
  634. extension available at every number.
  635. Q. What does a port scanner look like?
  636. Trojans
  637. Trojans are definitely one of the tools that “hackers” use.
  638. There are hundreds of Trojans. To list them all would make
  639. this manual extremely long. For definition purposes we’ll focus
  640. on a couple.
  641. 30
  642. Sub Seven
  643. The Sub Seven Trojan has many features and capabilities. It
  644. is in my opinion by far the most advance Trojan I have seen.
  645. Take a look at some of the features of Sub Seven.
  646. • address book
  647. • WWP Pager Retriever
  648. • UIN2IP
  649. • remote IP scanner
  650. • host lookup
  651. • get Windows CD-KEY
  652. • update victim from URL
  653. • ICQ takeover
  654. • FTP root folder
  655. • retrieve dial-up passwords along with phone numbers
  656. and usernames
  657. • port redirect
  658. • IRC bot. for a list of commands
  659. • File Manager bookmarks
  660. • make folder, delete folder [empty or full]
  661. • process manager
  662. • text 2 speech
  663. • Restart server
  664. • Aol Instant Messenger Spy
  665. • Yahoo Messenger Spy
  666. • Microsoft Messenger Spy
  667. • Retrieve list of ICQ uins and passwords
  668. • Retrieve list of AIM users and passwords
  669. • App Redirect
  670. • Edit file
  671. • Perform clicks on victim's desktop
  672. • Set/Change Screen Saver settings [Scrolling Marquee]
  673. • Restart Windows [see below]
  674. • Ping server
  675. • Compress/Decompress files before and after transfers
  676. • The Matrix
  677. • Ultra Fast IP scanner
  678. • IP Tool [Resolve Host names/Ping IP addresses]
  679. Continued…
  680. 31
  681. • Get victim's home info [not possible on all servers]:
  682. - Address
  683. - Bussiness name
  684. - City
  685. - Company
  686. - Country
  687. - Customer type
  688. - E-Mail
  689. - Real name
  690. - State
  691. - City code
  692. - Country code
  693. - Local Phone
  694. - Zip code
  695. And more…
  696. I think you get the picture of just exactly what that Trojan
  697. is capable of. Here is a picture of what SubSeven looks
  698. like.
  699. 32
  700. Netbus:
  701. NetBus is an older Trojan however nonetheless is still used.
  702. It consists of a server and a client-part. The server-
  703. part is the program which must be running on your
  704. computer. This should give you an idea of what Netbus is
  705. capable of.
  706. Netbus Features:
  707. • Open/close the CD-ROM once or in intervals (specified in
  708. seconds).
  709. • Show optional image. If no full path of the image is given it
  710. will look for it in the Patch-directory. The supported image-
  711. formats is BMP and JPG .
  712. • Swap mouse buttons – the right mouse button gets the left
  713. mouse button’s functions and vice versa.
  714. • Start optional application.
  715. • Play optional sound-file. If no full path of the sound-file is
  716. given it will look for it in the Patch-directory. The supported
  717. sound-format is WAV .
  718. • Point the mouse to optional coordinates. You can even
  719. navigate the mouse on the target computer with your own.
  720. • Show a message dialog on the screen. The answer is always
  721. sent back to you.
  722. • Shutdown the system, logoff the user etc.
  723. • Go to an optional URL within the default web-browser.
  724. • Send keystrokes to the active application on the target
  725. computer. The text in the field ”Message/text” will be
  726. inserted in the application that has focus. (”|” represents
  727. enter).
  728. • Listen for keystrokes and send them back to you.
  729. • Get a screendump (should not be used over slow
  730. connections).
  731. • Return information about the target computer.
  732. • Upload any file from you to the target computer. With this
  733. feature it will be possible to remotely update Patch with a
  734. new version.
  735. 33
  736. • Increase and decrease the sound-volume.
  737. • Record sounds that the microphone catch. The sound is sent
  738. back to you.
  739. • Make click sounds every time a key is pressed.
  740. • Download and deletion of any file from the target. You
  741. choose which file you wish to download/delete in a view that
  742. represents the harddisks on the target.
  743. • Keys (letters) on the keyboard can be disabled.
  744. • Password-protection management.
  745. • Show, kill and focus windows on the system.
  746. • Redirect data on a specified TCP-port to another host and
  747. port.
  748. • Redirect console applications I/O to a specified TCP-port
  749. (telnet the host at the specified port to interact with the
  750. application).
  751. • Configure the server-exe with options like TCP-port and mail
  752. notification.
  753. This is what the Netbus client looks like.
  754. 34
  755. Joiners
  756. Earlier you saw me make references to utilities that
  757. combine two executable files into one. That’s what these
  758. programs are. These programs make it possible to hide the
  759. Trojans in legitimate files.
  760. ICQ
  761. Though as itself is not a utility for hacking there are
  762. program files written by Un-named programmers for it.
  763. The more advance Trojans have the ability to notify the
  764. “hacker” via ICQ of whether or not you are online. Given
  765. that you are infected with a Trojan.
