Hacking Arena

Hacker's beware: A Crook is Caught One Day or the other


Hackers had broken into the Department of Defense's computers - again. With news like this, combined with the fact that other hackers are constantly seeking to steal people's identity, send out spam from innocent computers, and other computer crimes hacking into unauthorized places, makes it necessary for illegal hackers to be caught. If you are one of those who have suffered from a hack attack, then you may be one of those who say: "I need an IP specialist, to catch a hacker." This article will show you some things that you can do.

How Hackers Are Caught

With the fact that Microsoft and some other software companies have been notified - yes, by hackers, that there are many "holes" in Windows that a hacker can take advantage of. Microsoft has responded by attempting to fix the "holes" each time one is pointed out. Then, it sends out a patch to block hackers from attacking through that "hole." Keeping up with the update's from Microsoft is one way to close down the problems that exist in the Windows software - though it is unknown if all such "holes" will ever be known.



Normally, it is rather hard to notice that a hacker has hacked into your computer. If all he is doing is having a look around, or taking minimum amounts of data - you really cannot be sure that you are being hacked. The are some effects of computer hacking, though, that might tip you off. Here are a couple of ways to detect hackers.

Detecting Hackers

Hackers, by nature are very stealthy. Their ability to gain access to your computer through the Internet can easily be done without your knowledge - and most of them seem to prefer that approach. Before time is spent on being able to detect a hacker, it should be noted that a determined hacker will not be stopped! They will get in - even to the Department of Defenses systems!



Some common things that might tip you off to an intrusion are:

Lights showing hard drive activity being busier than what your own activities call for

Suspicious files left on your computer - often in the Windows Temp directory with a tmp. suffix

Obvious tampering - destroyed files, missing files, etc.

Or, the worst case - someone's taking money out of your bank account or using your credit cards (Please note, though, that this could also be the result of phishing, too - not necessarily hacking)

Your firewall keeps receives multiple packets from a single web address and notifies you.

How to catch a hacker


Once a hacker does gain access to your computer, he will purposefully leave a little file or two, that will give him easy access in the future. These files are usually referred to as "trojans." This is one of the facts about hackers that is not very comforting. Even after you take precautions to prevent further attacks, unless you thoroughly clean off the hacker's little access files - he can still easily access your system. Another not so nice fact is that, unless you really learn (or already know) about computer systems, you probably will not either be able to detect, or stop the hacker. You can, however, get help. This is when you need to say, "I need an IP specialist, to catch a hacker".

Tracing The Hacker's IP Address

A number of software programs are available now - through the Internet, that will enable you to trace a hacker's IP address to a geographical address. Remember, though, that hackers often borrow other computers (usually unknown to the owner), and do their computer crimes hacking from there. So, before you take any action against someone you think it might be, it is better to let the proper authorities handle it.

One free program that you might use in order to learn of the hacker's IP address is Netstat.
This Windows program will enable you to see exactly what the hacker does - tracing everything. It also shows you the status of all of your ports, and other statistics.

Catching Them Red-Handed

Basically once there is a hacker attack, you have two options. The first is to shut your system down, and give your computer to a lab to be able to collect the necessary evidence. Apart from the aforementioned programs, if you do much to the computer yourself - you could be destroying the very evidence you need to track a hacker. Of course, if you have not already backed up your data elsewhere, this option may not be available to you. Remember that a hacker can only be prosecuted using the evidence on other people's computers. A second course of action would be to act as if nothing had taken place, and move your sensitive data to another computer. By leaving it alone, and letting the hacker continue, more evidence can be collected against him until there is a solid case. Knowing this fact about how to catch a hacker is very important.



Besides needing an IP address, you must also learn the ISP from which the attack comes. Port 43 will give you data about the IP and the ISP. Software is available that can tell you these things, and you can also learn about it by going to a whois directory. Then, with this information, you can contact the Webmaster of the ISP, and hopefully, get it stopped.



Each of us needs to take some serious precautions about preventing our own computers from being broken into (as much as possible). With the software and firewalls that are currently available, perhaps you will never need to be one who cries out, "I need a specialist, to catch a hacker". After you get the necessary programs to make your computer safer, be sure to keep it updated, and prevent computer crimes hacking.