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Ezine InformationHackers And Hoaxes
by:
Trina L.C. Schiller
By Trina L.C. Johann christoph friedrich von schiller
Everyone who has an ISP, understands, or at least knows simply about how hackers use viruses, Trojans and different web nasties, to infect and mess up your computer. No headline news there. (Unfortunately, we still don't understand why they do it, or at least I don't.) But hackers don't have to write malicious code or hijack your browser to do several serious damage to your system. Oh no... A well written email with no attachments, can do the trick. They only have to start a rumor.
Hackers can easily manipulate you into trashing your own computer. All they have to do is begin a hoax.
What do I mean by that? Let me explain.
Have you ever gotten emails from folk you cognize that say thing
like: Scan your hard driving for such and such a file! If you find it delete it immediately! Pass this on. Warn everyone you know!
These emails are originally generated by a hacker and spread throughout the Cyberspace to get you to delete files you need, thus creating disturbance
for your system. They are hoaxes.
Hoaxes activity implausibly well for deed average folk to cause their own computers to malfunction. the hacker doesn't have to spend any time creating malicious code and a know-how
of distribution, all they have to do is play on the human tendency for hysteria; send out a warning that thing
evil is spreading, and if you find it on your computer, get rid of it!
Recently I was chase a thread on a forum, wherever
the moderator warned everyone simply about a file that he found on his system that was a keylogger. (A keylogger is a malicious program designed to track your every come through observance your keystrokes.) He warned everyone to search for a file, ans2000.ini and, "delete the booger."
I scan my system every day, with several some virus/ spyware programs, and I ne'er
picked up this file with any of them, so I definite
to do a Windows Human search for it. Sure enough, I found it on my hard drive. Oh My God!
Before striking the delete key though, I looked it up on the web. I Googled the specific file and found quite a bit of information on it. The file ans2000.ini is used in the keylogger program best-known as ProBot SE. However, it is as well used in many a different legitimate programs as well. Ok, so now what do I do?
Well, I contacted my go-to guy, Jim Gray, owner of Quikonnex, and asked him what his thoughts were. He told me to open the ini file, in Notepad, and see it. Sure enough, this file did have an association to another program on my system. It is part of ActivEbook Compiler. It was right there in print, at the top of the file.
Now had I simply freaked out once
I found the file, and deleted the booger, I would've trashed my ebook compiler, fashioning it useless to me. Two points for the hacker who started the hoax!
Hoaxes are simply as dangerous as live viruses, because they inspire you to destroy your own programs. I am sure they are a particular kick for the one starting the hoax, as they are deed you to do bad things to your own system. Fear is a powerful motivator, and hoaxes, by design, are created to cause panic and fear in the less fully fledged Cyberspace traveler.
So, before going and deleting files from your hard drive, go check them out. Do a search for them and see the information you find. Don't simply go deleting things without learning simply about them first, or you simply may end up cutting your own throat. And, Ne'er
forward these types of warning emails to others until you cognize for a fact that the information is correct, or you're likely to have your friends and family after you for misinforming them.
Resources for confirmative virus/ hoax information:
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.vmyths.com/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/
Copyright © 2005
The Trii-Zine Ezine
www.ezines1.com
Just simply about the author:
Trina L.C. Johann christoph friedrich von schiller is a professional network marketer, the publisher of the Cyberspace marketing ezine, "Trii-Zine" and owner of http://www.tlcpromotions.net, as well as a beginning publisher at http://www.quikonnex.com, and President of http://www.AdsOnQ.com, the Internet's 1st syndicated advertising agency.
She has as well authored the following ebooks:
"Your Beginner's Manual To Syndication" http://www.ads-on-q.com/booksales.html
RSS, Blogs and Syndication... The Facts vs The guruese" http://www.ads-on-q.com/RSS.html
Keywords: hackers, hoax, hoaxes, ans2000.ini, ProBot SE, ActivEbook
Circulated by Article Emporium
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