by Alex Kelley

Created on: September 11, 2009

As more and more of the human life is tied to the Internet's circuits, every one of us needs to be well informed about the existing threats. Hacking is a general term, referring to the unauthorized use of electronic resources.

Hacking comes in many shapes and forms. Is logging on to somebody else's computer with a stolen password considered hacking? It is. How about writing a virus and sending it to one hundred people? That is hacking, too.

Most people understand what hacking means in theory, but they fail to protect themselves for its results because they don't see how it would effectively hurt them. This is why the general public should be informed and educated in the threats to using the Internet.

A good first step would be to insist on personal information security training in schools and companies. Basic awareness could do wonders. For instance, a simple thing like using a stronger password would deter most small-business hackers from accessing somebody's e-mail account without authorization. If the public does not understand that using your wife's first name, or your birthday, or the word password for the password can lead to an easy case of hacking, nobody will change it. Thus, all I need to do to log in somebody's e-mail is to try some of these common passwords. Chance of succeeding: very high, as at least a few people will have a classic password.

The next thing that the public should know is that just by having a strong password the risk of a hacked account does not go away. It is merely lowered. Therefore, there is need for a proper antivirus program, a well-configured firewall, as well as simple, common sense measures.

Another important element of any hacking education is awareness of e-mail scams. Depending on what e-mail provider you use, most of these e-mails will just go in the spam folder. However, even the strongest provider will not catch 100% of them. It is important to know that they exist, and to look for telltale signs. When in doubt, one should act on the side of caution and just not open the attachment or click the link. Similarly, not all websites are legit, and some research should be done before entering any credit card information.

These are just some of the most commonly encountered human habits of which hackers take advantage. The main point of this article was to determine that there are some simple measures to be taken, yet it takes awareness for people to actually follow them. If you don't know that the fire will burn you, your curiosity will make you try to touch it. Thus, it is important that the public is well educated with regard to hacking techniques.

The best way to educate is through newspaper articles in daily local papers, as these papers have a large reader base. In addition, schools should devote some time to presentations on common hacking practices. Finally, companies should spend some funds towards educating their employees in steps for personal and corporate security. Through these simple channels, a large number of people can be made aware of what hacking means and how they can lower the risk of becoming its victims.

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