The Ethical Hacker|Security Professional |Cyber Crime Consultant & Investigator | Trainer
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Grey Hat Hacker
Grey Hat Hacker
The vast majority of Internet Marketers and individual SEO’s wear the Grey Hat. Some might argue that they’re more White than Grey, but they’re frequently wrong. Most of them lean toward the Black hat without even realizing it. Think of it this way. Doing anything illegal makes you Black Hat. Have you downloaded software without paying for it? Have you created any fake testimonials? Both those are illegal you know.
Doing anything against the rules of a particular website or company, but not quite illegal, changes your hat to Grey.
For example:
- Buying or selling links
- Spamming forums or comments for links
- Sneaky redirects in ads
- Adsense arbitrage
- Affiliate cookie stuffing
- Misleading advertising – Punch the Monkey and WIN!
- Fake Social Media accounts
- Nothing illegal
The vast majority of Affiliate Marketers fall into this category, and I’ve learned that the majority of those tend towards the Dark Grey Hat. As long as it’s not illegal, they’ll do it. If you’re a company that has an affiliate program, beware! Most of your affiliates are actively looking for ways to screw you.
Shades of Grey
You’d be hard pressed to find a single affiliate marketer that wasn’t at least slightly Grey Hat. Heck, I hate scams and false advertising as much as the next guy, but I’ve created some fake Social Media accounts in my day just to post links.
The question is where to draw the line? At what point does a Light Grey Hat slide to a Dark Grey Hat?
What do you think?
White Hat
White Hat
A White Hat internet marketer or SEO (search engine optimizer) only uses legal and company sanctioned techniques to move a site or pages rankings up the pages in the top search engines or to gain traffic. That means that a white hat SEO will only use link building techniques that meet all the criteria of everyone involved, the site the link is being made on, all the search engines, etc. A true white hat internet marketing affiliate will play 100% by the rules.
If you go White Hat that means:
- No paid links – against the Google TOS
- No forum or comment junk posts for links – against most sites TOS
- No sneaky redirects
- No hidden terms and conditions
- Nothing illegal – false claims of earnings, etc.
Note that the vast majority of larger SEO and marketing companies wear the White Hat. They don’t want to risk their business getting banned from anywhere.
Black Hat Hacker
Black Hat Hacker
Black hat is when you actually risk jail time or major government fines in your marketing or money making efforts. Black Hats are basically criminals, petty or otherwise. Some of these items used to be legal or at least unregulated, but now have laws against them.
The internet is so large and the FTC and government agencies are so understaffed that most of them will never be caught.
The internet is so large and the FTC and government agencies are so understaffed that most of them will never be caught.
If you are doing the following you are risking the wrath of the authorities, at least in the US:
- Email spam
- False testimonials
- Unrealistic earnings expectations
- Hidden rebill charges
- Credit card transfers to other companies
- Software theft
Hacking Rules
Hacking is crime
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By Trishneet Arora The Ethical Hacker
3 Jan 2012 Cyber Crime News
'Spam capital' India arrests sixThe arrests signal attempts to crack down on a growing cyber crime problem in the region. Mumbai-based internet security specialist Vijay Mukhi said poor enforcement of laws meant spammers could act with impunity. "We have an Information Technology Act ... Spammers propel India to top spotKaspersky's Gudkova said in emailed comments that lack of awareness in India “means that for cyber-criminals, it is much easier to construct the botnets (networks of infected computers)”. India's booming mobile phone sector, which has recently seen the ... India Is The Top Source For Spam EmailIt comes in third (behind the US and China) on the list of countries with the most Internet users. To boot, India is fairly new to the whole cybercrime thing. There aren't many laws pertaining to it and an overall lack of technical awareness in India ... India becomes junk mail hotspotA recent report by Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based global internet security firm, says more spam was sent from the sout h Asian giant than anywhere else in the world in the third quarter of the year . An average of 79.8% of e-mail traffic in the three ...
source of spam email |
Top 10 Notorious Hackers Of All Time
1. Eric Corley
December 16, 1959 born Eric Corley is frequently referred to by his pen name of Emmanuel Goldstein. He is a renowned figure in the hacker community. In the year 1999 he went to court for sharing DeCSS codes and a method to download it, a program that was able to decrypt content on an encrypted DVD. Eric owns a non-profit organization 2600 Enterprises, Inc. and publishes a magazine called 2600: The Hacker Quarterly.
