hi
are you talking about hackers or crackers ?They are quite different.
� "how do hackers hack the system ?"
hackers - they see the code, improve on it by adding features/improving
performance, etc
crackers - they crack the passwords. They may be malicious - changing the
website page contents, deleting files, etc.
� "what all ways they use ?"
hackers - code analysis
crackers - password cracking. Can be done in a variety of ways. e.g you can
make intellegent guesses at te code. for example, your passwd may be
gaurav123 ( the easiest one that people keep ). So you keep on trying these.
crackers also write scripts which try out all the combinations in the
dictionary and use them to automatically crack a login.
mostly, the login that they try to hack is the root login. There is no
point in cracking a user login, but exceptions will always be there.
you won't believe how lackadaisical some people can be. I myself have
cracked a few passwords. but it is a dogs work. I'll like hacking better !
� "what all we do to stop them ?"
hackers - why would you want to stop them ? they are making the software
better.
crackers - use imaginative passwords, that have nothing in common with your
personality/work/family/girlfriends/DOB/favourites.
� "what all they do in reality and practicality for doing this ?"
hackers - I have already explained this
crackers - you could try hacking your enimies websites :-) The US
government employes crackers to rage a cold war with the websites of other
companies. Obviously, they are not the petty crackers who change the
webpages, but they use them to gather info. Also, since the crackers are
rather innovative, they use them to make their sites more secure - a case of
setting the thief to catch the thief.
I hope your questions are answered. Anyone want to add/correct anything
here? I don't profess to be all-knowing
vibhu.
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