  766. If you are not infected then ICQ can serve as a Utility to
  767. give away your IP address. Currently there are
  768. files/programs available on the net that allows you to
  769. “patch” ICQ so it reveals the IP numbers of anyone on the
  770. “hackers” list. There are also files that allow you add users
  771. in ICQ without their authorization or notification.
  772. 35
  773. For demonstration purposes let’s see how a hack would go
  774. if a hacker with the above mentioned utilities were to
  775. attempt to hack into a users machine.
  776. Hack 1:
  777. Objective: Obtain entry to the users machine.
  778. Step1: Obtain user’s ICQ #
  779. Step2: Add User to ICQ list
  780. Step3: Use Get Info on user
  781. Step4: Record User’s IP address
  782. Step5: Start a dos prompt
  783. Step6: nbtstat –A <ipaddress>
  784. Step7: Look for hex code <20>
  785. Step8: (Assuming a hex of <20> is there) net view
  786. \\ip_address.
  787. Step9: See what shares are available we’ll say “C” is being
  788. shared.
  789. Step10: net use x: \\ip_address\c
  790. Access to the user’s machine has been achieved.
  791. In the above scenario our “potential hacker” used the patch
  792. programs available for ICQ to gain the IP address of the
  793. “victim” and then launch his assault.
  794. With the realization of how an “individual” can gain access
  795. to your machine let’s move on to Chapter 6. We will
  796. discuss what’s at risk once your computer has been
  797. compromised.
  798. 36
  799. ACCESS GRANTED
  800. Quite often I hear comments like “so what if they hack into my
  801. system there’s nothing on my system of interest.” I can’t tell you
  802. how more wrong you can be. The only thing I can think of when
  803. I hear someone say that is that person is not aware of just what
  804. type of information they have access to.
  805. I’ll show you exactly what type of information a “hacker” has
  806. access to once your system has been broken into. Try to
  807. remember this is not meant to scare you, it is meant to inform
  808. you. Keep in mind you are reading this manual to gain a better
  809. understanding of how to protect your-self.
  810. Chapter
  811. 6
  812. 37
  813. Bank Account Information
  814. I’m sure if you’re like most people you have web banking of some
  815. kind. You probably pay your bills online via your banks website.
  816. Most banks require you to use 128bit encryption browsers to do
  817. your banking online. This form of banking online does encrypt
  818. your information and protect it from otherwise prying eyes of the
  819. world that may wish to gain access to such vital information.
  820. This should further illustrate how powerful the encryption method
  821. is:
  822. • 40-bit encryption, means there are 2 40 possible keys
  823. that could fit into the lock that holds your account
  824. information. That means there are many billions (a 1
  825. followed by 12 zeroes) of possible keys.
  826. • 128-bit encryption, means there are 2 88 (a three
  827. followed by 26 zeroes) times as many key combinations
  828. than there are for 40-bit encryption. That means a
  829. computer would require exponentially more processing
  830. power than for 40-bit encryption to find the correct key.
  831. That’s a very powerful method of encrypting data sent from your
  832. machine to the banks machine. Unfortunately it’s useless to you
  833. once your computer has been compromised.
  834. Question: How?
  835. One of the features of a “Trojan” is a key logger. The principle
  836. behind this is all keystrokes pressed will be recorded and sent
  837. back to the “hacker.”
  838. What sort of information do you enter when you are banking
  839. online?
  840. Most banks have a login screen of some kind, where you type in
  841. your username and password. Here’s where it gets interesting.
  842. This means that once you type your login and password for your
  843. online bank account the “hacker” now has access to that.
  844. 38
  845. You’re probably asking yourself well “How do they know what
  846. bank I’m with?”
  847. This information is easily achieved by doing what is called a
  848. screen shot. This gives the “hacker” a picture of your desktop
  849. and all windows currently open at the time. The screen shot
  850. would look like this.
  851. From that screen shot they can tell what site you are at (in which
  852. case it would be your bank). From there it’s just a matter of
  853. logging into your bank account and doing whatever they want.
  854. As you can see although you are on a secure web site, it still
  855. doesn’t protect your information once your computer is
  856. compromised.
  857. Perhaps there are some of you who do not use online banking.
  858. Perhaps you use another program for managing your finances.
  859. There is a variety of programs out there available for financial
  860. purposes.
  861. Problem is that once a “hacker” has access to your system, they
  862. have access to those files. They can copy the files from your
  863. computer to theirs and browse through them at their leisure.
  864. 39
  865. Email
  866. Simply put all emails sent to you are accessible to a “hacker”
  867. once your system has been compromised. They can read them
  868. and possibly check your mail before you do.
  869. Pictures
  870. If you have pictures of yourself or family members on your
  871. system, they are also available to the “hacker.” I don’t think I
  872. need to explain the danger here. Not only has the individual
  873. compromised your computer system, they also know what you
  874. look like.