Corley lives in N.Y.C. and hosts a radio show called Off the Hook on WBAI as well as Brain Damage on Stony Brook University’s WUSB. His magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly provides information about phreaking and basic hacking.
2. Robert Tappan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris born on November 8, 1965, is an American professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is best known for creating the Morris Worm that is considered to be the first computer worm on the Internet. He also co-founded the online store known by the name Viaweb, one of the first web-based applications, with Paul Graham.
The worm he created is named after himself. According to Morris, the main purpose of his worm was to see how many computers were connected to the Internet. However, due to a configuration in the worm, it did a lot more damage than expected. It was estimated that the cost of “potential loss in productivity” caused by the worm at each system ranged from $20,000 to more than $530,000.
3. Mark Abene
Mark Abene, well known by his pseudonym Phiber Optik, is a computer security hacker from New York City. Phiber Optik. He was a member of the hacker groups Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception. Phiber Optik was a high-profile hacker in the early 1990s. His appearance in The New York Times, Harper’s, Esquire in debates and on television made him known by people around the world.
4. Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick (born on August 6, 1963) is a computer security consultant, author, and former computer hacker. The most-wanted computer criminal in the United States was arrested in 1995 for countless acts of computer fraud. He hacked into Digital Equipment Corporation systems, Nokia, Motorola, Fujitsu Siemens and man.
5. Gary McKinnon
Scottish-born, London-based hacker McKinnon was born on 10 February 1966. He is the Scottish systems administrator and hacker who has been accused of what one US prosecutor claims is the biggest military computer hack of all time. To defend himself, McKinnon stated that he was merely looking for evidence of free energy suppression and a cover-up of UFO activity and other technologies potentially useful to the public.
McKinnon is accused of hacking into 97 United States military and NASA computers over a 13-month period between February 2001 and March 2002, using the name ‘Solo’. He is accused of hacking networks owned by NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defense and the US Air Force.
6. Raphael GrayH
e was just 19 when he hacked computer systems around the world over six weeks between January and February 1999 as part of a multi-million pound credit card mission, thereafter publishing credit card details of over 6,500 cards as an example of weak security in the growing number of consumer websites.
Gray broke into the secure systems using an £800 computer he bought in his home town Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Gray was dubbed the Bill Gates hacker when he sent Viagra tablets to Gates’ address and then published what he said was the billionaire’s own number. He was arrested by FBI agents and officers from the local Dyfed Powys Police at his home in March 1999.
7. Kevin Poulsen
Kevin Poulsen, born 1965 in Pasadena, California, U.S. is a a former black hat hacker best known for his takeover of the KIIS-FM phone lines, a Los Angeles based radio station. Before segueing into journalism, he had a controversial career in the 1980s as a hacker whose handle was Dark Dante. He is currently a senior editor at Wired News.
8. Jonathan James
Jonathan Joseph James born on December 12, 1983 was well known by the name c0mrade. He was an American hacker who was the first juvenile incarcerated for cybercrime in the United States. He was mere 15 when he hacked committed a series of intrusions into various systems including those of BellSouth and the Miami-Dade school system.
His intrusion into the computers of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a division of the United States Department of Defense came into light and he admitted that he had installed an unauthorized backdoor in a computer server in Dulles, Virginia, which he used to install a sniffer that allowed him to intercept over three thousand messages passing to and from DTRA employees, along with numerous usernames and passwords of other DTRA employees, including at least 10 on official military computers. The intrusion caused NASA to shut down its computers for three weeks that July, costing $41,000 to check and fix its systems. James died on May 18, 2008 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
9. The Deceptive Duo
The Deceptive Duo-20-year-old Benjamin Stark and 18-year-old Robert Lyttle in the year 2002 created a series of high-profile break-ins to government networks, including the U.S. Navy, NASA, FAA andDepartment of Defense . When their hacking issue came into light, the duo claimed they were merely trying to expose security failures and protect Americans in a post-911 world.
Stark was sentenced to two years probation, Lyttle served four months in prison with three years’ probation, and both were ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution for the damage they caused.
