What does hacking actually LOOK like? For example, what interface is the hacker using, what’s their goal, and are they typing in a bunch of passwords like in the movies?
In: Technology
Hacking is a very broad term. Depending on what the goal of the hacker is, the process can be very different. Like mentioned elsewhere in this post, at the end of the day, all hackers are looking for vulnerabilities in another’s system.
Some examples of hacking would be:
Finding a special edge case in their code which allows you to get information you should not normally be able to access. By inputting certain code into search bars on websites like Amazon/Ebay/Walmart.com, it may be possible to actually execute the code on the companies computer (which they usually don’t want for obvious security reasons).
Realizing there is access to a computer in a way that the user of the computer did not intend to have open. Upon connecting to the computer, the “hacker” tries to remain unnoticed as he collects information about the computer, or even leaves himself/herself an opening on the computer so that only they can get in.
Using keyloggers or special software that runs through thousands of passwords per second to “legally” access another user’s system while appearing to actually be that user.
What does hacking look like:
Like I just stated above, there are many forms of hacking, but the most common interfaces one would use would probably be a terminal/command line, which is a text-based environment where you can enter commands to control your computer (e.x. Typing in a command to copy a folder from one location to another instead of just visually copy and pasting it to the new location), and a text editor where the hacker can write and test malicious code.
Typing in the movies:
Usually hackers are not trying to manually type passwords to try to guess them, as mentioned earlier, this can be done by computer software and would take you more hours than there are stars in the sky to try every possible password. All of the speedy typing seen in movies would really be the equivalent of someone who knows how to use a terminal/command line very effectively.
Hope this answers your question 🙂
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