WTF is with all these hacker attacks?!?

[Memnoch]

Excuse the language, but I've only had my DSL for 54 mins and I already have TWELVE attacks since I've downloaded and installed Black Ice Defender.

How many do people normally get and are these real attacks or what? And what do I do about it?

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[Wulfere]

As far as ADSL I can only dream of the day when I will be able to get such a connection. I am stuck at 44k...sigh. But I can say this.
When using my IRC chat client I run Zonealarm, Netbus Detective and BOshield.
I have some hits on Zonealarm but I am not convinced that they are actual attacks. ZoneAlarm seems to like to report pings and such as attacks. Thats not to say that folks don't log serious attempts, but I have NEVER had one that I could verify. My girlfriend has, but Netbus Detective 5.0 caught that and not ZoneAlarm. I do know that ALL of the folks I know who have cable or DSL have
firewalls of one kind or another and that those who have tried Norton say never again. They mostly run ZoneAlarm and Black Ice.


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The line between good and evil is a razor sharp thing. Be careful of misteps,
as you may find yourself spitted upon your own blade.

[DawnChaser]

Memnoch, it is a good thing you have the Defender! I am on cable, and after noticing some slowdown, I installed BlackIce Defender and found there was someone "ping attacking" me. I logged over 1200 pings in under 10 minutes. After a while he gave up, as Defender makes it seem as if there is no computer connected at your IP. But, yes, you will come to expect many attacks, as there are a lot of people out there with time on their hands, and mischievous, if not malicious, intent.

"The best defense is a loaded shotgun... uhh, err, I mean, a good offense... yeah, that's it!!"

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[Ramon de Ramon y Ramon]

Well, I moved up to DSL just 2 weeks ago, but I have no idea if and what I should worry about ... And where is the relation between hackers and DSL ? Never had any kind of protective software installed before. I am absolutely clueless when it comes to that whole issue.

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So long !

R³ - proud to be the official spokesman for the most noble Lady Bilqis, Desert Rose of Ironworks

Btw, the cow is queuing in the slaughterhouse right now !

[Vaskez]

Many of those "attacks" are actually various websites "pinging" your computer, so nothing to worry about. Cookies they deposit on your HD can contact the site and send info etc....I think it's something to do with that. Although u do get some genuine attacks, most of them I believe are as detailed above.

[Ramon de Ramon y Ramon]

Well, to illustrate how confused and ignorant I really am on this and what I'd like to have cleared up by some of our computer geniusses here, please, I will post a short excerpt of a MSN conversation between myself and Bilqis who very kindly tried her very best to educate me, but had to capitulate to the vastness of my ignorance:

bilqis says:
Your computer is directly connected to the internet at all times with DSL ... it doesn't 'disappear' from the web just because you aren't accessing it
bilqis says:
making it more vulnerable to those kinds of attacks and hacks
Guido says:
´but a DSL connection is still a dial-up ?! You mean without DSL you are only really online, visible, when you load something ?
bilqis says:
yes
bilqis says:
DSL Is not a dial-up... it is more like cable tv.. always present, always accessable
bilqis says:
if you are 'dialing' in via a modem, then you do not have DSL
Guido says:
But you have a DSL modem and I can be disconnected when my computer is on, so it is not like cable, I think, and yes I dial up very time I want to connect to the net and yes, it is DSL ! I am mightily confused now ...
bilqis says:
hmmm so am I LOL
bilqis says:
I do not dial-up. I am always connected
bilqis says:
my modem has been disabled
bilqis says:
We have ethernet cards in our computers that make it possible for us to connect with the ISPs computers and access the web through T-3 lines
bilqis says:
but we are always connected
bilqis says:
just as with the telephone, or cable tv
Guido says:
T-3 ?
Guido says:
I wonder if that is the American equivalent of ISDN, a digital phone connection ?
bilqis says:
I don't know the exact meaning of T-3 lines.. only that they are new cables/wires that have the capacity to allow vast quantities of differently sized info to travel at faster rates
bilqis says:
I don't know

Well, in case you have made it all the way to this point, then you know now how clueless I really am and what I want to know. SOS ! Please help !

Thanks !

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So long !

R³ - proud to be the official spokesman for the most noble Lady Bilqis, Desert Rose of Ironworks

Btw, the cow is queuing in the slaughterhouse right now !

[This message has been edited by Ramon de Ramon y Ramon (edited 06-25-2001).]

[bilqis]

Originally posted by Ramon de Ramon y Ramon: Well, to illustrate how confused and ignorant I really am on this and what I'd like to have cleared up by some of our computer geniusses here, please, I will post a short excerpt of a MSN conversation between myself and Bilqis who very kindly tried her very best to educate me, but had to capitulate to the vastness of my ignorance:

*Stands up and looks incredibly embarrassed while blushing deeply*

Errrrr... I apologize to everyone, most especially Ramon, for sounding even remotely like I knew what I was talking about.

*Slinks back to her chair at the back of the room*



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Having abandoned my
search for truth, I am
now looking for a good
fantasy.

Thank you to the kind R³
for being such eloquent
& witty spokesmen.

[Memnoch]

DSL is always on. This means that you are always connected to the internet. When you turn your computer on you log on, which means that you submit authentication information, much like logging on to a PC at work.

A dial-up is a connection where your modem dials a number to connect to the internet.

With always-on connections like DSL or cable, there is a greater danger that someone will decide to have a play with your IP connection (most of the time IPs for cable and DSL are static but mine isn't). Firewalls protect you from people who may want to toy with you (like Vaskez mentioned above).

www.zonelabs.com provides you with a free firewall to download. Or you can get Black Ice Defender, like I did.

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[Wulfere]

Well I was just going to try and answer that but Memnoch beat me to it R³.
He explained it pretty well.

I like the revamped sig Memnoch.

[This message has been edited by Wulfere (edited 06-25-2001).]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Excuse the language, but I've only had my DSL for 54 mins and I already have TWELVE attacks since I've downloaded and installed Black Ice Defender. How many do people normally get and are these real attacks or what? And what do I do about it?

It's sadly, normal.. What you are seeing is programs (hacker probes) looking to find people infected with the 'backdoor virus' a trojan that opens ports, or it's looking to see if you have your file and print shareing ON (Make DAMN sure it is off)--NOT checked. if you do that, you're fine. just watch for virii..

I got hit alot when I used black ice, don't bother with it anymore... as long as file and print sharing is off, no one will get in. The hackers usually 'dial' through subnets.. and cycle through them all night.. annoying pricks wasting bandwidth..

Just make sure you scan EVERYTHING, even files from friends, and even fileplanet or interplay.. be safe!



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Ziroc
Ironworks Webmaster
www.tgeweb.com/ironworks