Hacker attacks hit home computers 50 times a night

Hacker attacks hit home computers 50 times a night

Home computers can be attacked by hackers more than 50 times a night, the results of an experiment showed today.

Every time a test PC was connected to the internet, it was targeted by viruses and attempts to gain access to the information it contained.

The experiment, carried out by the BBC News website, used a "honeypot" PC, which looked like a normal computer to potential hackers but secretly recorded every attempt to gain access to it.

Each time the machine was put online during the month-long test period, it came under attack from hackers or dangerous computer programmes. In one of the busiest nights of malicious activity, it was attacked 53 times.

The computer was subjected to a hijack attempt by subverting the web server built into Microsoft Windows. A successful hijack would have handed control of the PC over to the hacker.

There were two port scans - the reconnaissance process used by hackers to find new victims.

It was attacked 11 times by the Blaster worm, a computer programme that sends copies of itself to other PCs. A successful attack would have left the machine unstable.

Three Slammer worm attacks were made, which could have crippled the computer and left it prone to crashing, and there were 36 fake security announcements or advertisements for fake security software posing as warnings.

Reacting to these could leave a PC clogged with spyware - programmes monitoring what users do with their computer and then sending the information over the internet.

Over the course of the experiment, at least one attack an hour on average came from a dangerous computer bug with the ability to cripple an unprotected PC.

There was at least one serious attack a night, such as attempts to hijack the computer that could have led to it being turned into a zombie PC used to carry out criminal activity without the owner's knowledge.

The BBC said the experiment demonstrated the vulnerability of unprotected home PCs to malicious hackers.

According to the security software firm Symantec, 86% of all targeted attacks on computers are aimed at home users.

Experts estimate that there are around 200,000 malicious programmes, such as viruses, worms and spyware, in existence.

One hacker the BBC spoke to claimed to have made $10,000 (£5,345) a day from computer crime, while another claimed the ability to hack into many online shops within three to four hours.