Ema Rich
Today I learned that there are many ways people are hacked online. People can steal your password, hack in to your computer, and delete anything they please. Another thing we learned was there are three types of hackers, white hat, grey hat and black hat. White hack hackers are good guys with permission to hack into sites to find vulnerabilities. Black hat hackers hack for themselves and try to hack into accounts without permission to get something they want such as money or control. Grey hat hackers are in the middle, they sometimes don’t have permission to hack but they’re still trying to hack for good. I also learned how different websites like haveibeenpwned.com can help people learn if their email or their password has been hacked.
Today we learned about where to find important information about your computer. You can find the name of your computer, how much ram it has, and troubleshoot network connections. We also learned about the features on windows 8.1, 8, 7, and vista. They have different features and design features. Macs have a different OS with a different design, keyboard and touchpad shortcuts, and features. Linux is another operating system with hundreds of features. We also learned about that the built in Windows assistant is named Cortana.
Today we also learned about hardware, the physical components of the computer. RAM (random access memory) is always next to the CPU and holds temporary memory. The CPU (central processing unit) is the brains of the computer and processes all the calculations. Computers have input and output devices. Some input devices are a key board, a mouse and USBs. Output devices are the monitor, headphones and other audio devices.
Today we learned about social engineering and the different methods of using it. Phishing is when someone send out a fake email to a wide variety of people, usually with a virus or malware. Spear phishing is the same thing but the emails are more personalized and directed at a specific group. Whaling is when you target a person at the top of the company, so like the CEO or executives. You can make sure you have a spam filter in your email and never click on links you get in your email to prevent yourself from getting effected by the attacks. Vishing is phishing through the phone, or with your voice. Hackers can call your internet provider and attempt to access your email and maybe even your credit card number.