Are these the good guys? Courtesy of
http://www.geercom.com (use this link to go home if you surfed here from my professional writing site).
Geer Communications. David Geer - your on-time technology writer!
Welcome!
Security experts frequently report--to me--that the code script kiddies need to do their damage is readily available on the Internet. The meaning of readily just came to light as I perused the eEye Digital Security Research site.
These tools, some of which are offered to do pen tests for network vulnerabilites, can be used by quite un-elite attackers to invade networks and cause trouble.
Brute force attack software, a backdoor, administrative control software, DLL injectors and more are listed here. Except perhaps as a demonstration of how some of these attacks are accomplished, I'm not sure all of these are justifiable as tools that should be made available at all, let alone readily.
Yet, eEye is a very popular security company with more than casual visibility to insiders. This is why it's important to have many layers of security measures, regularly update software including security software, scan your system, and develop habits that keep you safe on the Internet.
Speaking of habits ...
Yes, you really shouldn't surf to suspect sites or sites you don't know, especially without protection (a hosts file for one) and you really shouldn't open HTML mail that is suspect without viewing it as text first (by default), if you are going to open it at all.
Peer-to-peer file sharing programs are the Internet equivalent of the wrong side of town at midnight. Links in emails can be the on ramp to the highway to hell. Allowing your machine to catch a worm or bug that forwards itself is like coughing in someone's face when you have the flu.
If your computer has slowed to a crawl, popups are playing havoc like those little monsters in Gremlins, your mouse is moving all over your screen like a juiced up dog off its leash, and your browser and email have so much porn your friends think you are running a house of ill-repute, you are a part of the problem until you learn how to clean it up and keep it that way.
Best Regards,
David Geer - your on time technology writer!
Geer Communications