Hacking Tricks Toward Security on Network Environments

Mounting popularity of the Internet has led to the birth of instant messaging, an up-and-coming form of Internet communication. Instant messaging is very popular with businesses and individuals since it has instant communication ability. As a result, Internet security has become a pressing and important topic for discussion. Therefore, in recent years, a lot of attention has been drawn towards Internet security and the various attacks carried out by hackers over the Internet. People today often handle affairs via the Internet. For instance, instead of the conventional letter, they communicate with others by e-mails; they chat with friends through an instant messenger; find information by browsing Websites instead of going to the library; perform e-commerce transactions through the Internet, etc. Although the convenience of the Internet makes our life easier, it is also a threat to Internet security. For instance, a business email intercepted during its transmission may let slip business confidentiality; file transfers via instant messengers may also be intercepted, and then implanted with backdoor malwares; conversations via instant messengers could be eavesdropped. Furthermore, ID and password theft may lose us money when using Internet bank service. Attackers on the Internet use hacking tricks to damage systems while users are connected to the Internet. These threats along with possible careless disclosure of business information make instant messaging a very unsafe method of communication for businesses. The paper divides hacking tricks into three categories: (1) Trojan programs that share files via instant messenger; (2) phishing or fraud via e-mails; and (3) fake Websites