Hacking For Dummies, 4th Edition

Chapter 1

Introduction to Ethical Hacking

In This Chapter

Differentiating between ethical hackers and malicious attackers

Understanding hackers’ and malicious users’ objectives

Examining how the ethical hacking process came about

Understanding the dangers that your computer systems face

Starting to use the ethical hacking process

This book is about hacking ethically — the methodology of testing your computers and networks for security vulnerabilities and plugging the holes you find before the bad guys get a chance to exploit them.

Although ethical is an often overused and misunderstood word, Webster’s New World Dictionary defines ethical perfectly for the context of this book and the professional security testing techniques that I cover — that is, “conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group.” IT and information security practitioners are obligated to perform the tests covered in this book aboveboard and only after permission has been obtained by the owner(s) ...