Hacking Google Mail

[Hacker]

The query "hacking Gmail" or "hacking Google" is the second most popular question for hacking an online account, competing only with "hacking a Facebook account".
People think that hacking a Gmail account is easy, and all they need to do is find the right hacking tool (directly or remotely), but this is not the case. We found that you can find a huge number of hacking tools all over the internet. However, all of them are fake, since the hacker does not need to share a working hacking tool, because his goal is personal enrichment. And no one will upload their tool to the Internet for free.
Then why do some Gmail accounts still get hacked if there is no hacking tool available? There's no easy way to hack an account, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Yes, such methods exist. We have prepared a detailed list of how hackers can break into your Gmail/Google account and preventative measures to protect it.

1. Phishing
Phishing is the most common method used to crack the password of a Gmail account, and has the highest success rate compared to other hacking methods, due to the high similarity of the appearance and layout of the site with the original one. Getting a phishing page doesn't require much technical knowledge, so phishing is widely used to crack Gmail passwords.

How does phishing work?
In simple terms, phishing is the process of creating a duplicate copy of a page on a well-known site in order to steal a user's password or other important information, such as credit card details. For our topic, this is creating a page that looks the same as the Gmail login page, but has a different URL. For example, gooogle.com or gmaail.com or any other URL that is very similar to the original. When a user goes to such a page, they may not notice the deception and take it for a real Gmail login page, and enter their username and password. Thus, a user who could not recognize the phishing page can enter their registration information. It will be instantly sent to the hacker who created the fake page, and the victim will be redirected to the original Gmail page.

Example: a hacker is a programmer who has some knowledge of web technologies (the "Gmail" hacker in our case). It creates a login page that looks like a "Gmail" login page with a " PHP " script in the background, which helps the hacker get the username and password entered on the phishing page. The programmer put this fake page in the URL: https://www.gmauil.com/money-making-tricks.html. It also sends out messages to attract users to its page. Make sure that all messages have an attractive appearance and attract users, promising different benefits. In our case, the hacker offers a link to a page explaining an easy way to make money on the Internet. By clicking on the link, the user will see the Gmail login page and enter their username and password. Now the user's registration information will be sent to the hacker (the background " php " will perform this sending process unnoticed by the user), and the victim user will be redirected to the page dedicated to earning money, https://www.gmauil.com/money-making-tricks.html. The user account hacking process is complete.

How do I protect myself from Gmail phishing?
Hackers can contact you in many ways, for example, by email "Gmail", a personal message, a message on a social network, an ad on a website, etc. By clicking on any links from such messages, you can get to the Gmail login page. Whenever you see a Gmail or Google login page in front of you, be sure to check the URL of that page. Because no one can use the original "Google" URL to create a phishing page, except when there are zero-day XSS vulnerabilities, but this is very rare.

1. What URL do you see in the browser's address bar?
2. It really is https://mail.google.com/ or https://www.gmail.com/(the slash is important because it is the only separator in the "Google Chrome" browser to distinguish between a domain and an additional domain)?
3. Is there a green security symbol(HTTPS) or a green padlock specified in the address bar?

Answering these questions will significantly increase your chances of detecting a phishing page in time and keeping your confidential information safe. Examples of phishing pages are shown below.

A variant of a phishing page with a high level of trustworthiness.

Most people will not suspect such a page (the picture shown above), since there is a prefix "https" with a green security lock, and there are no errors in writing the page "accounts.google.com". But this is a phishing page. Pay attention to the URL. This is "https://accounts.google.com.beck.com", so "accounts.google.com" is a subdomain "beck.com". "Google Chrome" does not distinguish between a subdomain and a domain, unlike "Firefox".

"SSL certificates" (HTTPS) can be obtained from many vendors, some of which can provide an "SSL certificate" for free for up to one year. It is not so difficult to create such a phishing page, so beware of such fakes.

This is a common phishing page with some modification of the word "Google".

2. Social Engineering
This is the second most popular method of hacking Gmail accounts. In fact, this method should not fall under the definition of hacking. But we decided to include it here to provide the most comprehensive list of the most common methods used to hack your Gmail account, in the appropriate order. Social engineering is basically the process of collecting information about the user whose account you need to hack. Information such as date of birth, mobile phone number, mobile phone number of a friend or girlfriend, nickname, mother's name, place of birth, etc. they will help hackers break into their Gmail account.