  875. Resume
  876. This may not sound like a priority file for a “hacker” but stay with
  877. me for a second. How many of you have resumes typed up on
  878. your computers? I’m sure a lot of you do. If a “hacker” were to
  879. download your resume they now have access to:
  880. Name:
  881. Address:
  882. Phone:
  883. Workplace:
  884. Add to that the above and let’s take a look at what they know.
  885. • Email address of friends, family, associates.
  886. • Your home address.
  887. • Phone Number
  888. • What you look like
  889. • Where you work (And have worked)
  890. • Bank Account (including how much money you have)
  891. 40
  892. It doesn’t stop there either. Those are just a few of the things
  893. that can happen when your system is compromised. This is no
  894. science fiction these are real life possibilities. The extent of that
  895. information was gathered just from files on your system. Take
  896. into consideration the following.
  897. SURVELLANCE VIA INTERNET CONNECTION
  898. Make no mistake this is very real. Depending on how much you
  899. read and how much you know about Trojans you are probably
  900. aware of what I am talking about.
  901. If you are not aware, then I am referring to the ability to
  902. effectively turn your computer into an audio/video survellance
  903. unit without you knowing.
  904. Question: How?
  905. Answer: How many of you have Webcams? How many of you
  906. have Microphones?
  907. Not all Trojans have the ability to access your Web Cam and
  908. Microphone. The ones that do, have the ability to turn your
  909. computer into a video/audio survellance camera.
  910. The Trojan records the sounds in a room via your microphone
  911. and then sends the file back to the “hacker.” The hacker then
  912. plays the file back and can hear any sounds recorded in the
  913. room. Add to that since the recording is a file they can play it
  914. back whenever they want to who ever they want.
  915. By the same method they access your Web Cam effectively
  916. getting both a video and audio feed from your house of what is
  917. currently going on in that room.
  918. That sounds crazy, but I can assure you it is not. I don’t think I
  919. need to tell you what type of security hazard this represents to
  920. you and your family.
  921. 41
  922. By now you are probably worried/scared of the possible
  923. vulnerabilities of your computer. Don’t be. In Chapter 7 we will
  924. discuss methods to protect yourself from these individuals.
  925. 42
  926. HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
  927. There is a saying that goes “Prevention is better than cure.”
  928. After reading this manual hopefully you are looking for ways to
  929. protect your privacy. Take it back from those who may invade it.
  930. The individuals who are responsible for these attacks will always
  931. prey off those who do not take an interest in defending their
  932. privacy.
  933. “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for the day. Teach a man how to
  934. fish and he’ll never starve.”
  935. By showing you steps and procedures you can use to protect
  936. your system from being hacked, you’ll quickly regain your sense
  937. of security.
  938. Chapter
  939. 7
  940. 43
  941. FIREWALLS
  942. A firewall in layman terms is essentially a program which filters
  943. network data to decide whether or not to forward them to their
  944. destination or to deny it.
  945. These programs will generally protect you from inbound “net
  946. attacks.” This means unauthorized network request from foreign
  947. computers will be blocked.
  948. I cannot stress how important it is in this day and age to have a
  949. firewall of some kind installed and “running” on your computer.
  950. I personally recommend that you use one of the following or both
  951. if you can.
  952. Black Ice Defender
  953. This is a very user-friendly comprehensive firewall program. I
  954. highly recommend it to both advance and novice users. It has a
  955. simple graphical interface that is easy to understand and pleasing
  956. to the eye.
  957. It detects your attacker, stops their attack and or scan and gives
  958. you as much information available on the “attacker.”
  959. You can download Black Ice Defender at:
  960. http://www.networkice.com
  961. 44
  962. Lockdown 2000
  963. I also recommend Lockdown 2000 as a security measure.
  964. Lockdown2000 has a very nice graphical interface to it also and is
  965. user friendly. It does the same thing Black Ice Defender does but
  966. also runs scans on your system for Trojans. It monitors your
  967. registry and system files for changes that occur. Then gives you
  968. the option of either undoing all the changes or allowing it.
  969. You can obtain a copy of Lockdown2000 from:
  970. http://www.lockdown2000.com
  971. I find using both firewalls in conjunction with each other works
  972. quite well. As they both compensate for the short-comings of the
  973. other.
  974. Anti Virus Software
  975. This is also another piece of software you should by all means
  976. have on your system. We all know it’s a necessity however we
  977. are all guilty of not using them.
  978. There are numerous anti-virus software out there. Norton
  979. Antivirus and Mcafee are two of the more common ones. They
  980. are all good and do their job.
  981. You can find each of these programs at:
  982. http://www.norton.com
  983. http://www.mcafee.com
  984. 45
  985. I personally recommend using 1 virus scanner and both firewalls.
  986. The reason is I find Black Ice Defender blocks incoming attacks
  987. and any system changes that occur on your system Lockdown
  988. catches.
  989. TIPS & TRICKS
  990. I feel it necessary for you to pay particular attention to this
  991. section. The above programs will function and do their job, but
  992. that’s only half the battle.
  993. There are certain precautions you need to take as a user to
  994. ensure your system remains a “fortress.”
