can i be hacked ????

Point value changed by question poster.

yes, anyone can be hacked. and yes, you have lots of ports open on your computer at any one time. I can't tell you which software they use but they are known generically as port sniffers. lots of websites use them to see if a connection to your computer is still open(perhaps after you have visited a site) so most of the time there is a legitaimate reason for you being "sniffed".
you can go to www.zonealarm.com and download free software to prevent this. I use it and so far I have had no problems either running it or setting it up for the first time. it blocks all access to all ports, legitimate or not, and only allows access thrrough the common ones like port 80 which is used by your browser. this is called a firewall and this is one of the easiest to use.
good luck!

Mike

Yes, when you connect to the net you will most likly have ports open, depending on the programes running on your PC. To hack your PC a hacker will use utilities easily available on hacking websites to ping your ip address and ports. If a port responds the hacker has an entry point. There are many different ways of hacking in depending on the software used. Some programs have known weaknesses which people can exploit to get in, just ask Microsoft (or somone who doesn't like them). The best defence against being hacked on your home pc is to use a personal firewall. I suggest Zone Alarm by black ice, it's freeware and works well. You have to specify which programs can access net and are alerted when users attempt to scan your ports.
The only other things you can do are not use obvius passwors. and keep your software up to date with patches from the manufacturer.

Got to http://grc.com/, Gibson Research. They have several programs that will test your system and tell you if another computer can get into your (done by their computer getting into yours). Also to check your system for 'spy' programs. Both are freeware. Forget them names, check the desc at above URL.

Yes, When you connect to the internet, some ports are open which leave your PC exposed to hackers. I would recommend a firewall of some kind (Ex Hack Tracer, or Black Ice)which will Filter traffic making it harder for hackers to get a responce from the port they are trying to gain access to. From Personal exp, Some of the free firewalls I have tryed have been extreamly easy to get through, so you might want to be carefull about what one you want. I have several that I have downloaded, so If youwant to try them out, just email me and I can send you a CD with all of them on it for free, that way you can choose which one you want to use and don't have to try to search and download one.
Hope it helps and Good luck :-)

:-) Everybody can be hacked :-) When you connect to INternet many apps use non privileged ports to perform operations or many downloads contains BackOrifice trojans. The best way to control that is to use

TIny Personal FW

logs every port out/in and ask you about permission, including >1024 ports ;-) have a look

Hi, all of the above responses are correct insofar as your computer can be hacked anytime. A firewall slows a hacker down, but,unfortunately may not prevent someone from hacking into your computer if the person really want to. And unless you have something on a drive somebody wants desperately, most people won't invest a lot of time. However, you wondered how people do it -- take a look at http://www.hackers.com There are all kinds of utiliites available here and on the web in general that help people hack into systems and crack passwords if applicable. Poeple also can write trojans - these can lift passwords off a network.

If you want to know in detail on how to find what ports are open, how to close them, and other ways to prevent Hacker from getting into your computer, then read the book "Hacking Exposed second Edition." It is a really good book and it covers multiOperating Systems.

It basically teaches you how to hack into you computer, then fix any open ports.

Let's not forget the importance of anti-virus software. Virus's leave hackers a way into your system. I use Norton 2001 for virus protection and BlackIce for hacker prevention. Scan your emails for virus. Scan
your downloads. Scan any floppies entering yor system.

Good luck
Richard Bolha

Hello

As everyone else has already stated yes you can be hacked. If there happens to be someone out there who wants onto your system they will begin by running a port sniffer program. This program will search all of your ports to find out whichones are open and which services are running on the open ports.(By the way there are 65,000+ ports on your PC)

You definately want to disable some of the big time ports such as Telnet and FTP if and only if you do not need them for day to day operation which you most likely don't. Even if you disable all these unused ports the hacker can still get in. This just makes their job a little more difficult. There is only one way to stop a expert hacker and that is to disconnect your pc entirelyfrom the network. So just hope that you have not made any level 3 hacker enemies and you will be ok.

Damian

If you are running a network at the location you are questioning about, you may want to look into a hardware firewall, although rather expensive, they can lock every port, and be configured any way that you'd like. They also have a tendency to be much quicker than software firewalls. (all of the applications that have been suggested are software firewalls, programs to simulate a real hardware firewall) This may be overkill if you are only connecting with one machine, but all of our large networks we design include a nice cisco box. This prevents our clients from being targets/victims. Is this just one computer you're talking about? or many computers on a network?

Hello,
To answer your question it is yes.
You can go to zonealarm.com, for a free download to try to keep them out. to be truthful to you a good hacker I mean a really good hacker will get in no matter what!!!!!!!
Sorry but it is true.

