The Cybersecurity Self-Help Guide

Arun Soni

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000454925
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Cyber Security
• Index: Computer Science

Cybercrime is increasing at an exponential rate. Every day, new hacking techniques and tools are being developed by threat actors to bypass security systems and access private data. Most people do not know how to secure themselves, their devices, and their media shared online.

Especially now, cybercriminals appear to be ahead of cybersecurity experts across cyberspace. During the coronavirus pandemic, we witnessed the peak of cybercrime, which is likely to be sustained even after the pandemic.

This bookis an up-to-date self-help guide for everyone who connects to the Internet and uses technology. It is designed to spread awareness about cybersecurity by explaining techniques and methods that should be implemented practically by readers.

Arun Soni is an international award-winning author who has written 159 books on information technology. He is also a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v8) from the EC-Council US. His achievements have been covered by major newspapers and portals, such as Business Standard, The Economic Times, Indian Express, The Tribune, Times of India, Yahoo News, and Rediff.com. He is the recipient of multiple international records for this incomparable feat. His vast international exposure in cybersecurity and writing make this book special. This book will be a tremendous help to everybody and will be considered a bible on cybersecurity.

1 All About IP Addresses

DOI: 10.1201/9781003148678-2

Scenario

Have you ever wondered how devices’ communication takes place in the Internet world? And, how your device has its own identity in this global network, making it different from the others? Many times you read that police has traced a cybercriminal. Do you wonder how cybercriminals get traced in this anonymous world of the Internet?

Objectives

• Concept of IP address and classification
• Step-by-step demonstration on how one can track an IP address

Introduction to IP Address

In the cyber world, you need an Internet address or an IP address to connect to others. In fact, the whole game of cybercrime and cybersecurity revolves around IP addresses. In this chapter, readers will learn about IP address and their types in detail.

The term IP Address stands for Internet Protocol Address, a unique number assigned to every user who uses the Internet. You can consider an IP address to be like a license plate on the motor vehicles, making one vehicle distinct from others.

In simpler terms, the IP address that one is using at a given time is their device's digital address, facilitating easy communication between devices.

About the Network Interface Card

To connect a computer to the Internet and other computers on a network, it must have a Network Interface Card (NIC) installed. The computers can then connect to routers, switches, or Wi-Fi networks and have their IP address provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). These days, almost all PCs come with NIC. You do not worry about adding anything extra to your device.

Note: If you are using a Desktop PC then connecting it to your Wi-Fi router wirelessly, you might need to have a USB Wi-Fi Adaptor.

Understanding Public and Private IP Addresses

The essential concept of IP addresses is public and private IP addresses.

Public IP

A public IP address is an IP address that is accessible through the Internet. We have no control over the IP as it is assigned by the Internet service provider when the device gets connected to the Internet. An example of a public IP is as below:

• 49.36.224.184

or

• 2405:101:1246: ddb6:29b1:76cc:6089

Private IP

Private internal addresses are only supposed to work within the local area network. These are not routed on the Internet, and no traffic can be sent to them from the Internet.

The routers that we have in our houses have the local IP addresses set to default by the manufacturer and are displayed to you. The IP addresses reserved for private IP depending on the size of the network are:

• 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 [65,536 IP addresses]
• 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 [1,048,576 IP addresses]
• 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 [16,777,216 IP addresses]

Network Address Translation

It is a process that involves your router to change your private IP address into a public IP address. That way, it can smoothly send your traffic to the Internet. It keeps track of the changes made in the process and operates on a router. An example of that is when you connect multiple devices on a network to the Internet with a single Internet connection. It is the NAT in-between, which is doing this task.

About Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. A DHCP server automatically assigns and centrally manages the IP address and other information to the clients in a network. On home networks, the ISP router usually provides the DHCP server. The IP address is leased to the device for a set period. When the duration is over, the IP address returns to the pool of available addresses unless the device renews the lease.

Note: The primary reason DHCP is needed is to simplify the management of IP addresses on networks by automatic management of IP addresses. That prevents duplicate IP address problems and minimizes configuration errors caused by manual IP address configuration.

Understanding IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing System

Let us understand the difference between IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing systems.

IPv4 Address

IPv4 is the 4th version of the internet protocol. It is the first version of internet protocol that has been widely deployed. IPv4 is a 32-bit number that is t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction The World of Cybercrime
• Chapter 1 All About IP Addresses
• Chapter 2 Router Security
• Chapter 3 Applying 2-Factor Authentication (2-FA)
• Chapter 4 Has My Email Been Hacked?
• Chapter 5 Implementing Online Parental Control
• Chapter 6 The Golden Rule to Be on Social Media
• Chapter 7 Smartphone Security/Finding Your Lost Phone
• Chapter 8 All About Proxy and VPN
• Chapter 9 Collecting the Digital Evidence
• Chapter 10 Debit/Credit Card Security
• Chapter 11 Website Hacking and Security Implementation
• Chapter 12 Protection From Email Spoofing
• Chapter 13 Backup and Encryption
• Chapter 14 Must-Have Apps for Women and Elderly
• Chapter 15 Penetration Testing Using a Smartphone
• Chapter 16 P2P Money Transfer Apps and More
• Chapter 17 Final Thirty Tips for Online Safety
• Chapter 18 Reporting a Cybercrime
• Further Reading
• Index