  995. Tip #1:
  996. For Dial Up users: If you are a dial up user then you use a
  997. modem either internal or external kind to get online. If you have
  998. an external modem then this tip is easy. If you look at the
  999. modem you’ll see lights on the front of it.
  1000. When you’re doing anything on the net you’ll notice lights
  1001. blinking that indicate that you are Sending Data, and Receiving
  1002. Data. Depending on how often the lights blink and how fast they
  1003. blink gives a rough idea of how much activity is going on between
  1004. your computer and the net.
  1005. Here’s where a little perception comes into play. If you are
  1006. connected to the internet, and are just sitting by your system
  1007. doing absolutely nothing, those lights have no business to be
  1008. blinking rapidly. They will flash periodically indicating it’s
  1009. checking it’s connectivity, however there should be no heavy data
  1010. transfer of any kind if you are not doing anything on the net.
  1011. For Example: If you have your email program open and you are
  1012. just sitting there reading your mail, you may notice that every 15
  1013. sometimes 20 mins that the lights will blink back and forth
  1014. 46
  1015. indicating it’s sending and receiving data. This is normal because
  1016. chances are you have your email program configured to check
  1017. your mail every 20 mins.
  1018. If by chance you notice the lights on your modem is blinking
  1019. consistently for let’s say a period of 2mins non stop be extremely
  1020. suspicious.
  1021. If you have an internal modem, you will not be able to see the
  1022. lights on your modem, instead you can rely on the two tv looking
  1023. icons at the bottom right corner of your screen near the clock.
  1024. They will look something like this.
  1025. Any data being sent and received will be noticed by the blinking
  1026. of the lights rapidly.
  1027. If you are on cable or dsl, the same applies. There should never
  1028. be any form of heavy data transfer of any kind from your system
  1029. to anything unless you are authorizing it. Some examples of
  1030. activity that can justify heavy data transfer are as follows:
  1031. • Legitimate Programs running that may need to access the
  1032. net occasionally. (ie, Email programs)
  1033. • If you are running an FTP server where people purposely
  1034. log into your machine to download files you have given
  1035. them access to.
  1036. • If you are downloading files off the internet
  1037. Things of that nature will generate a lot of data transfer.
  1038. 47
  1039. Allow me to take this opportunity to explain to you another “Tool”
  1040. you should be aware of. Let’s assume you realize that there is a
  1041. lot of data being sent and received from your machine and you’re
  1042. not even sitting at it.
  1043. How do you know what’s going on?
  1044. Let’s do a short exercise.
  1045. • Click Start
  1046. • Go to Run (Click Run)
  1047. • Type Command
  1048. • Click OK
  1049. Again you should get a screen that looks like this.
  1050. 48
  1051. Once you have this screen type the following:
  1052. • Netstat –a
  1053. This command will give you a listing of everything your
  1054. computer is communicating with online currently.
  1055. The list you get will look something like this:
  1056. Active Connections
  1057. Protocol Local Address Foreign Address State
  1058. TCP COMP: 0000 10.0.0.1 : 0000 ESTABLISHED
  1059. TCP COMP:2020 10.0.0.5 : 1010 ESTABLISHED
  1060. TCP COMP:9090 10.0.0.3 : 1918 ESTABLISHED
  1061. You’ll see a variety of listings like the above. It will give you the
  1062. Protocal being used, the local address (your computer) and what
  1063. port on your computer the “Foreign Address” is being connected
  1064. to and the (State) of which the (Foreign Address) is. For
  1065. example if it is (Established) then that means whatever the
  1066. foreign address says is currently connected to your machine.
  1067. There is software available that will show you this information
  1068. without typing all those commands.
  1069. The name of the software is called Xnetstat, you can obtain a
  1070. copy of it from here:
  1071. http://www.arez.com/fs/xns/
  1072. If for whatever reason you believe you are sending and receiving
  1073. a lot of data then it is wise to do a netstat –a to see what is
  1074. connected to your computer and at what ports.
  1075. 49
  1076. Protecting Shared Resources
  1077. For those of you who have internal networks between two
  1078. computers probably have a shared resource of some kind. Earlier
  1079. in this manual I showed you how to find what is being shared.
  1080. Let’s have a look at how to protect those shared resources.
  1081. • Click Start
  1082. • Scroll up to Programs
  1083. • Go to Windows Explorer (Click on it)
  1084. Once you have done this you should see a window that comes up
  1085. with a bunch of folders listed on the left and more folders listed
  1086. on the right.
  1087. Scroll through the listing and look for whatever shared files you
  1088. have. For a refresher the folder will look like this.
  1089. 50
  1090. Once you have found those folders you must now protect them.
  1091. • Click on The folder (once) so it is highlighted
  1092. • Use the right mouse button, (the one closest to your pinky
  1093. finger) and click on the folder.
  1094. You will get a menu:
  1095. Your menu may look different than mine, but what you’re looking
  1096. for is the word “sharing.”
  1097. 51
  1098. When you click on Sharing you will see another window that looks
  1099. like the following.
