Think Like a Hacker and Improve Your Computer Security

You may not know it, but right now you could be under attack. As you read this, your computer could be being bombarded by hacking attempts from individuals who want to break into your personal files and plunder what they find there. These attacks could potentially damage your computer and leave you facing a virus, or worse they could result in your personal details being stolen and used to empty your bank account or just send you tons of junk mail.

You might not be aware of it again, but your computer is probably meanwhile trying to defend itself against such attacks and stoically protect you and your private data from theft. An arms race is going on at all times between the two with you happily browsing away on Facebook, but if you want to turn the tides in your computer's favor then it's time to get involved. And successfully defending your computer means knowing how the bad guys operate and how to counteract their every move. Read on to get inside the minds of those who would steal your information and start beating them at their own game.

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Staying Under the Radar

One thing worth considering is what makes someone a target for hacking in the first place, and the answer to that is simply opportunity. Most of us won't be seriously hacked or pick up serious viruses unless we're very unlucky or unless we expose ourselves. And we can expose ourselves by visiting the wrong sites that aren't quite so strict about the kinds things they allow on them, or by accessing the web on open networks without protection. Sharing your details around the web is also a recipe for disaster, so if you have a website with your full e-mail visible - take it down. Most hackers don't come to you, but rather wait for you to come to them. Play it safe and don't do anything to draw attention to yourself.

Rage Against the Machine

Also worth bearing in mind is that most bad guys - just like in the movies - don't like to do the dirty work themselves. In this case, cyber criminals will instead create programs and software ('bots' and 'spyware') to carry out the gruntwork en-masse. This means that what you're up against a lot of the time is simply algorithms that look for patterns and that approach matters in a methodical way. Understanding this is key to creating successful passwords - avoid anything common, anything predictable and anything that follows a pattern. Think random, and think 'human'.

Hackers are Coders

To understand the hacker, you must understand the coder - and understand that this is someone who thrives on creating solutions to complex problems. In this case, your computer is the problem and they will think of just about anything to get in once they've decided to start trying which could involve looking at your keystrokes with a piece of spyware to guess your passwords, or picking up your location on your phone to route through your trash in person. Make sure that you work the same way - that you think of everything and don’t leave any stone unturned. That means doing every update, it means being constantly vigilant, and it means changing your password regularly.

Author Bio:

Today’s featured writer, Jason Haddad, works as a tester for wellresearchedreviews.com. Being an ardent writer, he often shares his views and opinions on the issues related to information security via his articles.

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Codementor Provides Developers With One-On-One Programming Help

It’s a scenario all programmers are familiar with: you are coding alone, only to have something go awry and no one to ask for help. Codementor wants to prevent developers from going insane by providing an open marketplace where they can ask experts for one-on-one programming and design help. The site just launched in private beta and the first 100 TechCrunch readers to sign up through this link will receive a $10 credit.

Founder Weiting Liu says the goal of Codementor’s platform, which features code/screen sharing, video and text chat, is to replicate the reassuring feeling of having an experienced programmer beside you.

“We are working hard to bridge the gap between the experience of asking public questions on an Internet forum and having a real mentor sit right beside you,” says Liu. The site currently has 300 mentors based in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Liu says that urgent questions can be answered within two hours, while other queries will get a response within 24 hours. Codementor’s goal is to eventually have mentors available immediately for all types of requests.

Y Combinator alum Liu is a veteran founder of startups including stock investing communitySocialPicks, which was acquired by Financial Content Services in 2009. He says Codementor is the tool he wished he had as an individual developer and business manager.

“Oftentimes, if developers are relatively inexperienced, they’d run into technical issues that none of us could solve,” says Liu. “As a business manager, you’re willing to pay thousands of dollars just to make those urgent show stoppers go away. If Codementor had existed before, we wouldn’t have had to pay thousands of dollars for certain issues.”

Codementor isn’t just meant for urgent issues. The platform also wants to help coders train with developers who are experts in certain programming languages, giving them in-depth mentoring and live help that’s missing from Web resources like Stack Overflow or Codecademy, and serving as a cheaper, more accessible alternative to offline developer bootcamps.

There are two ways to ask questions on Codementor. The first is to post your question directly on the site, which will match you with mentors. For example, if you need help with Ruby, Codementor will show you which Ruby experts are currently online. The second method, still in beta testing, will allow programmers to embed widgets on their blogs so followers can ask them questions directly from posts.

Developers are accepted into Codementor after a vetting process. The startup’s team looks at each potential mentor’s codebase on GitHub and also takes participation in Web communities such as Stack Overflow into consideration. Mentors set their own rates and are scored after each session by their mentees on a five-point system. Liu says Codementor, which offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, will drop mentors with consistently low ratings in order to ensure quality.

Codementor currently monetizes by taking about 15% to 20% of each session’s overall fee. It has received initial funding from TMI and will be a member of TechStars Seattle‘s next class.