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aspersky Internet Security 6.0
a cycle, which intensifies the load on the processor and can end
with some operating systems crashing.
•
ICMP Flood
sends a large number of ICMP packets to your
computer. The attack leads to the computer being forced to
reply to each inbound packet, which seriously weighs down the
processor.
•
SYN Flood
sends a large number of queries to your computer
to establish a fake connection. The system reserves certain
resources for each of those connections, which completely
drains your system resources, and the computer stops reacting
to other connection attempts.
•
Intrusion attacks
, which aim to take over your computer. This is the most
dangerous type of attack, since if it is successful, the hacker has
complete control of your computer.
Hackers use this attack to obtain confidential information from a remote
computer (for example, credit card numbers or passwords), or to use its
resources later for malicious purposes (e.g. using the captured system in
zombie networks or as a platform for new attacks).
This group contains more different types of attacks than any other. They
can be divided into three subgroups based on operating system: Microsoft
Windows attacks, Unix attacks, and a group for network services running
either operating system.
The most common types of attacks that use operating system network
tools are:
•
Buffer overflow attacks
– a type of software vulnerability that
surfaces due to insufficient control in handling massive amounts
of data. This is one of the oldest vulnerability types, and the
easiest for hackers to exploit.
•
Format string attacks
– a type of software vulnerability that
arises from insufficient control of input values for I/O functions
such as printf(), fprintf(), scanf(), and others from the C standard
library. If a program has this vulnerability, a hacker, using
queries created with a special technique, can gain complete
control of the system.
The Intrusion Detection System automatically analyzes and blocks
attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in the most common network tools (FTP,
POP3, IMAP) running on the user’s computer (section 12.7 on page 157).
Microsoft Windows attacks
are based on taking advantage of
vulnerabilities in software installed on the computer (for example,
programs such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Internet Explorer,