  1100. 52
  1101. This is where you can either share this folder or turn it off. If you
  1102. wish to turn off the sharing you would select (Not Shared).
  1103. 53
  1104. If you must share a folder then follows these steps. This will
  1105. make the folder read only. That means no one can delete
  1106. anything from those folders if they were to break into your
  1107. system using a “Netbios” attack.
  1108. 54
  1109. The next step is to password protect the directory.
  1110. Once you type in the password click (OK) and you’re done.
  1111. My personal suggestion is to set any directory you are sharing to
  1112. (Read Only) and password protect it. This is only if you must
  1113. share resources.
  1114. 55
  1115. Disabling File and Printer Sharing
  1116. For those of you who do not have a home network going you
  1117. should disable file and printer sharing. There’s no reason to have
  1118. this feature turned on. Do the following steps to disable it.
  1119. (You will require your windows 95/98 CD for this)
  1120. • Click on Start
  1121. • Scroll up to Settings
  1122. • Click on Control Panel
  1123. This will bring you into your Control Panel. You will see a variety
  1124. of icons the one you are looking for will be the icon that says
  1125. (Network) and it looks like this.
  1126. 56
  1127. Once you have found the icon double click on it. You will then
  1128. receive a screen that looks like this.
  1129. 57
  1130. To turn off the file and printer sharing you will need to click on
  1131. the button that says (File and Print Sharing).
  1132. After clicking on that a box will open:
  1133. 58
  1134. Uncheck both of these then click okay.
  1135. You must then click (OK) again and this will return you to the
  1136. Control Panel.
  1137. At this point will be prompted for you Windows CD. Simply insert
  1138. it and click OK.
  1139. Sometimes you will receive a message that says
  1140. “The file being copied is older than the existing file ..etc.etc. Do
  1141. you wish to keep your existing file?”
  1142. You should click NO.
  1143. When the process is completely done your system will ask you if
  1144. you wish to reboot. Click on Yes. Once your system has
  1145. rebooted you can come back to the Network Screen and check to
  1146. make sure the “File and Print Sharing” has been disabled.
  1147. Software wise up until this point we have talked about how to
  1148. protect your system. I’d like to discuss the process involved for if
  1149. you system is infected.
  1150. 59
  1151. OH NO! MY SYSTEM’S INFECTED
  1152. Hope-fully this is not the case for the majority of you, but I know
  1153. there will be a few people who are going to be infected. The only
  1154. way you are really going to know if you are infected is diagnosing
  1155. your computer properly.
  1156. I recommend getting Lockdown 2000 for this. Install it on your
  1157. system and run a full system scan on your machine. (Consult the
  1158. documentation for Lockdown 2000)
  1159. After running Lockdown 2000, run your anti virus scanner just
  1160. in case Lockdown missed anything. You may ask yourself why I
  1161. suggest such redundancy? Computers are built on the principle
  1162. of redundancy. One program will always compensate for the
  1163. short-comings of the other.
  1164. This should reveal most if not all Trojans currently residing on
  1165. your machine. Until you are absolutely sure about not possessing
  1166. any Trojans on your machine I suggest being alert of the
  1167. happenings on your computer.
  1168. 1. Watch the transmit and receive lights on the modem like
  1169. we discussed.
  1170. 2. Run the firewall programs I suggested to block out
  1171. intruders.
  1172. 3. Monitor your system for unusual happenings (CD Rom
  1173. opening for no reason)
  1174. 4. Use the Netstat command to see what ports are being used
  1175. if you get suspicious.
  1176. The ultimate goal is not to be paranoid about the use of your
  1177. computer. It’s about being smart about how you use your
  1178. computer.
  1179. 60
  1180. EVERY SYSTEMS GREATEST FLAW
  1181. To every computer system there is always this one system flaw.
  1182. It does not matter how powerful a system you have, how many
  1183. different firewall programs you run or how many virus scanners
  1184. you have. In the end you are your systems worst enemy.
  1185. All “hackers” know this, make no mistake about that. Thankfully
  1186. not very many have the stamina necessary for a form of hacking
  1187. called “Social Engineering.”
  1188. Social Engineering: This is a term used among “hackers” for
  1189. techniques that rely on weaknesses in people rather than
  1190. software; the goal is to trick people into revealing passwords or
  1191. other information that compromises an individual system's
  1192. security.
  1193. This is a lot easier said than done, but it can be done. Most
  1194. telemarketing scams that rob people of money are forms of
  1195. “social engineering.” Most of these scams occur due to the
  1196. individuals impersonating credit card companies and or
  1197. investment firms. Those socially engineered attacks are focused
  1198. on getting you to give them your money, bottom line.
  1199. Chapter
  1200. 8
  1201. 61
  1202. Transverse that process into a tech industry where a lot of people
  1203. are not as computer knowledgeable and you have the “wolf in
  1204. sheeps clothing!
