Hackers employ a variety of techniques for hacking, including:
- Vulnerability scanner: checks computers on networks for known weaknesses
- Password cracking: the process of recovering passwords from data stored or transmitted by computer systems
- Packet sniffer: applications that capture data packets in order to view data and passwords in transit over networks
- Spoofing attack: involves websites which falsify data by mimicking legitimate sites, and they are therefore treated as trusted sites by users or other programs
- Root kit: represents a set of programs which work to subvert control of an operating system from legitimate operators
- Trojan horse: serves as a back door in a computer system to allow an intruder to gain access to the system later
- Viruses: self-replicating programs that spread by inserting copies of themselves into other executable code files or documents
- Key loggers: tools designed to record every keystroke on the affected machine for later retrieval