12 Type Of Servers And What They Do!

1. Real-Time Communication Servers

Also known as chat servers or IRC, and
sometimes known as instant messaging (IM)
servers, these servers are meant to allow huge
number users to exchange information
instantly.

2. FTP Servers

This is one of the oldest of the Internet
services available. The FTP or File Transfer
Protocol allows the users to securely transfer
one or more files of any size between two
computers.

3. Collaboration Servers

In many ways, collaboration software, once
called 'groupware,' demonstrates the original
power of the Web. Collaboration software
designed to enable users to collaborate,
regardless of location, via the Internet or a
corporate intranet and to work together in a
virtual atmosphere.

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How do you know your computer is infected?

          Unfortunately, there is no particular way to identify that your computer has been infected with malicious code. Some infections may completely destroy files and shut down your computer, while others may only subtly affect your computer's normal operations. Be aware of any unusual or unexpected behaviours. If you are running anti-virus software, it may alert you that it has found malicious code on your computer. The anti-virus software may be able to clean the malicious code automatically, but if it can't, you will need to take additional steps.

What can you do if you are infected?

• Minimize the damage - If you are at work and have access to an IT department, contact them immediately. The sooner they can investigate and clean your computer, the less damage to your computer and other computers on the network. If you are on your home computer or a laptop, disconnect your computer from the internet. By removing the internet connection, you prevent an attacker or virus from being able to access your computer and perform tasks such as locating personal data, manipulating or deleting files, or using your computer to attack other computers.

• Remove the malicious code - If you have anti-virus software installed on your computer, update the virus definitions (if possible), and perform a manual scan of your entire system. If you do not have anti-virus software, you can purchase it at a local computer store . If the software can't locate and remove the infection, you may need to reinstall your operating system, usually with a system restore disk that is often supplied with a new computer. Note that reinstalling or restoring the operating system typically erases all of your files and any additional software that you have installed on your computer. After reinstalling the operating system and any other software, install all of the appropriate patches to fix known vulnerabilities.

How can you reduce the risk of another infection?

          Dealing with the presence of malicious code on your computer can be a frustrating experience that can cost you time, money, and data. The following recommendations will build your defence against future infections:

• Use and maintain Anti-virus software - Anti-virus software recognizes and protects your computer against most known viruses. However, attackers are continually writing new viruses, so it is important to keep your anti-virus software current .

• Change your passwords - Your original passwords may have been compromised during the infection, so you should change them. This includes passwords for web sites that may have been cached in your browser. Make the passwords difficult for attackers to guess .

• Keep software up to date - Install software patches so that attackers can't take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities . Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should enable it.

• Install or enable a firewall - Firewalls may be able to prevent some types of infection by blocking malicious traffic before it can enter your computer . Some operating systems actually include a firewall, but you need to make sure it is enabled.

• Use anti-spyware tools - Spyware is a common source of viruses, but you can minimize the number of infections by using a legitimate program that identifies and removes spyware .

• Follow good security practices - Take appropriate precautions when using email and web browsers so that you reduce the risk that your actions will trigger an infection .

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          Ray Tomlinson, widely credited as the creator of email, has died, his employer Raytheon, told CNN on Sunday. He was 74.
          Tomlinson invented direct email messages in 1971. Before his invention, electronic messages could be shared only on a very limited network.
          Among those paying tribute was Gmail, one of many offshoots of Tomlinson's creation."Thank you, Ray Tomlinson, for inventing email and putting the @ sign on the map," Gmail's Twitter account said.

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History of hacking

Hacking has been around for more than a century. In the 1870s, several teenagers were flung off the country's brand new phone system by enraged authorities. Here's a peek at how busy hackers have been in the past 35 years.

Early 1960s

University facilities with huge mainframe computers, like MIT's artificial intelligence lab, become staging grounds for hackers. At first, "hacker" was a positive term for a person with a mastery of computers who could push programs beyond what they were designed to do.

Early 1970s

John Draper John Draper makes a long-distance call for free by blowing a precise tone into a telephone that tells the phone system to open a line. Draper discovered the whistle as a give-away in a box of children's cereal. Draper, who later earns the handle "Captain Crunch," is arrested repeatedly for phone tampering throughout the 1970s.

Yippie social movement starts YIPL/TAP (Youth International Party Line/Technical Assistance Program) magazine to help phone hackers (called "phreaks") make free long-distance calls.

Two members of California's Homebrew Computer Club begin making "blue boxes," devices used to hack into the phone system. The members, who adopt handles "Berkeley Blue" (Steve Jobs) and "Oak Toebark" (Steve Wozniak), later go on to found Apple Computer.

Early 1980s

Author William Gibson coins the term "cyberspace" in a science fiction novel called Neuromancer.

In one of the first arrests of hackers, the FBI busts the Milwaukee-based 414s (named after the local area code) after members are accused of 60 computer break-ins ranging from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Comprehensive Crime Control Act gives Secret Service jurisdiction over credit card and computer fraud.

