Are We Still Behind the Hackers?

The recent developments regarding the Large Hadron Collider - a machine built to try and figure out how the Big Bang happened - were overshadowed not long after the experiment started by news that hackers had managed to access one of the computers being used for the experiment to register their distaste at what was going on.

While the experiment itself was unharmed the general public cannot now find out what is going on because the website related to it has been hacked and cannot be accessed.

So in answer to the question posed by the title of this piece, the answer would appear to be that we are still some way behind them.

Hackers act on all kinds of motives, and one of the reasons why they have so many opportunities to hack into websites is that some people think they are only at risk if their site takes payment information from others. That simply isn't the case, because some hackers do what they do simply to compromise internet security, or to make a point of how easy it can be to hack into a facility. There are numerous examples of hackers managing to get past the defences of government websites and those relating to parts of the law, so there is clearly no single reason why websites are continuing to be hacked into and exposed as being insecure as a result.

But there are services out there that use ethical hacking to expose and plug weaknesses in websites, and it is these services that should be used more and more if we are to keep on top of the hackers, rather than it being the other way around.

After all, wouldn't you rather pay the money to get an ethical hacker to try and break through your defences so they can remedy any problems you may have, than wait for someone who isn't so ethical to do it for you? In the latter case you won't get any help to make sure no one else gets through - all you will get is hassle and the problems they leave behind.

Just as people are coming up with new ways to break through systems, so the ethical hacking companies are developing ways to combat them, and if you want your business to be as secure as it can possibly be then you owe it to yourself, your staff and your clients to pay for the best knowledge out there today.

So in reality, it is perfectly true that a lot of companies are still behind the hackers and are running the risk of being hacked into and subjected to a lot of damage every single day. It is those businesses who have essentially invested the money in their future that will remain as secure as it is possible to be, as they have hired the best computer security company they can afford to make sure they are fully protected both now and in the future.

And why try and keep up with all the developments yourself when you can hire the professionals to do it for you?

Pure Hacking helps protect your Internet security by providing world-class penetration testing and ethical hacking risk management services. For a free consultation, please visit Penetration Testing.

Security on the Internet - KeePass For Your Computer

Hectic schedules and fast-paced lives mean that more and more people are taking advantage of doing their business over the Internet. Everything from paying bills to running online businesses can be done at a person's leisure, when they are ready to get onto their computer. Along with so many trying to make use of the convenience of doing business online are those who want to take advantage of the system.

Computer hackers have been around just as long as the Internet. As soon as more technological advances in computer security are made, there are people who are trying to break through those measures. The one thing that usually keeps the bad guys from getting into a personal account is a password.

There are a lot of people who may use the same pass word for just about every account they have. Though this makes it easier to remember of course, think about what may happen if one of these hackers gets a hold of the "master pass word." Everything from work and bank accounts to social sites can be gotten into, and that type of damage can be almost impossible to control. Once your personal information has been tainted on the web, it can be past difficult to repair.

One solution to that type of problem is to use a different, creative password for every single account or login that a person uses. Most folks would think that is a crazy idea to try to remember a different password for every account, but there is a way to organize and protect personal information like this. That is where a password manager program comes in.

Out of the different password programs that are available, the public open source type would be more secure. One of these that come highly recommended is KeePass which is downloadable from their web site at www.keepass.info. The way that KeePass and other programs like it work is by holding all of the various passwords that a person uses in one database that can be unlocked by one "key" password.

Part of the reason why the KeePass program is a popular choice is because there is no installation required. It is a portable program that can actually be carried on a person via a USB stick. Another major consideration for using this particular program is that it is totally Windows compatible.

Since security is the major draw for using the program, it is good to know that not only the list itself is securely encrypted, but the whole working database is as well. Options of how to access this information is important as well. KeePass gives a couple different options such as burning the "master key" file onto a disc to use for accessing the information. Or, a person can elect to open it with just one main password. For anyone who is interested in very high security, both of these access points can be combined.

Anyone doing serious business over the Internet needs to be able to protect themselves. Being able to manage passwords is a crucial part of this protection. One last bonus of the KeePass program is that it can generate passwords at random. This can be helpful to come up with new passwords for all of a person's logins.

Andrew Green is part of the team behind A-Z Proxies, an attempt to list from A to Z all web proxies. Andy has been actively working in the web proxy field since 2005 and has built up a wealth of knowledge on the subject.