What are the Potential Computer Threats?

The following are a few threats that are quite dangerous or annoying in computers.



Early Note
The threats you see here may be related or are in the same category as one another, but this post is mainly just to let you know about the existence of these threats and their names.














The Threats (Malicious Software or Malware)
1. Virus
Viruses are programs that change the computer's behaviour without the knowledge of the user. It usually modifies the values in your computer's registry. It is also capable of copying itself, hiding and even change itself from time to time. The main reason why it is called a virus is due to the capability to reproduce itself, and it has to attach itself to another file.


Types of viruses include:
a) Polymorphic
- Keeps changing its binary data from time to time so that it would not be detected by anti-viruses. Very tricky, and they normally rewrite themselves every time you try to delete them.


b) Parasitic
- Associates or attaches itself with another program so that when it is executed, the virus is executed as well.


c) Boot Sector
- Very trouble some virus that infects the boot process and sequence of the computer. Everytime your computer starts-up, the virus is loaded, even before your OS loads.


d) Stealth
- Designed to evade all error checks and anti-virus scans. Among the techniques used is to duplicate the original uninfected files, so that when a check or scan is performed, they are redirected to these duplicates. Thus, the infected files cannot be detected.


e) Macro
- Used to infect programs that has a sequence of set actions (macro) to be performed on start such as Microsoft Office, but now, Microsoft Office prompts you before enabling macros.


f) Binary
- Requires another component to work together in order to infect the computer. Very hard to detect because the file is basically incomplete, it works together with other files.


g) Joke
- Joke viruses play pranks on the user such as making their icons run away, flipping their screen and so on. Indirectly, it is not very dangerous to the user.

First virus written in Python language.

2. Trojan Horse
Trojan Horses are programs which hide or disguise as another program (mainly a system file) so that the user does not know its existence. It's just like how the Greeks hid inside the Trojan horse to attack Troy. It executes functions that appear safe and legit but is actually malicious, and is mainly used to provide unauthorized access to hackers such as through Backdoors.




3. Worm
Worms generally spread themselves to other computers connected on the network without the knowledge of the user. Most worms are very dangerous and some even have botnet, rootkit and other functions together. Does not need to attach itself to another file.




4. Botnet
Botnet is the use of malicious programs to take control of computers, in which the computers will be called zombies. It is mainly used to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks.

Simple diagram to show how botnet works.

5. Rootkit
Rootkits are programs that grant administrative rights (root) to the hacker without being detected.




6. Remote Administration Tool
RAT is a program that acts exactly like remote administration, where the hacker can see the screen and take control of the user, without his or her knowledge. Under the category of Spyware.




7. Keylogger
A program that records keystrokes typed by the user through the keyboard. Used to steal passwords and other private information. Also under Spyware.




8. Adware
Software that displays or downloads advertisements in the computer, mainly through pop-ups that can be very annoying to the user. Some advertisements link to other threats as well.





Other Threats
Other threats like hackers, social engineering, human error, employee sabotage, fraud, theft and so on, I guess I do not need to explain about this as it is self-explanatory and known by most people.

Get an Anti-Virus.

Closure
Make sure you always have a good anti-virus or firewall installed. If you want free software, try COMODO Internet Security, it is very good. Be aware that these threats can often lead to other bad situations such as in the case of identity and data thefts. Be sure to keep your computer healthy!






Love,
Nicholas.

List of Useful Softwares

Here are some of the useful softwares for the common categories/usage of everyday human lives.



I hope these programs would help!





Business Software
1. Microsoft Visio
- To create data flow diagrams, flowcharts and a lot more mainly for presentations.


2. Microsoft Powerpoint
- To do a presentation using slideshow.


3. QuickBooks
- A POS software used mainly for accounting and tracking recorded data. Very good program.


4. Microsoft Dynamic NAV
- An enterprise resource planning program to assist with finance, manufacturing, supply chains, e-commerce, customer relationships and more. I saw this being used in IKEA.


5. Microsoft Excel
- Yup, you know it, used for accounting as well.


6. Microsoft Access
- Used as a database to store records. Microsoft Access can be worked with a Visual Basic, a programming language to develop a Database Management System (DBMS). Very good if you're working in the Business Computing field. VB is the easiest programming language, shouldn't be a problem.







Programming IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
1. PyScripter
- For Python programmers, and if you don't know Python, learn it, it's one of the best designed languages out there. Free, open-source.


2. NetBeans
- For Java programmers, but also supports Ruby. Free, open-source, very good IDE.


3. Microsoft Visual Studio
- IDE for Visual Basic, VB .NET, C++, C# and J# and is a very good tool. Work VB with this, it's all in GUI. Easiest language to learn of all due to GUI.


4. Eclipse
- Probably one of the best free IDEs out there that supports PHP, Perl, Java, C and even Python as well with the use of plugins.