Hello,
To answer your question it is yes.
You can go to zonealarm.com, for a free download to try to keep them out. To be truthful to you a good hacker I mean a really good hacker will get in no matter what!!!!!!!
Sorry but it is true.

Most hackers will not usually waste there time trying to hack into a home users system unless they now that you have gov't documents are something along those lines. Most hackers are concerned with bigger things like shutting down websites like Microsoft and Yahoo. But if it is still a concern of yours then there are money programs out there that can dectect activity on your ports like Hack Tracer and Norton internet security.

Yes you can be hacked but the threat is based on many things. Are you on the net 24/7 with a cable modem or just dial up? Your vulnerability is greatly reduced if the latter is the case. There are many software solutions out there, including programs that will tell you someone is trying to access your ports, I beleive Zonealarm has one. Hardware solutions which include configuring a router firewall (a few hundred $) can hide your ports from outside hackers putting them in stealth mode. Theonly thing hackers see is the address of the router and when your ports are scanned it reports their not there. www.grc.com is a site that can scan your ports to see your vulnerability. Good luck.

Yes, if someone really wants to get in then they will. Most of the best hackers don?t waste their time on a home PC, there isn?t any recognition there. What remains is the script kiddies using someone else?s tools downloaded from the web to cause mischief. Download Zonealarm for a nice personal firewall. Then check out GRC.com for some more good info and a (small) scan of your system. Lastly if you really want to learn more look in to security and hacking books at you local bookstore. There area lot of them with a lot of info.

You didn?t specify your os, I?ll assume windows? This may get you into your own machine from a friends machine.
First, find your own machines IP address.
Now, from your friends computer,
open up a DOS window, and at the command prompt, type:
c:\>nbtstat -A [ip_addr]
If the remote machine is connected to the Internet and the ports
used for sharing are not blocked, you should see something like:
NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
NAME <00> UNIQUE Registered
DOMAIN <00> GROUP Registered
NAME <03> UNIQUE Registered
USERNAME <03> UNIQUE Registered
MAC Address = 00-00-00-00-00-00
This machine name table shows the machine and domain names,
a logged-on username, and the address of the Ethernet adapter
The piece of information you are looking for is in the
Type column. If your machine has file sharing enabledit will have a hex
code of "<20>".
Type the following command:
c:\>net view \\[ip_addr]
Now, your response may be varied. You may find that there are
no shares on the list, or that there are several shares available.
Choose which share you would like to connect to, and type the
command:
c:\>net use g: \\[ip_addr]\[share_name]
You will likely get a response that the command was completed
successfully. If that is the case, type:
c:\>cd g:
or which ever device name you decided to use. You can now view
what exists on that share using the dir commands, etc.
If password prompt is here, you?ll need to find or force it
Now,
use Notepad to open this file:
c:\windows\lmhosts.sam
Read over the file, and then create another file in Notepad,
called simply "Lmhosts", without an extension. The file should
contain the IP address of the host, the NetBIOS name of the host
(from the nbtstat

Hi there, try this site and you can know about how much your PC is secure or not, it will run a test and find out what u need to do if u want to have a secure port

http://security1.norton.com/us/intro.asp?venid=sym&langid=us

hope it helps

Hello:

This is a very good question and yes, any hacker, given the time, can actually get into any system or network. One of the answers was sending you to the I believe the grc.com website. This site is ok for openers, but a better one is vuleralbilities.org. This one will take time to run and thoroughly checks your system. I use Zone Alarm as a firewall as I am on a cable 24/7 (home). Gibson told me no open ports. Vulnerabilities found six and told me how to close them. Do to the results that I received, I bought a commercial version of Zone Alarm for my small office network and then returned to the website. It found five opens on my network, which I was able to close. Yes Zone Alarm has slowed down the system, but
I am able to now control from one system, my entire network, including virus protection (Inoculate from CAI) and can sit back and watch the attempted attacks and blocks.

This works for me, but I do not know if it will work for you. You may need a harwaresolution instead of a software solution.

Regarding tools for hacking, you can find all of the information and programs by searching the web. Good luck at making your system secure if you can!

Paul.

I mispelled the website for the port check. It is vulnerabilities.org.

I agree with all of the responses, of course you can be hacked, there are many fire walls that you can use, but I have not seen any mention of an application that I use. It is called Lockdown 2000. It can be downloaded from the net but i forget the web site. You can find it easily from a search. This application will catch any unauthorized port entries and block them. It will also alert you to the ip address of the hacker. If the hacker persists in trying to access your computer it will terminater the hackers web connection. You will also hear a loud alert through your speakers telling you of the attack.
Hope this helps you and anyone else that hasn't heard of this application.