  1205. Some of the most common forms of social engineering focused
  1206. on any particular user is to phone up a “mark/victim” who has
  1207. the required information, and posing as a field service tech or a
  1208. fellow employee with an urgent access problem. This type of
  1209. attack happens primarily more in business scenes.
  1210. Social engineering directed to a business setting usually occur as
  1211. a phone scam. The scam boils down to how believable the
  1212. “hacker” sounds on the phone. They pit their knowledge and wits
  1213. against another human. This technique is used for a lot of things,
  1214. such as gaining passwords and basic information on a system or
  1215. organization. Be it known that it’s not the only type of “social
  1216. engineering” that is used.
  1217. These same principles are applied when it comes to your personal
  1218. computer. Chat lines make people highly susceptible to such
  1219. social mayhem.
  1220. CHATLINE EXAMPLE
  1221. On a chat line a person isn’t evaluated by how they appear. They
  1222. become as believable as their ability to write and express
  1223. themselves.
  1224. On a Chat Line your perception and intuition is all you have to
  1225. rely on. The person on the other end of the keyboard can be
  1226. nothing as they describe themselves. The same goes for E-Mail
  1227. or any form of communication without visual recognition.
  1228. You read what they send/say to you and your own imagination is
  1229. what fills in the blanks. This person may sound romantic, funny
  1230. and down to earth. There is a trust value that is built up and
  1231. depending on how long you’ve been on the Internet , this initial
  1232. base of trust is formed very quickly.
  1233. 62
  1234. At this point after the ice has been broken so to speak the
  1235. “hacker” may ask if you wish to see his/her picture. This is the
  1236. turning point of your conversation. Most people would reply sure
  1237. and then receive the picture from the “hacker.”
  1238. This is where the situation gets interesting. The “hacker” in
  1239. question has the window of opportunity to either attempt to send
  1240. you a real picture or a Trojan.
  1241. If the “hacker” sends you a legitimate picture, then that helps to
  1242. build trust between them and you. If they go for the strike right
  1243. of the bat then they risk exposing themselves. In either case
  1244. their goal has been accomplished which is to get you to accept
  1245. the file from them.
  1246. By gaining your trust and getting you as a user to drop your
  1247. guard you’ve compromised your systems security.
  1248. Given it takes a certain level of finesse and grace to accomplish
  1249. this type of attack. It requires the “hacker” to be socially adept,
  1250. quick witted and very confident. Not usually the characteristics of
  1251. the stereotypical “hacker” definition.
  1252. To protect yourself on this level you must become aware of the
  1253. “game.” The truth is that this is all a game to “hackers.”
  1254. Hackers treasure their anonymity to win against them the trick is
  1255. to reverse the situation. Get them to expose themselves and
  1256. their intent.
  1257. Let’s take a real life situation that you may encounter.
  1258. For simplicity sake we’ll say you have encountered a “potential
  1259. hacker” on a chat line. The person seems charming, funny even
  1260. normal by every sense of the word. The conversation becomes a
  1261. little personal at some point and while not giving him your life
  1262. story you share some fairly confidential information with this
  1263. person.
  1264. The conversation heats up and turns to the point of a possible
  1265. picture trade. The “potential hacker” wishes to trade pictures
  1266. with you. You tell him/her you don’t have a picture and their
  1267. 63
  1268. remark is something to the effect of “well would you like to see
  1269. my picture anyway?” So you agree for him/her to send you their
  1270. picture.
  1271. Upon receiving their picture you notice the file is called:
  1272. • John.exe or susan.exe
  1273. (Recalling what you’ve read in this manual you know that their
  1274. picture should never be in this format. So you don’t double click
  1275. on it)
  1276. This is where your awareness and intuition kicks in. You have
  1277. two options.
  1278. A) Confront the “potential hacker” about the file type.
  1279. B) Play up to the game and see if you can catch this person
  1280. by making them expose themselves.
  1281. If you confront the person perhaps you’ll receive explanations like
  1282. “it’s a self extracting picture.” At which point you can tell them
  1283. they are lying. You will probably scare off the “potential hacker”
  1284. by being that direct with them. They will more than likely log
  1285. offline very quickly. If you play up to the game you have the
  1286. chance to maybe catch them, or at least find out who they are.
  1287. 64
  1288. IRC EXAMPLE
  1289. IRC is a hunting ground for “hackers.” It doesn’t take much skill
  1290. or much know-how, to infect an individuals computer on IRC.
  1291. Some of the most common tactics is to assume the identity of a
  1292. girl and going to channels where pictures are commonly
  1293. exchanged. Channels such as “adults 30+” or “adult-chat.”
  1294. Hackers know that hacking is 60% psychological warfare 40%
  1295. computer knowledge.
  1296. One of the most popular methods of sending a person a Trojan
  1297. on IRC is to automatically send you the file when you join a
  1298. channel. The reason goes as such that some people have a
  1299. feature turned on in their IRC programs that automatically
  1300. accepts incoming file transfers.
