Computer hackers, once satisfied to test their skills against large companies, are turning their sights on home computers that are faster, more powerful and less secure than ever before.
The hackers can steal your identity, destroy your data or use your computer to launch attacks on Web sites or your friends.
"Home machines weren't very interesting targets a few years ago," said Mikko Hypponen of antivirus company F-Secure in Finland. "That's all changed now."
Experts attribute the threat to several factors:
- Many home computers are now as powerful as business computers, with enough memory and processing power to make them alluring staging areas for wide-scale Internet attacks that affect other computers.
- A growing number are connected directly to the Internet through high-speed DSL and cable lines that remain open all the time. Computers that are left on around the clock are vulnerable.
- Unlike businesses with permanent security staff, most home users are slow to secure their computers with the latest antivirus and firewall software and to plug security holes by downloading the necessary fixes from software makers such as Microsoft.
- Many home users are unaware of Internet threats and are too willing to click on unsolicited e-mails that might be infected with malicious programs.
News source: The Nando Times - Hackers now focusing on home computers
