X-Box Users Not Hacked, Writers of The Sun Still Morons.

The Sun have cobbled some poorly written piece of diarrhoea together this morning about X-Box users accounts being "hacked" and for some reason it is on their front page. (Must be a slow news day). One thing I would like people to realise is the difference between hacking and phishing.

Still cleverer than a writer for The Sun.

Phising - According to Wikipedia "is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one"

Phishing through the eyes of a writer for The Sun.

Or to dumb it down so that readers of The Sun can understand it: "They send you and email or a text pretending to be Microsoft and ask for your details" it's the equivalent of a man turning up on your door in a suit asking for your bank details to review your account to save you money.

Hacking - According to Wikipedia "In computer security, a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms of computer and network systems. While including those who endeavor to strengthen such mechanisms, it is more often used by the mass media and popular culture to refer to those who seek access despite these security measures."

And here's a picture of a cat.

Or to dumb it down so that readers of The Sun can understand it: "They use magic to break into computers and steal information, and do it without you doing anything at all" It's the equivalent of a man turning up in a black mask with a bag marked "swag" and picking the lock on your door to steal your things.

The Sun like to confuse the two terms because the general public on mass are morons and won't know the difference and "Hacking" is a term used a lot in the media right now, what with the whole voicemail hacking scandal of various celebrities and Milly Dowler's phone. Incidentally it wasn't hacking, its exploiting the fact that 99.99% of people will not change their voicemail remote access code from the default setting. In which case you are an idiot.

So now you're richer for the knowledge I have bestowed  you. Go forth, be unafraid and don't hand out your god damned details.

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