  1301. (Consult your IRC program documentation)
  1302. When you join the channel, you automatically accept the file. If
  1303. you are aware of the file you might see it is called something like
  1304. tiffany.jpg.exe. Out of sheer curiosity some people will open
  1305. the file to see what it is, especially those who are not aware of
  1306. the potential dangers of such files. The result is (MISSION
  1307. ACCOMPLISHED).
  1308. As you can clearly see “hackers” are quite adept at the art of
  1309. subterfuge. They are smart, cunning and do not discriminate
  1310. against who’s computer they will attempt to gain access too.
  1311. They will attack whoever falls prey to whatever trap they layout.
  1312. IRC remains one of the primary sources of victims for “kiddie
  1313. hackers.”
  1314. The recipe for protect yourself requires you to be alert, suspicious
  1315. and a little paranoia helps. Face it everyone is paranoid about
  1316. something or the other. In the next chapter we’ll discuss how to
  1317. go about reporting “hackers.”
  1318. 65
  1319. HOW TO REPORT HACKERS
  1320. Stopping hackers can be very difficult sometimes seemingly
  1321. impossible. I believe however if you use the right types of
  1322. programs combined with self-education on how hackers think,
  1323. you can make your computer much safer.
  1324. Reporting hackers can sometimes be a little bit tricky. A lot of
  1325. users never report hack attempts. Simply because they just
  1326. don’t care or believe that the “hacker” knows he can’t get into
  1327. their system. There is also the reason that users just don’t know
  1328. what steps to take once they realize their system is being
  1329. attacked.
  1330. Once your system is connected to the Internet, some form of
  1331. system attack will eventually hit your computer. Most of the
  1332. times these attacks will be completely random. While not every
  1333. single attack ever made should be reported, repetitious attacks
  1334. should. Repeated attacks from the same person/IP address
  1335. should always be reported. This is a clear indication that
  1336. someone is trying to gain access to your computer.
  1337. If you are using Black Ice Defender and or Lockdown 2000, you
  1338. will be able to see the IP address of the person attempting to
  1339. break into your system.
  1340. Chapter
  1341. 9
  1342. 66
  1343. What do you do now that you know that someone is attempting
  1344. to hack into your computer?
  1345. Before you can do anything you will require some utilities. I
  1346. recommend getting the following program.
  1347. • NetLab
  1348. Netlab has a variety of utilities combined into one easy to use
  1349. application.
  1350. You can obtain a copy of Netlab from:
  1351. http://www.filedudes.lvdi.net/win95/dns/netlab95.html
  1352. After obtaining a copy of NetLab and installing it you’ll be ready.
  1353. I find the best procedure for this is to begin by identifying how
  1354. many times this “individual” has attempted to hack into your
  1355. system, and at what times.
  1356. (Consult your firewall program documentation for instructions on
  1357. where to locate the number of attacks originating from an IP
  1358. address.)
  1359. Once you have identified how many times the person has
  1360. attempted to gain access and at what time the most recent
  1361. attack was, it is a wise idea to check if they actually got through.
  1362. To check what is currently connected to your computer, do the
  1363. following:
  1364. • Write down the IP address you were given by Black Ice and
  1365. or Lockdown 2000
  1366. • Click Start
  1367. • Go to Run
  1368. • Type in Command and hit Enter
  1369. 67
  1370. This will bring you to your DOS prompt again.
  1371. Type the following at the DOS prompt.
  1372. • Netstat
  1373. This will give you a listing of all active connections to your
  1374. computer and it will look something like this.
  1375. Active Connections
  1376. Protocol Local Address Foreign Address State
  1377. TCP COMP: 0000 10.0.0.1 : 0000 ESTABLISHED
  1378. TCP COMP:2020 10.0.0.5 : 1010 ESTABLISHED
  1379. TCP COMP:9090 10.0.0.3 : 1918 ESTABLISHED
  1380. Your information will have different numbers. I used the IP
  1381. address 10.0.0.x for demonstration purposes only.
  1382. 68
  1383. If your attacker is connected to your computer, you will see his IP
  1384. address in this listing. Compare this listing to the IP address you
  1385. have written down.
  1386. In the table above you will see numbers after a (:)
  1387. For example: COMP: 2020
  1388. The 2020 represents the port number that the Foreign computer
  1389. is connected to on your computer.
  1390. Using our example let’s take a look at the second row. This
  1391. shows us that someone is connected to our computer on port
  1392. (2020) from the IP address 10.0.0.5.
  1393. Once you have assessed that the “hacker” was unsuccessful in
  1394. his attempts to hack into your computer, you can proceed to
  1395. gather information to report the attack.
  1396. Start up NetLab
  1397. • Punch in the IP address in the following area
  1398. 69
  1399. • Type in the IP Address in the indicated area below
  1400. 70
  1401. • After typing in the IP Address Click on Ping indicated
  1402. below
  1403. 71
  1404. At this point you will see one of two results. You will see a
  1405. response indicating either the person is online or you will see no
  1406. response indicating they are offline. We do this to check if the
  1407. person is still connected.
  1408. 1: This is the IP address that you are pinging
  1409. 2: The time it takes to ping the address.
