Newbie: Vulnerability of my IP address to hackers

Hi all,
My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
"professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
Steve

Steve H.

On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 04:53:19 GMT, "Steve H." <> wrote:

>Hi all,
> My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
>My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
>to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
>"professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
> Steve

To be connected to the Internet your system needs an IP address,
in the same way without a postal address you won't get letters.

Unless you leave your network wide open, hacking it is very difficult
and I doubt anyone with the skill to penetrate it would be bothered.

Your friend is alarming you needlessly. If you are connected with
a properly configured router there should be no problem.
--
Jim Watt http://www.gibnet.com

Jim Watt

Steve H. wrote:
> Hi all,
> My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
> My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
> to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
> "professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
> Steve

Yup.

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jayjwa

In article <3XZrb.12260$>,
says...
> Hi all,
> My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
> My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
> to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
> "professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.

While your friend is technically correct, it's not correct in all cases.
With a properly configured firewall device you can keep hackers out as
long and you fully understand the security implications of user
authentication (meaning as long as you don't let your users create lame
passwords).

The last company I setup has more than 400 sites and not one has ever
been hacked.

--
--

(Remove 999 to reply to me)

Leythos

Leythos <> wrote:
>> My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
>> My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
>> to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
>> "professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
> While your friend is technically correct, it's not correct in all cases.
> With a properly configured firewall device you can keep hackers out as
> long and you fully understand the security implications of user
> authentication (meaning as long as you don't let your users create lame
> passwords).

Sorry, how should that work? BTW:

http://www.jargon.8hz.com/jargon_23.html#TAG833
http://www.jargon.8hz.com/jargon_18.html#TAG365

> The last company I setup has more than 400 sites and not one has ever
> been hacked.

Or you don't know it.

VB.
--
X-Pie Software GmbH
Postfach 1540, 88334 Bad Waldsee
Phone +49-7524-996806 Fax +49-7524-996807
private.php?do=newpm&u= http://www.x-pie.de

Volker Birk

"Steve H." <> writes:

]Hi all,
] My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
]My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
]to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
]"professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.

a) Professional (ie people paid to do that job) hackers do not exist.
Let us say rather determined and knowledgeable.
b) The answer is maybe, and depends critically on how much effort you
put into keeping your system up to date and presenti9ng the minimal
profile needed to accomplish your own goals.
Thus, if you have no services listening in on the internet it becomes
very hard for the attacker to break in. They have to persuade you to do
something stupid.

Bill Unruh

Bill Unruh <> wrote:
> ] My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
> ]My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
> ]to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
> ]"professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
> a) Professional (ie people paid to do that job) hackers do not exist.
> Let us say rather determined and knowledgeable.

Oh yes, we call them "Software developers". But also professional
Crackers do exist, i.e. for information warfare.

> b) The answer is maybe, and depends critically on how much effort you
> put into keeping your system up to date and presenti9ng the minimal
> profile needed to accomplish your own goals.
> Thus, if you have no services listening in on the internet it becomes
> very hard for the attacker to break in. They have to persuade you to do
> something stupid.

Then it's easier, but it is enouph when the manufacturors of the
software on a machine do something stupid.

VB.
--
X-Pie Software GmbH
Postfach 1540, 88334 Bad Waldsee
Phone +49-7524-996806 Fax +49-7524-996807
private.php?do=newpm&u= http://www.x-pie.de

Volker Birk

http://www.gfi.com/languard/
spots any "holes " on your ip address,,,
however it also serves another purpose ...
its often nice to see what 'hackers' use to compromise systems ,,that way
you can counter act ...
play around with it ...although id advise only using your ip address.
<lightning_b0lt>
"Steve H." <> wrote in message
news:3XZrb.12260$ ...
> Hi all,
> My apologies upfront for an ignorant, perhaps dumb question:
> My PC repair biz friend tells me that ANY "personal" network connected
> to the internet, that has an IP address, can be hacked by a determined,
> "professional" hacker. Comments please ? TIA.
> Steve

lightning_b0lt