Okay Gene. No need to worry mate. Anyone threating to 'hack' you on FlyOrDie will more than likely be some kid trying to scare you away. If they were a real 'hacker', they wouldn't even have to taunt you in this way. They could flash up a message on your screen, take control of your PC or do something equally cunning to warn you. But they won't. Because I seriously doubt anyone that plays in the games rooms has either the skill or the equipment needed to 'crack' your computer. It's pathetic that people use this to scare other users on the games. If anyone does this to you again, or to anyone else reading this, make sure you take a copy of the screen (
ALT
and
PRINTSCREEN
) and mail it to the Mod's. They'll take appropriate action.
I find these threats childish behavior, so I thought I'd write a little of what I know on the subject. So for anyone slightly worried about the subject read on, and I'll do my best to explain what the score is with 'hacking'.
Hackers are people who try to gain unauthorised access to computers. This is normally done through the use of a 'backdoor' program installed on your machine. A lot of hackers also try to gain access to resources through the use of password cracking software, which attempts billions of passwords to find the correct one for accessing a computer.
What damage can a hacker do to your computer? It all depends upon what backdoor programs are hiding on your PC. Different programs can do different amounts of damage. However, most allow a hacker to smuggle another program onto your PC. This means that if a hacker can't do something using the backdoor program, he can easily put something else onto your computer that can. Hackers can see everything you are doing, and can access any file on your disk. Hackers can write new files, delete files, edit files, and do practically anything to a file that could be done to a file. A hacker could install several programs on to your system without your knowledge. Such programs could also be used to steal personal information such as passwords and credit card information.
I'm not going to go into great detail about exactly what a hacker could and couldn't do to your PC. But suffice to say they can do a lot of damage. The easiest way to safeguard yourself against being hacked is to use a personal firewall on your home computer. What's a firewall? Basically speaking, firewalls protect your computer from unauthorised access attempts. There are two kinds of firewall in common use. Networked computers tend to be connected to the Internet through just one or two computers, hence only one Internet connection is required. These computers behave as firewalls by blocking any unauthorised packets. Any other packets are passed on to the computer they are intended for. This kind of firewall is called a corporate firewall. The other type is a personal firewall. This is a program that runs on your home PC, and blocks any unauthorised access of your computer.
Anyone that surfs the internet from their home PC should have a firewall installed. It's not something that ISP's recommend initially, and it's certainly not something that people may have thought about, but trust me. You
NEED
one. If only for your own peace of mind. There are many free firewalls availiable on the net for download, ZoneAlarm being one of the easiest to use and most popular. Just mooch on over to google, have a search and you'll soon find something that suits your needs. Remember that although a firewall stops hackers from getting in, it will not remove any existing 'backdoor' software from your machine. For this, you need a good anti-virus product and make sure you use your anti-virus software regularly, and that you keep it up-to-date. This combined with a decent personal firewall should keep you free from any unwanted attention.
You are at no more risk from hackers on FlyOrDie, than you are simply surfing the net. When you install a firewall onto your computer you might find that you receive a lot of information about potential 'attacks'. This is nothing to worry about. It's simply part and parcel of using the internet. Hackers send out programs to try and attack people's computers, but neither have the time nor the desire to target individuals. It's kind of like lifting the carpet up and seeing loads of ants running around underneath. At first you might be shocked at this, but remember: it's always been happening. You just won't have noticed the ants without lifting the carpet, and neither will you have been able to see the attacks without the firewall there to inform you of them. There's nothing to worry about. Honest!
