I'm sure it may be cracked in the future, but wouldn't any hacker worth mention already have ample capability to create a back door passage into any Windows based system anyway?

Yeah, they do, but hacker does not equal crackers, take for instance, right now there are several hackers who can enter into a system because they know of some exploit windows has, but that's because the current code has a bug or is bad coded, but, that information is not really available for anyone with less knowledge, and what happens if they actually build a simple way to enter into a system, what happens is that not all cops will be able to understand how the back-door works, but surely they will be set with some application that activates the back-door, it is just a matter of someone getting a copy of this software and some reverse engineering and someone will start distributing this software everywhere, so anyone who get a hold of that application will be able to hack any windows PC.

Once the software is out, nothing can stop the wave, that's for sure.

Surely there couldnt be any way of recovering information after a drive had been re written.There is nothing to recover in that situation.

I can't believe how easy mcinnon got into the systems he did.Has anyone been trying since.Or has the 60 year jail sntance worked.

Well if you overwright the data numerous times you stand a greater chance of not being able to recover the original information for sure, nothing is 100% gauranteed in the world of computers though apart from the divine law that if it has the potential to go wrong it will go wrong

Its been suggested by some people on the Internetz that you could use thermite to smelt your disk, (the stuff they used to pull down the WTC hehe), I wouldn't condone such behavour of course!

Probably the most secure method would be to overwright the hard disk mutliple times, shred it, smelt it, and then launch it into outer space.

Originally posted by Kaifan

I'm sure it may be cracked in the future, but wouldn't any hacker worth mention already have ample capability to create a back door passage into any Windows based system anyway?

Yeah, they do, but hacker does not equal crackers, take for instance, right now there are several hackers who can enter into a system because they know of some exploit windows has, but that's because the current code has a bug or is bad coded, but, that information is not really available for anyone with less knowledge, and what happens if they actually build a simple way to enter into a system, what happens is that not all cops will be able to understand how the back-door works, but surely they will be set with some application that activates the back-door, it is just a matter of someone getting a copy of this software and some reverse engineering and someone will start distributing this software everywhere, so anyone who get a hold of that application will be able to hack any windows PC.

Once the software is out, nothing can stop the wave, that's for sure.

Well if it is widely distributed to common folk like myself, we'll then be made aware of this ourself and then quickly unplug our connection. In turn bringing the demise of the Microsoft monopoly due to people moving to safer operating systems.

You have a very valid point though, if lower ranked officer/un-specialised officers are given the ability to use such a back-door it'll have to be a 'user-friendly' method. Instantly enabling novice computer users like myself the ability to access various systems. My first port of call would be the Bank of Scotland.

To your knowledge, would they be able to create such a method that will be able to be active whilst not giving any signs of incoming or outgoing packets?

Edit: I typed "saver" instead of "safer", doh.

[edit on 4-1-2009 by MrAnonUK]

I do not care if someone break into my computer.Why?. Because I do not store any information on my HD what my be of interest of any institution.
I have internet connection via USB plug in device and when I am done with internet - simply unplug. All other information are stored on my external USB HD . That HD it is scramble and protected by a password. Small batch file are executed in case of someone attempt to break into where the HD being fill by 0 and 1. 10 years ago I played with turbo pascal and wrote some small programs just for a fun. One of them was a fake hd erase. It did scare some people.Now that program protect me from "prying eyes". If you store some sensitive material on your hd and are connected trough a LAN to internet - then you are asking for a trouble. If you use a Windows then partition your hd. On C: store just windows and the another drive make as a "ghost' and scramble.
Every windows program( and most of the other OS programs) have a "backdoor" and the programmer have to relies the access to a authority unless it is for a private use. If I visit a porn web site and the info it is in my cookies - so what. I am adult person. I prefer a Linux, but some software what I am using are not available for Linux(co-pilot).
The firewall programs have a "backdoor" too and the police can access your computer at will.Be safe and be smart.

well, nothing to hide here. Yet. However, I am concerned that at a point in the future, accessig ATS could be classified as hatery or terrorism, is it? just reading a different point of view on politics can be a form of rebelion for the wrong government.. I hope that the day will never come but the tools are there..

[edit on 4-1-2009 by sty]

To your knowledge, would they be able to create such a method that will be able to be active whilst not giving any signs of incoming or outgoing packets?

Yeah, having the source makes all the difference, windows drivers works in a stack, so drivers which are up on the stack won't know about drivers which are on lower levels, it could be something like, you can place a driver on the 0 place on the stack, but the backdoor is at -1, sound rather dumb to say it like this, and it really isn't like that, but you get the idea, but anyway, there are a lot more ways to handle that, although you can label "back-door" almost anything these days, for example they can insert a bug on purpose just so that they can use it to enter the system or they can add code so that if you send certain specific byte string to the network stack it gives you access to the system, these are just ideas but since they could have access to the source code for windows, that could happen, and here we must think, will Microsoft really would dare to allow that?