10. Adrian Lamo
Known as a grey hat hacker, Adrian Lamo is the hacker that found himself in trouble after the F.B.I was able to probe his illegal actions. Lamo is well known for exploitingcompanies such as Microsoft, the New York Times, Lexis-Nexis, and Yahoo! After the New York Times filed complaints Lamo was investigated by the F.B.I and after realizing that he was being tracked, he surrendered to the U.S. Marshals on September 9, 2003. He was ordered to pay $65,000 and was sentenced to home detention and probation.
The numbering in the list above is not based on the ascending/descending order in which these renowned hackers have left people amazed with their hacking; each one of them has made a distinctive mark.No matter how punishable act these well-known hackers have done but the fact remains they have great talent. Hats off to their daring shots!
3. Mark Abene
Mark Abene, well known by his pseudonym Phiber Optik, is a computer security hacker from New York City. Phiber Optik. He was a member of the hacker groups Legion of Doom and Masters of Deception. Phiber Optik was a high-profile hacker in the early 1990s. His appearance in The New York Times, Harper’s, Esquire in debates and on television made him known by people around the world.
4. Kevin Mitnick
Kevin David Mitnick (born on August 6, 1963) is a computer security consultant, author, and former computer hacker. The most-wanted computer criminal in the United States was arrested in 1995 for countless acts of computer fraud. He hacked into Digital Equipment Corporation systems, Nokia, Motorola, Fujitsu Siemens and man.
5. Gary McKinnon
Scottish-born, London-based hacker McKinnon was born on 10 February 1966. He is the Scottish systems administrator and hacker who has been accused of what one US prosecutor claims is the biggest military computer hack of all time. To defend himself, McKinnon stated that he was merely looking for evidence of free energy suppression and a cover-up of UFO activity and other technologies potentially useful to the public.
McKinnon is accused of hacking into 97 United States military and NASA computers over a 13-month period between February 2001 and March 2002, using the name ‘Solo’. He is accused of hacking networks owned by NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defense and the US Air Force.
6. Raphael GrayH
e was just 19 when he hacked computer systems around the world over six weeks between January and February 1999 as part of a multi-million pound credit card mission, thereafter publishing credit card details of over 6,500 cards as an example of weak security in the growing number of consumer websites.
Gray broke into the secure systems using an £800 computer he bought in his home town Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Gray was dubbed the Bill Gates hacker when he sent Viagra tablets to Gates’ address and then published what he said was the billionaire’s own number. He was arrested by FBI agents and officers from the local Dyfed Powys Police at his home in March 1999.
7. Kevin Poulsen
Kevin Poulsen, born 1965 in Pasadena, California, U.S. is a a former black hat hacker best known for his takeover of the KIIS-FM phone lines, a Los Angeles based radio station. Before segueing into journalism, he had a controversial career in the 1980s as a hacker whose handle was Dark Dante. He is currently a senior editor at Wired News.
8. Jonathan James
Jonathan Joseph James born on December 12, 1983 was well known by the name c0mrade. He was an American hacker who was the first juvenile incarcerated for cybercrime in the United States. He was mere 15 when he hacked committed a series of intrusions into various systems including those of BellSouth and the Miami-Dade school system.
His intrusion into the computers of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a division of the United States Department of Defense came into light and he admitted that he had installed an unauthorized backdoor in a computer server in Dulles, Virginia, which he used to install a sniffer that allowed him to intercept over three thousand messages passing to and from DTRA employees, along with numerous usernames and passwords of other DTRA employees, including at least 10 on official military computers. The intrusion caused NASA to shut down its computers for three weeks that July, costing $41,000 to check and fix its systems. James died on May 18, 2008 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
9. The Deceptive Duo
The Deceptive Duo-20-year-old Benjamin Stark and 18-year-old Robert Lyttle in the year 2002 created a series of high-profile break-ins to government networks, including the U.S. Navy, NASA, FAA andDepartment of Defense . When their hacking issue came into light, the duo claimed they were merely trying to expose security failures and protect Americans in a post-911 world.
Stark was sentenced to two years probation, Lyttle served four months in prison with three years’ probation, and both were ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution for the damage they caused.