  1410. 72
  1411. The next step is to check who the IP address belongs to. You can
  1412. do this by using whois.arin.net on the person’s IP address.
  1413. Once you’ve typed in the IP address in Query String Click on the
  1414. Whois button. You will then see who the IP address belongs to.
  1415. This will reveal who the “hackers” internet service provider is.
  1416. This is very important, if you can figure out where your attacker
  1417. is coming from you can forward the appropriate information to
  1418. the right people.
  1419. 73
  1420. Let’s recap our procedure in a step-by-step format.
  1421. A) Drop to the DOS prompt
  1422. B) Run netstat to check if they got through
  1423. C) Start Netlab and do a Ping Test to check if they are still
  1424. connected
  1425. D) Do a Whois (Using the whois.arin.net) lookup
  1426. Once you’ve done the steps above you will need to send the
  1427. information to your ISP and the attacker’s ISP. The goal is to
  1428. give them as much information as you can about the attacker.
  1429. Both firewall programs (Black Ice Defender) and (Lockdown
  1430. 2000) create log files of each attack. Copy the information along
  1431. with your own test and include the times of each attack into an
  1432. email and send it to your ISP provider. Send a copy of that email
  1433. to your attacker’s ISP provider also.
  1434. (Note: You may need to call the attackers ISP provider in order to
  1435. get the right Email Address. If the call will involve long distance
  1436. charges send the message to support@thehackersisp.com)
  1437. All ISP providers have an Abuse department. They are
  1438. responsible for dealing with such issues. If you send the email to
  1439. the support department of the “hackers” ISP they will forward it
  1440. to the correct division.
  1441. It is your responsibility to report any attacks being made against
  1442. your computer. I encourage you to take an active part in
  1443. reporting repeated attacks from the same IP address against
  1444. your computer, as these are clear indications of someone
  1445. targeting you.
  1446. It may be that you have something they are interested in, or
  1447. perhaps your system has been compromised prior to your
  1448. realization, and with the installation of the firewall program you
  1449. are now blocking their attacks. Whatever the reason now that
  1450. you are aware your goal is to protect your privacy.
  1451. 74
  1452. FINAL WORDS
  1453. Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of the manual.
  1454. That’s probably not an accomplishment for books of the same
  1455. length. But this manual is different. You can always make
  1456. reference back to this manual whenever you have questions. It’s
  1457. like a manual and course in one. Learning the system loop holes
  1458. and tricks that “hackers” use is only half the process. Protecting
  1459. your privacy is 90% up to you, the rest can be handled by
  1460. software.
  1461. You have the means and ability to protect yourself. By reading
  1462. this manual alone you have proven that. You may think to
  1463. yourself that you’re out gunned on the Internet, don’t. We all
  1464. have to start learning from somewhere. Even hackers and so
  1465. called “hackers” had to start learning somewhere. No one was
  1466. born with the knowledge of how a computer works.
  1467. The Internet is a tool by which many of these “hackers” educate
  1468. themselves. You can do the same. It remains the most powerful
  1469. tool for information and development there is.
  1470. More and more businesses and services are migrating to the
  1471. online world. You can either, sit back and watch it go, or jump
  1472. on the bandwagon and ride it out. It’s all up to you.
  1473. Exercise caution when dealing with people online, but don’t be
  1474. too paranoid. Enjoy the power of the Internet it can be a great
  1475. asset to you or your business.
  1476. Chapter
  1477. 10
  1478. 75
  1479. The online population is growing exponentially. With the recent
  1480. growth of dedicated access your computer is connected to the
  1481. Internet 24hrs a day. High speed access gives you the
  1482. opportunity to download files at lightning fast rates. It’s a long
  1483. way from the old dial up BBS’s. As technology increases so must
  1484. your awareness.
  1485. Realistically most of us don’t care about the inner workings of the
  1486. Internet. Perhaps we have a sheer curiosity of what happens
  1487. behind the scenes, but none of us really believes it makes a lot of
  1488. difference to us to know that information. We primarily care
  1489. about getting our daily activities done and enjoying the power of
  1490. the Internet. We want to be able to Log online talk to our friends
  1491. and family and use the Internet as tool for our benefit.
  1492. The Internet connects you to the world where if a friends from
  1493. Australia wishes to talk to you live one on one they can flip on
  1494. their webcams turn on their mics and have a video conference.
  1495. It’s a cut above a phone call for a fraction of the price. Don’t let
  1496. “hackers” turn future advancements into unwanted nightmares.
  1497. You as a user can prevent this by being careful. Take the extra
  1498. necessary steps to protect yourself. When compared to the
  1499. benefits you can have it definitely is worth an extra 1hr-2hrs of
  1500. your time.
  1501. Don’t stop learning, read all you can. Why not? You’ve got the
  1502. world at your fingertips and information at every turn. But most
  1503. importantly when all is said and done, take back your privacy
  1504. from those who may seek to compromise it.
  1505. With Great Respect
  1506. S&C Enterprises
  1507. Consultation Group
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