Researchers of the University of Maryland enjoyed observing the activities of hackers as they try to gain access to a computer and exploit it. They set up 4 Linux computers, with an Internet connection and a weak security. These computers were attacked 2,244 times each day, i.e. every 39 seconds on average!

This is a very scary figure. A classic computer connected to the Internet is almost constantly under attack, more than two thousand times a day! This fact and the fact that 80% of animals on earth are insects, I'm not sure I can get sleep tonight...

Anyway. Most of these attacks employ automated scripts that indiscriminately seek out thousands of computers at a time, looking for vulnerabilities.

The study specifies the most commonly attempted user names: root, admin, test, guest, info, adm, mysql, user and administrator... Usernames to avoid! They are listed in dictionary scripts with others classical passwords: 123456, password, 1234, 12345, passwd, 123, test, 1 (!!) and more simply the repetition or a variation of the username, sometimes followed by 123. Scripts try and try, then sometimes it matches!

After gaining access, hackers would typically check the computer's software configuration, change the password, check the configuration again, and upload and install a program, a backdoor or a trojan that clean their passage and enable them to create a botnet and viva el spamos!