10. Adrian Lamo
Known as a grey hat hacker, Adrian Lamo is the hacker that found himself in trouble after the F.B.I was able to probe his illegal actions. Lamo is well known for exploitingcompanies such as Microsoft, the New York Times, Lexis-Nexis, and Yahoo! After the New York Times filed complaints Lamo was investigated by the F.B.I and after realizing that he was being tracked, he surrendered to the U.S. Marshals on September 9, 2003. He was ordered to pay $65,000 and was sentenced to home detention and probation.
The numbering in the list above is not based on the ascending/descending order in which these renowned hackers have left people amazed with their hacking; each one of them has made a distinctive mark.No matter how punishable act these well-known hackers have done but the fact remains they have great talent. Hats off to their daring shots!
5. Gary McKinnon
Scottish-born, London-based hacker McKinnon was born on 10 February 1966. He is the Scottish systems administrator and hacker who has been accused of what one US prosecutor claims is the biggest military computer hack of all time. To defend himself, McKinnon stated that he was merely looking for evidence of free energy suppression and a cover-up of UFO activity and other technologies potentially useful to the public.
McKinnon is accused of hacking into 97 United States military and NASA computers over a 13-month period between February 2001 and March 2002, using the name ‘Solo’. He is accused of hacking networks owned by NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defense and the US Air Force.
6. Raphael GrayH
e was just 19 when he hacked computer systems around the world over six weeks between January and February 1999 as part of a multi-million pound credit card mission, thereafter publishing credit card details of over 6,500 cards as an example of weak security in the growing number of consumer websites.
Gray broke into the secure systems using an £800 computer he bought in his home town Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Gray was dubbed the Bill Gates hacker when he sent Viagra tablets to Gates’ address and then published what he said was the billionaire’s own number. He was arrested by FBI agents and officers from the local Dyfed Powys Police at his home in March 1999.
7. Kevin Poulsen
Kevin Poulsen, born 1965 in Pasadena, California, U.S. is a a former black hat hacker best known for his takeover of the KIIS-FM phone lines, a Los Angeles based radio station. Before segueing into journalism, he had a controversial career in the 1980s as a hacker whose handle was Dark Dante. He is currently a senior editor at Wired News.
8. Jonathan James
Jonathan Joseph James born on December 12, 1983 was well known by the name c0mrade. He was an American hacker who was the first juvenile incarcerated for cybercrime in the United States. He was mere 15 when he hacked committed a series of intrusions into various systems including those of BellSouth and the Miami-Dade school system.
His intrusion into the computers of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a division of the United States Department of Defense came into light and he admitted that he had installed an unauthorized backdoor in a computer server in Dulles, Virginia, which he used to install a sniffer that allowed him to intercept over three thousand messages passing to and from DTRA employees, along with numerous usernames and passwords of other DTRA employees, including at least 10 on official military computers. The intrusion caused NASA to shut down its computers for three weeks that July, costing $41,000 to check and fix its systems. James died on May 18, 2008 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
9. The Deceptive Duo
The Deceptive Duo-20-year-old Benjamin Stark and 18-year-old Robert Lyttle in the year 2002 created a series of high-profile break-ins to government networks, including the U.S. Navy, NASA, FAA andDepartment of Defense . When their hacking issue came into light, the duo claimed they were merely trying to expose security failures and protect Americans in a post-911 world.
Stark was sentenced to two years probation, Lyttle served four months in prison with three years’ probation, and both were ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution for the damage they caused.
10. Adrian Lamo
Known as a grey hat hacker, Adrian Lamo is the hacker that found himself in trouble after the F.B.I was able to probe his illegal actions. Lamo is well known for exploitingcompanies such as Microsoft, the New York Times, Lexis-Nexis, and Yahoo! After the New York Times filed complaints Lamo was investigated by the F.B.I and after realizing that he was being tracked, he surrendered to the U.S. Marshals on September 9, 2003. He was ordered to pay $65,000 and was sentenced to home detention and probation.
The numbering in the list above is not based on the ascending/descending order in which these renowned hackers have left people amazed with their hacking; each one of them has made a distinctive mark.No matter how punishable act these well-known hackers have done but the fact remains they have great talent. Hats off to their daring shots!
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