Media Editing Softwares
1. Audacity
- Free and open source software to edit music or sound files. Can trim, cut, zoom, loop and do various things to alter waveforms, tempo, pitch, frequency, bitrate and so much more.


2. Fruity Loops
- It is capable of creating different sounds, drumbeats and so much more. It's a program that creates music in anyhow you like, with many kinds of instruments in it, even the electronic ones. Most Techno and Trance DJs use this to create their own music.


3. GuitarPro
- Is a software capable of converting MIDI files into actual guitar tablatures or even piano scores. Is also able to simulate music playing by inputting your own scores or tablatures. You can make compositions using this, and learn songs through this program if you download GP files from the net.


4. Windows Movie Maker
- One of the classic video editing programs and is still in good use. Can add various effects, wordings, credits, trimming of videos, transition effects and the audio contained in the video. Freely available in most Windows computers.


5. FreeStudio
- Is a good program that converts video and audio file formats into other video and audio file formats. Can convert youtube videos into a viewable format, as well as music. Free as well.







Game Engines
1. Unity
A very powerful game engine and currently using it. Is able to import various kinds of 3D Models from different modelling softwares like 3DS Max, Maya, Blender and so on. Very easy to use compared to other game engines, and has built in functions to add Terrain, build shapes, configure animations, etc. one of the best! Has a free Indy version.


2. Torque
A lot of people recommend this, and this is a game engine that's widely used as well. Have not tried this before, but is also good at creating various types of gameplay. To be on the safe side, get Unity because it supports plenty of assets. Free, open source.


3. Unreal
- I disliked this due to the complicated controls, however, is a very good game engine and is capable of producing astounding graphics. High capability of performing various kinds of actions. Not free...

Other game engines you probably don't wanna hear about it due to their price.







3D Modelling & Animation
1. Maya
- One of the best modelling programs for humanoids and character animations, has a lot of preset controls to create a good rigged model. Is the main program used in The One Academy to make their digital animations.


2. 3DS Max
- Same as Maya, but is more suited to business presentation and architecture. Can also animate and provide a clear presentation when you want to build a city, a house or basically anything. Can also do character animations, but Maya is more preferred.


3. Poser
- Is also another character developing program, main focus is on characters. Is very good and can be side to side when paired up with Maya.


4. QUIDAM
- Less popular program for the lazy and clueless people on how to make human characters. This basically makes all human characters for you, and you just have to change the hairstyles and clothing and create your own animations. Not recommended...







Multimedia 2D Animation & Texture Designs
1. Adobe Photoshop
- One of the more popular 2D image editing program. Is NOT a vector image program. Can be used to make various kinds of 2D effects, and is used widely in multimedia design, you can even see works from this program all over the place in all those TV advertisements, which are then animated with Flash.


2. Adobe Illustrator
- A vector image program. To put it in a way, vector is basically geometrical lines and shapes, where you can resize and change resolution without affecting the quality of the image. In bitmap, if you do so, you will see pixels, and quality will be downgraded. You will never see that in vector images.


3. Adobe Flash
- All of these are now under Adobe huh? Anyways, Flash is a 2D animation program to create interactive web design and everything else. Even YouTube players are developed with Flash. Now, Flash is commonly used with a programming language, ActionScript to program the animation instead.


4. FilterForge
- I didn't want to include this as it is a Photoshop plugin, but this is an amazing 2D Texture creator that creates various kinds of textures (mainly for games) such as bamboo, tiles, marble, stones, rocks, grass, soil, and anything you can think of. It also creates Bumpmaps to make 2D textures look 3D.


5. Adobe InDesign
- Main program used for Advertising Design in The One Academy. InDesign features more on magazine covers, leaflets and the sort.







Web Developing Applications
1. Adobe Dreamweaver
- I personally didn't like this, but is a good program that supports various web technologies and frameworks. Covers ActionScript, ASP, PHP, HTML, XML, XHTML, JavaScript, CSS, yeah and basically most of the languages for web applications.


2. Microsoft FrontPage or Publisher
- Classic! Not a very good web developing program but I used FrontPage since I was in Primary. Dreamweaver wasn't too famous yet. Enables you to write mostly HTML codes. Javascript, PHP and others has no syntax highlighting.


3. Notepad
- If you're just lazy to get these programs...you can always use this to write HTML, Javascript, PHP, CSS...and so on. Biggest classic.







Penetration Testing
1. BurpSuite
- One of the best programs to use to attack web applications. Capable of taking control of most web applications and even the server or system behind it. Has spiders, decoders, scanners, you name it. Requires Java.


2. Cain and Abel
- A big package of cracking tools, most popularly the brute force features. Highly recommended, has other packages for use such as for wardriving, password cracking as well.


3. Kismet
- Highly recommended wireless packet sniffer (802.11). Can detect packets transferred through wireless signals and can even decode it like that. As expected, this is probably the most common tool used for wardriving.


