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Footprinting is a technique used to gather information about a computer system, allowing hackers to identify vulnerabilities and plan attacks. Companies can hire security personnel to simulate real-world fingerprints and identify weaknesses. Hackers use publicly available information and scanning tools to profile a system. Securing networks requires a balance between preventing activities and not burdening legitimate users. Successful footprinting can create a detailed map of a network, highlighting weaknesses and allowing for attack planning or security improvement. Footprinting software utilities are available, making it difficult to combat hackers.
Fingerprinting is a tactic used to collect data about a computer system. Using individual pieces of information that may not be critical in itself, a person profiling a system can identify vulnerabilities and develop a plan to compromise it. Hackers use footprinting to gain access to a system for a variety of tasks. Companies concerned about the security of their computer systems can hire security personnel to perform tests to simulate real-world fingerprints. This allows them to identify weaknesses in their networks that could create vulnerabilities later.
A number of techniques can be part of an attempt to profile a computer system. Hackers can exploit publicly available information such as the registered owners of websites or the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of outgoing emails. They can use scanning tools to search for computers connected to a network, identify file structures, and determine how the network is structured. This can allow them to identify critical servers and potential access points that may be in use.
Securing networks can involve a delicate balance. IT personnel could prevent a variety of activities on a network to make footprinting much more difficult. However, this can create problems for legitimate users as well, which makes it important to think carefully about which features to disable. If something left a network open to port scanning, for example, it might be a good idea to set up some security measures, but forcing repeated password authentication for another process could be burdensome. Network technicians can also protect systems with tools such as anonymization of ownership and the origin of IP addresses.
Successful footprinting can allow someone to create a detailed map of your network. The map shows what is connected to the network and what kinds of functions different components perform. It can also highlight weaknesses identified during the research phase. This information can be used to plan an attack. In the case of a security consultancy to help a company improve security, the same map can be used to show staff where security needs to be strengthened to prevent a real network incursion.
Footprinting software utilities are available through many websites. Some have legitimate uses and others can be hand-coded to fit a specific need. The combination of harmful and practical uses for many common hacking techniques can make it difficult to develop tools to combat hackers and techniques such as network footprinting.
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