8 Popular Hacking Techniques You Should Know About

8 Popular Hacking Techniques You Should Know About

8 Popular Hacking Techniques You Should Know About: Originally, the term hacker didn’t have a negative connotation.

The computers from the late 50s and early 60s were massive, and their operation and maintenance costs were thousands of dollars. Due to this, computer programmers sought out ways to get most out of machines and came up with clever hacks.

These hacks were shortcuts that would modify and boost the performance of the computer OS (Operating System) or applications, to complete more tasks quickly. However, things have changed now. People with malicious intent could hack into your phones or company systems to steal information worth millions.

Our phones store everything from the trivial details to the most sensitive ones such as credit card details, email accounts, user credentials of our social media profiles, and whatnot. With the fast-paced adoption of digital devices, the attempts to gain access to these digital diaries are increasing and becoming more intrusive. There are numerous ways hackers attack networks and devices to find an entryway.

Here are 8 hacking techniques and how you can prevent them:

 

1) Hacking Technique – Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch are the most common scam hackers deploy on high-profile websites that are in the business of advertising space to third parties. As the name suggests, this hacking technique involves a hacker buying advertising space on these websites. When a user clicks on the ad, he gets directed to a malware-infested page that installs viruses and adware on your phone or system getting access to your system.

The ads and downloads links are made to look attractive and grab a user’s attention right away so that the target cannot resist clicking on it. If you want to get any gadget or good products, always get them from reputable stores.

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2) Cookie Theft

Digital footprints are real. The cookies of your browser store them, including your username, browsing history, and passwords for the different websites we use. Once the hacker achieves access to your cookie, he could impersonate you on the browser.
The most common means to execute this is to urge the user’s IP packets to go through the attacker’s machine. This method is also called Session Hijacking. A hacker can easily carry it out when the user is not using SSL (https) for the entirety of the session. If you enter your password or banking details on a website, make sure that the connections are encrypted. Your best bet to prevent this attack is avoiding public and unprotected private networks. Use a VPN for encryption and tunnel the connection on your mobile phone. Keep clearing those caches and cookies, so there is nothing for them to steal!

3) Denial/Distributed Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS)

This is a classic technique hackers use to bring down networks or systems by flooding them with a lot of traffic, including data requests, repetitive tasks, and login attempts. The server is unable to process the requests on time and crashes down as a result. The targeted machine overflows with a request that crushes the resources and ends up restricting the actual requests from getting fulfilled. Hackers are also known to set up zombie computers or botnets assigned to overload your systems with request packets. Every year the malware and hackers jump ahead, and the number of DDoS attacks increases, this is why Magento integration service could be a tough task.

4) Eavesdropping or Surround Recording

Hackers use this passive technique to listen in on other people’s conversation and network connection and record high-value information as possible. There are different monitoring techniques such as interception of data transmissions, packet sniffing, and other monitoring methods, such as surround recording apps. One of them is Xnspy, a surround recording app that lets you listen to the surroundings of a phone.

Xnspy works hidden in the background and works silently. A hacker can install it on your phone. The app works without showing itself in the installed apps. Hacker sends a remote command that turns on the microphone of the phone. It records all the conversations and sounds happening around the phone. So, do not leave your phone unattended. And if you lose it and get it back afterward, reset to factory settings. Also, avoid using unsecured networks and public Wi-Fi. Use a VPN. Use IPS – Intrusion Prevent Systems to guard against eavesdropping.

 

5) Keylogging

Keylogging is one of the simplest and oldest hacking techniques that lets hackers and attackers record the keystrokes you make. The more sophisticated kind involves the navigation and clicks of the mouse as well. Hackers can even get hold of your usernames and passwords via retrieved log files.

 

6) WAP Attacks

A fake Wireless Access Point (WAP) is like a hoaxed Wi-Fi hotspot which hackers use to capture the audience’s attention to monitor or intercept the victim’s data streams. The hackers find a location the victim physically accesses, such as a park or a coffee shop.

Once the hackers become familiar with your timings, that when you arrive and leave, they form a fake Wi-Fi access point and then modify the sites you visit frequently, redirecting them to you to get their hands on your data. This attack gathers the information on a user from a particular space, so it is not easy to detect the attacker. Your best bet to do so is to follow the basic security practices (keeping your phone updated) and never connect to public hotspots whatsoever.

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7) Malware

The most popular weapon hackers have is the range of malicious software. There are viruses, Trojans, ransomware, and worms that could damage your entire system if you let them in. To prevent getting affected by these attacks, beware of the emails that you open or the attachments you download. You could disable popups on your browser and avoid the temptation of clicking them. Keep your security software and anti-malware updated.

 

8) Phishing

A phishing attack involves using a specially-created email to lure the receiver into giving out his personal or financial information. Hackers have greatly advanced in this technique using social engineering methods to add an element of urgency to these emails. The hacker imitates the sites you access the most and then traps the victim through sending a spoofed link such as a software download, or a deal from your favourite store that you just can’t miss, or even a fake alert regarding your recent browsing activity. Hackers can use any of these baits, and then redirect you to a spoofed website from where an online form gathers all of your credentials spreading malware onto your system in a drive-by download. Apart from all the techniques and safety measures mentioned above, you must stay alert and use common sense. If you are unsure about an email or message, ask the person directly who has supposedly sent this to ensure to see if the message is safe to open.

 

Note: This article is a guest post by an author who would like to remain anonymous this article is posted by JavaRockstar on the author’s behalf.