It’s just like a virus–when you thought you’d finally gotten rid of it, BOOM! Another one pops up. Imagine working on an assignment long hours into the night, falling asleep on your computer on top of unfinished work. When you wake up, it’s all gone without a trace and you no clue what happened. You have to start again not knowing where to begin. If that’s ever happened to you, you know it’s annoying, right?

   Hacking is like a double-edged sword. Ever since phones and computers have become more advanced, things have become more complicated in the technology world. The hackers with bad intentions are described as black and grey hatters, the good hackers go by white hat hackers. Hackers have all sorts of nicknames but those are general; some mean harm and some don’t.

     Hackers know how to hack every operating system on our phones. There are 5 different languages of programs that exist; Python, C/C++, Java, Perl, and LISP. Out of all these computer languages, Java would be the most popular because it is highly recommended, it is the basis for the ANDROID OPERATING SYSTEM, and is favored by enterprises with roughly 90% of Fortune 500 companies with using the language to create apps and back end systems.

   The most common type of hack is called eavesdropping, which are passive attacks. People call with fake reasons to catch your attention and aim to get you to give up your information and either rob you or get you involved in marketing schemes that you don’t want to be involved in. They can come in forms of phone calls, emails, ads, texts, voicemails, and in the mail as well.

  Phones and computers aren’t the only things that can get hacked. Things such as tracking devices, portable games, traffic lights, thermostats, drones and crazy things like medical implants and even an entire city can be hacked. Basically lack of proper testing, security, system updates, and regulations can enable people to find ways around smart city technology. Hacking comes in many forms and can be way more dangerous than hacking a computer system or phone.

  Every year, on average, about 2.1 million people get their phones stolen. Have you ever lost your phone? I asked a bunch of people at PVHS if they ever lost their phones, about 3 out of 5 people surveyed got their phone stolen.           

  So just be careful what you download, look up, share, and just be aware of your surroundings and keep track of your things. People are sketchy and can sometimes get into your things without you knowing. Thank you for reading, now you know all about the ins and outs of hacking and the possibilities that come with it.