4. Nmap
- Nmap is a portscanner or portsweeper and can be used to attack over the net. If you notice, The Matrix and many other movies even Die Hard 4.0 had this program running while they're hacking into something. That's something true and can happen if a hacker is skilled, not some made-up movie jumbo shit.







Anti-virus & Firewall
1. Avast!
- Is one of the best and is quite useful. It can detect most viruses, even in your mail and the websites you are surfing to. Whenever you download a file, it is automatically scanned and whatever viruses found in it will prevent you from downloading the file. There is a free edition for this and is quite useful.


2. AVG
- AVG isn't that bad at all and is quite good in detecting viruses as well. However, it takes a longer time to scan, but hogs up less memory. AVG is a useful tool and is comparable to Avast. Available for free.


3. AntiVir
- A lot of people prefer this due to its high virus detection capabilities, fast scanning and overall ease of usage. You can take this as it is generally better than AVG and Avast. The frustrating thing about this program is that when it updates, its very slow. Available for free.


4. Kaspersky
- People claim that this is the best antivirus software. Not free. But its very good I guess. Is better in detecting viruses compared to McAfee, Norton and BitDefender and also hogs up less memory. Good deal, not free.






I know I did not include other useful programs such as Blender, Cheetah3D, Avira and so on but you can always introduce whatever program you deem useful and excellent at the chatbox. I just can't list everything here. Hope this post lets you know more about the softwares available for use to complete your tasks!




Love,
Nicholas.

What is an IP Address?

Discover what is an IP address and how hackers could do their job by only obtaining these row of numbers.


Just a short information post for computer illiterates...I'll make it simple.

Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label that is assigned to any device connected to a computer network that uses Internet Protocol for communication. An IP Address is like your home address, it is your location and your computer's identity.

IP Addresses specify the location of a source and destination nodes. This shows where packets of data will be sent to and received.



How Hackers Get Your IP Address?
Actually they're called crackers, but we'll just use hackers since everyone seems to have that understanding. Hackers normally obtain IP Addresses through websites, e-mails and basically anything you can connect to. However, they won't normally be doing this. Normally, their targets are mostly random and normally obtained through port sweep or some other method which effectively gives them vulnerable computers to attack.



What Hackers Can Do With Just Your IP Address?
Of course, if you have a good firewall, you do not need to worry about anything. After the hacker obtained your IP Address, he will run a port scan (to find all open ports) to find a way in. If they have the easy way in, they'll connect to your computer through that port and can upload their own trojans and viruses, eventually taking over your computer.

While your ports may not be open and well managed with good firewall protection, hackers do have ways to break through a firewall. They do not have to directly hack through your firewall, but they could pretend as an allowed server or something your firewall will omit.



Of course this post is not actually to talk about hacking, it's just to let you know what IP Address is. Well, it's just like your postage address in real life, and it's like letting burglars know your address. But whether burglars can get in or not is another thing.



Love,
Nicholas.

How to View CCTV Cameras?

Hacking CCTV cameras? No, just live streaming from the Internet.


First of all, this is not illegal. It's illegal when you need to break in CCTVs which needs login access. Most of the CCTVs you get to see online which allow public viewing are probably already for public purposes.

Steps
1. Go to http://www.google.com/
2. Now, copy and paste one of this into the searchbox and click Search.

inurl:/view.shtml
intitle:”Live View / – AXIS” inurl:view/view.shtml^
inurl:ViewerFrame?Mode=
inurl:ViewerFrame?Mode=Refresh
inurl:axis-cgi/jpg
inurl:view/indexFrame.shtml
inurl:view/index.shtml
inurl:view/view.shtml
liveapplet
intitle:”live view” intitle:axis
intitle:liveapplet
allintitle:”Network Camera NetworkCamera”
intitle:axis intitle:”video server”
intitle:liveapplet inurl:LvAppl
intitle:”EvoCam”
inurl:”webcam.html”
intitle:”Live NetSnap Cam-Server feed”
intitle:”Live View / - AXIS 206M”
intitle:”Live View / - AXIS 206W”
intitle:”Live View / - AXIS 210″
inurl:indexFrame.shtml Axis
intitle:start inurl:cgistart
intitle:”WJ-NT104 Main Page”
intitle:snc-z20 inurl:home/
intitle:snc-cs3 inurl:home/
intitle:snc-rz30 inurl:home/
intitle:”sony network camera snc-p1″
viewnetcam.com
intitle:”Toshiba Network Camera” user login
intitle:”i-Catcher Console - Web Monitor”

3. If it prompts to install an ActiveX, then install it. It would be used to view the camera, where you can pan or zoom if it allows you to.



This is not a guide on how to hack into CCTV cameras and view them for bad purposes! But you can view these live stream cameras anywhere in the world just to take a peek. Sometimes you might see unwanted stuff? Who knows.






Love,
Nicholas.