Two hacker groups form, the Legion of Doom in the United States and the Chaos Computer Club in Germany.

2600: The Hacker Quarterly is founded to share tips on phone and computer hacking.

Late 1980s

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act gives more clout to federal authorities.

Computer Emergency Response Team is formed by U.S. defense agencies. Based at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, its mission is to investigate the growing volume of attacks on computer networks.

At 25, veteran hacker Kevin Mitnick secretly monitors the e-mail of MCI and Digital Equipment security officials. He is convicted of damaging computers and stealing software and is sentenced to one year in prison.

First National Bank of Chicago is the victim of a $70-million computer heist.

An Indiana hacker known as "Fry Guy" -- so named for hacking McDonald's -- is raided by law enforcement. A similar sweep occurs in Atlanta for Legion of Doom hackers known by the handles "Prophet," "Leftist" and "Urvile."

Early 1990s

After AT&T long-distance service crashes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, law enforcement starts a national crackdown on hackers. The feds nab St. Louis' "Knight Lightning" and in New York grab Masters of Deception trio "Phiber Optik," " Acid Phreak" and "Scorpion." Fellow hacker "Eric Bloodaxe" is picked up in Austin, Texas.

Operation Sundevil, a special team of Secret Service agents and members of Arizona's organized crime unit, conducts raids in 12 major cities, including Miami.

A 17-month search ends in the capture of hacker Kevin Lee Poulsen ("Dark Dante"), who is indicted for stealing military documents.

Hackers break into Griffith Air Force Base, then pewwwte computers at NASA and the Korean Atomic Research Institute. Scotland Yard nabs "Data Stream," a 16-year-old British teenager who curls up in the fetal position when seized.

A Texas A&M professor receives death threats after a hacker logs on to his computer from off-campus and sends 20,000 racist e-mail messages using his Internet address.

Kevin Mitnick [photo / AP ]In a highly publicized case, Kevin Mitnick is arrested (again), this time in Raleigh, N.C., after he is tracked down via computer by Tsutomu Shimomura at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

Late 1990s

Hackers break into and deface federal Web sites, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Air Force, CIA, NASA and others.

Report by the General Accounting Office finds Defense Department computers sustained 250,000 attacks by hackers in 1995 alone.

A Canadian hacker group called the Brotherhood, angry at hackers being falsely accused of electronically stalking a Canadian family, break into the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Web site and leave message: "The media are liars." Family's own 15-year-old son eventually is identified as stalking culprit.

Hackers pierce security in Microsoft's NT operating system to illustrate its weaknesses.

Popular Internet search engine Yahoo! is hit by hackers claiming a "logic bomb" will go off in the PCs of Yahoo!'s users on Christmas Day 1997 unless Kevin Mitnick is released from prison. "There is no virus," Yahoo! spokeswoman Diane Hunt said.

1998

Anti-hacker ad runs during Super Bowl XXXII. The Network Associates ad, costing $1.3-million for 30 seconds, shows two Russian missile silo crewmen worrying that a computer order to launch missiles may have come from a hacker. They decide to blow up the world anyway.

In January, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is inundated for days with hundreds of thousands of fake information requests, a hacker attack called "spamming."

Hackers break into United Nation's Children Fund Web site, threatening a "holocaust" if Kevin Mitnick is not freed.

Hackers claim to have broken into a Pentagon network and stolen software for a military satellite system. They threaten to sell the software to terrorists.

The U.S. Justice Department unveils National Infrastructure Protection Center, which is given a mission to protect the nation's telecommunications, technology and transportation systems from hackers.

Hacker group L0pht, in testimony before Congress, warns it could shut down nationwide access to the Internet in less than 30 minutes. The group urges stronger security measures.

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7 Tools for every Hacker

This tools are most important in every hacker, network penetrator's life. They must need these tools. 

1. Nmap :- For network exploration

Nmap logo

          Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, but works fine against single hosts. Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems, and official binary packages are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. In addition to the classic command-line Nmap executable, the Nmap suite includes an advanced GUI and results viewer, a flexible data transfer, redirection, and debugging tool, a utility for comparing scan results, and a packet generation and response analysis tool.

2. Nessus Remote Security Scanner :- Vulnerability scanner

Nessus logo

          Nessus is a remote security scanning tool, which scans a computer and raises an alert if it discovers any vulnerabilities that malicious hackers could use to gain access to any computer you have connected to a network.  It does this by running over 1200 checks on a given computer, testing to see if any of these attacks could be used to break into the computer or otherwise harm it.

3. Wireshark :- Sniffer

Wireshark logo

          Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer. It lets you see what's happening on your network at a microscopic level. It is the de facto (and often de jure) standard across many industries and educational institutions.

          Wireshark development thrives thanks to the contributions of networking experts across the globe. It is the continuation of a project that started in 1998.

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