Well, most of the posters so far have mentioned that you can be actively hacked by people attempting to connect to your open ports. And a few have mentioned the virus threat.

Nothing is absolutely safe-- even connecting to an untrusted web site with your default configured browser-- If the page you access has malicious java, javascript or other code you will be compromised.

For that matter, you can be hacked without your computer even being on-- imagine you get a call from someone claiming to work for your ISP. If you are naive, you may be convinced to give your dialup or email password...

Having a firewall and virus software are minimal protections, you also have to use discretion.

Anybody can be hacked !!! Even big name IT companies with all their security infrastructures and policies are not immune and have been hacked more than a couple of times.

Security is directly proportional to the importance of data it secures. Themore critical your data the more expensive and tedious security will be.

No matter how secure you think your data is, if your not a hacker, chances are, you are not secure. There are lots of commercial software that has bugs and glitches that opens com ports and there are hacking tools that could mask as a legit program and wreck havoc on your pc. The methods are very diverse and many, and each have its own sets of countermeasures.

All the ways they could do it? Let me count the ways ... as long as there are new softwares and as long as data is considered important, there would be new ways and methods, and also countermeasures.

If you use ur PC for personal use, Zonealarm pro is indeed best for its worth, but u should take precaution to scramble ur data with an encryption mechanism for added security, a good one is scramdisk (free). If u have important data, store it in a removable HD and always power down ur PC when not in use (some DDoS programs use this unattended PC's fortheir attacks).

For a very detailed discussion on hacking and countermeasures email me.

Yes you can if they have a port scanner,, and ftp pro there find your ip then scan back to your open port,, get your hands on zone alam pro this well make it harder for them to hack. but if they want to there find away

the folowing link will test your iternet security for free http://www.sdesign.com/
and in the folowing link you can download
a simpele tool thath scan ip,ports,and so onhttp://www.languard.com/languard/lanscan.htm if you play with it for sometimeyou will
see how easy is to break in.another link will
help you to understand the internet security
http://www.sans.org/topten.htm

HI
yes you could be.The the process goes like this a haker send a packet the packet goes on untill it time live then hit say a server
which send back a msg which may say that you have reached a wrong server or any other msg the msg has the name of the server then
by pinging to that name or other software you get the ip address of that server then use a scanner to scan ports .. ect.
pls vist these 2 sights to get more info and a scanner.

hacking info.
http://www.torus.ndirect.co.uk/hacking/hack_text.html

Angry IP scanner is a very fast IP scanner. It can scan IPs in any range, even 1.1.1.1 to 255.255.255.255. Its binary file size is very small compared to other IP scanners.
http://www.angryipscanner.com/

good luck

Mohamed

grc.com is one of the best web sites on information reguarding the posibility of being "hacked"

You can get hacked, but the chances of that happening is very very slim. Hackers are not going to take a risk by hacking the average user, if you do not have "Top Secret" info on your PC I really wouldnt worry about it. Hackers are only intrested inbig coperate companies like NASA etc.

Well to say what every one else said yes , i am not going to get into the details , as these people have given some , bu i would also like to know what mail program you are using (outlooks servive pack disables the ability to open certain attachemnts)

Also just check for viruses

protect yourself , get a personal firewall there are many to choose from so go wild , you can also stop file and print sharing (if your not on a network )and restrit the port open.

well you have plenty to read and i have to go so more than this i will be waisting your and my time, wish you well - safe travils bye now

The most vulnerable PC to hack attacks are ones with static IP addresses like you get with cable and DSL. If you dial-up your ISP then the chance of an attack are slim. Zonealarm is a good protection in this situation but also you should be using a good antivirus program and disable all active content including java, js and scrap items.

You can be hacked at anytime. The best thing you could do is employ a firewall. There are always hackers waiting out there to see what is on your PC. When you are online.... beware

Yes, some of these ports are left open. Some are used for email (25, 110), some for ftp (21), and some for browsing (80). Most of these ports cannot be accessed, but what you need to do is go to a site such as grc.com and run his shields up tool. From there you will know if you are vulnerable. If so, you should look into a personal firewall such as zone alarm. This firewal is free for personal use and is available at www.zonealarm.com

Hope this helps.

Dean

Short answer YES, this is exactly how 'TROJAN' type hacking is done .
BUT this means that you have been previously inefected.

If your not concerned about this style of attack, the the only other issue that comes to mind is the 'DOS' atack (denial of service), this does not mean the hacker has access to the file system on your computer, but exploits a diagnostic function of the IP (i think) protocol. By continually sending manipulated packets it can waste your CPU time, computer slows downnnnnn.

