A Hacker Inside Your Computer?

Imagine this nightmare scenario…You check your e-mail program and it reports your usernameand password as no longer valid. You call your Internetservice provider (ISP) to discuss the problem and they tellyou they turned off your account due to “abuse”. “Abuse!”you cry to the customer service operator, “What are youtalking about?””Someone used your computer this past Saturday night in anattempt to hack into a government computer system. Theymade the attempt at 1:20 a.m. from your account,” repliesthe rep. “Look in your windows registry for a file calledQAZWSX.hsq.”You punch a few keys and sure enough the file stares rightback at you. “What is it?” you ask, scared to know theanswer.”Someone used a Trojan Horse virus to remotely control yourcomputer and cloak the identity of the hacker. Here’s howto get rid of it, just…”What you just read happened very recently to someone I knowquite well. A computer hacker found an open port on hiscomputer when he switched over from a dial-up Internetconnection to an “always-on” high-speed connection. The hacker used a robot scanning the Internet for available”ports”, openings in a computer that allow data to passback and forth from a network connection like the Internet.Once the hacker found an unprotected port on my friend’scomputer he simply inserted a Trojan Horse virus that ridesalong with Windows Notepad, a handy utility used by justabout everyone who makes web pages.When my friend activated the notepad program he alsoactivated the virus. The virus in turn transmitted all ofmy friend’s security information to the hacker and allowedhim to gain access and control his victim’s computer in themiddle of the night. Count me as the last person to sound paranoid, but, asalways-on connections through DSL, cable, and T-1 linesproliferate, this story will repeat itself over and overuntil people learn to protect themselves.Most people underestimate or are completely ignorant aboutthe importance of information they send over the Internetwhen surfing websites and checking email. Even if you onlyuse a simple dial-up account, you can unknowingly transmita significant amount of sensitive information.You can analyze the security of your web connection forfree by going to http://www.symantec.com/SecurityCheck/ .You can also verify the presence of any known viruses orTrojan horses on your computer. The information I saw whenanalyzing my personal computer frankly shocked me. I sawdata I didn’t even know existed staring me right in theface after I performed this analysis.To protect your computer hardware and sensitive data youshould obtain a software package called a “firewall”. Afirewall, when combined with a good anti-virus program,helps stop unauthorized access on your computer, preventsvirus infection, and “cloaks” your data ports against ahacker scanning for openings.Symantec.com and McAfee.com both offer excellent personalfirewall and anti-virus software from their websites or youcan buy them off the shelf at your local office supplystore. A wise investment for anyone on the net… beforeit’s too late!-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-“Finally – a Simple, Video-Based Training System on CD-ROMthat Teaches You Step-By-Step How to Make Real MoneyOnline-100% Guaranteed!” You can start with a few bucks anda good idea to make lots of money online! I did, and I’llteach you how no matter what product or service you sell…http://www.the-easy-way.com/33days.html