Disadvantages Of Public Wifi

In the early days of computing, a hacker was primarily referred to as a computer guru, someone who is extremely technical with a high expertise in computer also known as “Expert Programmers”. Nevertheless, as technology is advancing at a face pace, hacking has adopted a completely different definition. The modern definition is someone who access a computer system primarily to steal or destroy information. Hacking has caused major harm in the realm of technology. Over the years, hackers have become much more lethal in their craft. They manage to break into complex information systems from entities such as banks, government agencies, and private businesses. Furthermore, they often manipulate their victims through social engineering in order to obtain financial benefits. Hackers hold different label such as: black hat hacker and white hat hacker in which all have their own motives.

Linton (2011, p.44) stated that hacking of network of common users and attacking their personal computers is one of the most threatening problems at present. It is happening in every second that results in a loss in several ways like loss of credentials, personal information etcetera. Although the use of personal computers and the internet has been increased rapidly, numbers of users who are the expert and have good knowledge to tackle the matters are very rare. In addition, time, as well as required equipment to protect hacking, is also very.

Hackers can gain access to the computer records of banks, credit card companies, hospitals, merchants, universities, government agencies, and other organizations. Though such breaches occur much more rarely than phishing, even one instance can give the hacker access to millions of people’s personal data, including Social Security numbers, birth certificates, driver’s license numbers, health records, employment records, and financial information. The FBI reports that, since

When people think of hacking, they think of the Matrix style hacking where they look at an interpretable screen with falling green symbols. Contrary to popular belief, hacking has become much easier as technology advances and more wireless alternatives become available such as bluetooth cars and phones. Technology companies have also begun to increase their security and has slowed the amount of attacks and has reduced the amount of personal information that can be stolen . However, even

Computers are one of the world’s greatest inventions, and sadly, one of the worst. Thanks to computers, there are so many things we can do from the comfort of our own home. We can do our banking online, pay our bills, go to school, look for jobs, and so on. Computers have made us all lazy. They have also made us unconcerned, at least up until recently, with our privacy. We all know there are bad people in this world, but it seems to be that we have forgotten that there are some very, very smart people in this world as well. It took a very smart person to invent the computer, to figure out the inner workings. But if one person can do this many can do this. Enter the computer hacker.

In the article “You Have Almost Certainly Been Hacked” (thisweek.com), the author discusses how hackers are gaining access to private information. He specifically mentions the weaknesses in security programs, the severity of cyber attacks, as well as the potential defenses available. Poor cybersecurity has cost millions of people billions of dollars, tanked their credit scores, and devastated their lives.

This is the case of biggest military hack of all the time. Gary McKinnon, a Scottish computer hacker was accused of hacking 97 US military and 16 NASA computer. He hacked the computers over a 13 months period between Feb 2001 to March 2002 using the name 'solo'. He posted a notice on military's website stated -"your security is crap". According to US military, he deleted important files from operating systems and it drastically affects 2000 computers for a day as he deleted all the files, which shut down the US army's military district of Washington networks. Not only this, he even copied all the data, files and passwords onto his own computer. According to US authorities, the cost for tracking and solving this problem was $ 700,000.

In 2014, one the country’s largest home improvement companies Home Depot was attacked by hackers. The hackers used a vendor’s stolen log-on credentials to penetrate through the company’s network and installed a custom built malware that stole credit card data and email addresses. The attack allowed the hackers to gain access to 56 million credit and debit cards in the US and Canada, and another 53 million e-mail address were also stolen.

This abundance of sensitive data offers criminals with an even more wide range of openings to profit from stolen information and I.P. (Intellectual property). Also, overseas governments and crime organizations have incorporated hacking as one of their effective criminal tools at their disposal.

Hackers can take advantage of vulnerabilities in operating systems (OS) and applications if they are not properly patched or updated. This puts all of the data on those system and other connected systems at risk.

Computer hacking: Is the practice of modifying computer hardware and software to accomplish a goal outside of the creator’s original purpose. People who engage in computer hacking activities are often called hackers. Since the word “hack” has long been used to describe someone who is incompetent at his/her profession, some hackers claim this term is offensive and fails to give appropriate recognition to their skills. The majority of hackers are technology buffs. They are self-motivated and learning about computers is their true passion. ("What Is Computer Hacking?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013).

"Hackers", on the other hand probably view the system more abstractly, as a resource waiting to be used at the end of a telephone line, a challenge beckoning them, calling to them irresistibly, whispering to them, "There will be no damage done and no one will be the wiser."

For some individuals, hacking can be a hobby they like to undertake in order to analyze how many computers or the systems they can gain access to. While hacking seems harmless, there are those who do this vice maliciously so that they can get access to customer/ client information, the details of credit cards, their passwords, email addresses and identity fraud (Riem, 2001). Having this unauthorized access to these information warrants an arrest, and should the criminals be found, they are liable for their crimes.

As the world becomes more and more reliant on computers the computer hacking industry is greatly rising. With people such as Kevin Mitnick, who is known as a "computer terrorist" (Kjochaiche 1), computerized information isn't safe any more. Kevin is known as "the most high-profiled computer criminal and responsible for more havoc in the computer world today."(1) He considered this a fun and easy task. He got caught and thrown into prison, but once he got out nothing changed. Kevin stated that as long as the technology is there it just calls to people to break into it. Computer hackers usually start off young, thinking that it is nothing but a little harmless fun. But as they get older, they realize it has turned into

Wi-Fi usage has been on the upswing recently, thanks to the rise of smartphones, especially the iPhone. Whether it is airports or cafes, people are increasingly logging onto Wi-Fi networks.The case talks about free Wi-Fi in various areas of businesses like restaurants, airports etc to attract crowd and to increase their business. It talks about transition from Wi-Fi – for money to Wi-Fi as a lure. The various strategies implemented by these businesses to give away free public Wi-Fi. Various issues like pricing, security issues etc are discussed in detail in the analysis below. The case also talks about newer trends