Tools
Most trojans can be dealt with by anto-viril software.

I can't really comment on DOS coutermeasures

Rgds
Jm

Additionally to the Internet as being a wading pool of hackers and viruii (viruses??), No firewall in the world will lockout internal intruders. Most people neglect to lock access at the keyboard while they step away.
If you have nothing of 'real'value on your machine, ie bank info, passwords, addresses etc, a 'level 3' hacker won't see anything worthwhile and move on. Usually, if you have nothing worthwhile, a firewall/proxy only will attract snooping fingers. After finding nothing, malicious hackers may punish for wasting their time....

Corporations spend $millions per year on security and virus programs yet most fail to educate employees (for free) just to lock there workstations when unattended.

Yes, anyone can be hacked. Even if you do everything right-you will always only be 99% protected because new security holes are discovered every day.
1st - get a firewall like zone alarm
2nd - install a good virus checker. VERY important-keep virus definition files up to date. They will help spot most trojans & viruses before they can to harm.
3rd - if pc is linked to an ?always on? connection don?t, leave it on at all times. Plug it into a surge surpessor & turn that off too.

Hackersmain target have been big companies. But now, trojans are being written to steal passwords, credit card #, & other info. Some record keystrokes in log files-then email the log file out in the background. If you purchased anything on-line w/a credit card #, the credit card # would be in the emailed log file.

Have a separate credit card for shopping on-line. So if you have to cancel\or have a new card # issued-you have other cards to use. Some cards now only allow delivery to a pre-approved addresses. Most will allow you to protest any on-line purchase. These rules also help even if a site you bought from is hacked & your credit info stolen.

There are many ways to hack into a PC. Now days you can get real paranoid. PCs can even be turn on remotely, especially if you have an always-on internet connection (DSL, cable,...). Newer PCs can be powered on remotely (see CMOS power on settings). Some trojans have been written to take advantage of this. They will send out your IP address, & allow a hacker to take control of your PC. They then have access to everything on your hard drive as if they were sitting at your PC. If you have an always-on internet access, turn your PC off when it is not in use, and use a surge suppressor to shut off power to your PC.

Zone alarm is good tool for you. But if your's computer is connect to network, t's better if you disconnect the net cable when connecting to internet to prevent another comp.
Goto site www.zonelabs.com for more information.

If you are interested in how hacking occurs and tools that they use, I recommend you visit http://grc.com (yes - without the www) for information. This site also has useful tools for testing the "hackability" of your computer, such as a program called "Leaktest" which probes your computer for open ports and makes recommendations for protective action.

I hope this is helpful.

Most probably you can be hacked. It will depend not only on the ports that are open but also on the programs listening on these ports (e.g., Windows NT services or Unix daemons). The bugtraq mailing list discusses known problems and solutions. Securityfocus amintains a vulnerability database based on the bugtraq discussion at www.securityfocus.com/vdb where you can search information on how the attacks work (including tools) and how to prevent them. If the information from bugtraq is difficult to understand, the book "hacking exposed" may be helpful with concepts and terminology.

Yes, with a simple telnet connection you can be hacked.
There is a lot of tools and tips in order to get control of another pc . Also there are a lot of tools and patches in order to defend your pc form being controlled (hacked). It's like a war? Yes!.
Start browsing http://astalavista.box.sk
there is a long way to run...

Hi,
The best answer you can have might be at this site. It's for people that need to protect their info, and want to know about these facts. So appoint this site and good look !

www.neworder.box.sk

You can be hacked but you can take several steps to protect yourself as well. A firewall is certainly a good option, I recommend Zone Alarm. Zone Alarm's introductory software is free for personal use and relatively inexpensive if you want the more advanced version. This is only your first step in safety. If you connect through a cable modem instead of DSL or dial up, you are much more susceptible to attack. This is because you are sharing your connection, not through your own PC but through the area in which you live, it's called a node. DSL and dial up are both one personally dedicated line. If you use cable, I suggest you shut the modem when not in use. Next, and crucial to your safety is to right click on your network neighborhood and make sure that you DO NOT use file and print sharing. In the properties box for Internet Explorer browser, make sure you do not create custom settings for any of the zones unless you are completely sure of what you are doing. Also in the IEcontrol pannel, make sure you do not use auto complete. Clear your cookies regularly and password protect anything on your PC that can be password protected. Never give out your passwords and especially never give out your IP address. If you are using any instant messaging software, make sure you have the option to hide your IP address selected. With all this hacker protection, it's also very important that you use Anti Virus software such as Norton Anti Virus 2001 Professional Edition and keep it up to date. Best of luck to you and feel free to e-mail me if I can be of further assistance.

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