How does Social Engineering work?
Security question
Many websites use a single password reset mechanism, called a security question or security check question. The most common security questions are :" What is your nickname?", "Where were you born?", " What is your favorite city?". Or any individual questions asked by the user. Obtaining such information from the relevant people may allow their account to be hacked. Gmail also uses security questions as a password recovery option. So if someone finds out the answer to such questions, they can hack your account using the password recovery option.

The most common and weak passwords
The security issue does not allow you to easily log in to your Gmail account. But using weak passwords to log in to your account can easily allow anyone to hack your account. What is a weak password? A password that can be easily guessed or picked up by a third party is called a weak password. Below are some of the most common passwords that people usually use in Gmail.

• Mobile phone number
• Username or first name and date of birth
• Mobile phone number of a friend or girlfriend (most common)
• Name of a friend or girlfriend (also common)
• A combination of your own username and the name of a friend or girlfriend
• Vehicle number
• Unused or old mobile phone number
• Pet's nickname
• Name of a close relative (mother, father, sister, brother)
• Commonly known simple passwords (123456,654321, 111111, password)

Be sure to check your password for compliance with the above options. If there is a match, change your password to a more complex one. This simple method will help you avoid having your account hacked and losing your confidential data in the future.

How to protect yourself from social engineering?
Security question
First, choose a security question so that the answer to it is known only to you. Do not share the selected question or answer with anyone. Secondly, in the user's account settings, enter an additional email address and mobile phone number so that Google can quickly notify you in case of unauthorized access to your account.

3. Easy password capture
This is another common method often used to steal a user's password in Gmail. Many people don't know about this method, but traditional hackers use this method to break into user accounts.

How does simple password capture work?
In this method, the hacker (attacker) targets a site that has a low level of protection against hacking, where the victim user is registered. A hacker breaks into the database of such a site and gets the saved username and password of the victim. But how can a hacker get access to Gmail? Many of us often use the same password for "Gmail" and various other sites that do not have strong enough protection against hacking. Therefore, by hacking a weakly secure site, a hacker can get user data to access Gmail.

Sometimes a hacker creates a new website in order to obtain a database of user names and passwords of potential victims. Whenever a user registers on such a site, their email address and password will be stored in the site's database. This way, a hacker gets access to your registration information. Therefore, if the user uses the same email address and password to register on Gmail and other sites, the chance of getting a hacked Gmail account increases significantly.

How can I protect myself from a simple password capture?
You should never trust low-quality third-party sites. Even popular websites like LinkedIn can be hacked. Most sites store user passwords in a simple database, without even thinking about encrypting it or providing additional protection. This makes it easier for hackers to break into websites, as the password is stored in plain text. The best way to protect yourself from this method is to have a unique password, at least for sites that you really trust. Don't use your "Gmail" password for any other website, and then your password will never be revealed.

4. KeyLogger
Keylogger is a software tool used to record keystrokes on a computer. It, in turn, records all the data that you enter using the keyboard and saves it for future reference.

How does Keylogger work?
All keyloggers run in the background (except for trial versions) and will not be available for viewing by the user until they know the keylogger password and the shortcut used to view it. It will record all keystrokes and save a detailed report of when and what passwords were used for which app. Anyone who reads the keylogger logs can see the "Gmail" password or any passwords entered and other sensitive information, such as credit card details, bank account authorization password, etc. Whenever you log in on a public computer, there is a chance that your password may be compromised.

A friend of yours may ask you to log in using their computer. And if a keylogger is installed on it, then most likely your account will be hacked.

How can you protect yourself from a keylogger?
You should be wary of keyloggers, especially when you use any public computer or your friend's computer. One way to protect yourself is to use the "on-screen keyboard" when you need to enter a password. Make sure that no one sees your screen while you are entering your password, as everything you have typed will be visible on the screen.

You can open the On-Screen Keyboard using the Run dialog box. Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut, enter the osk command in the dialog box, and then press OK. Currently, the "On-screen keyboard" is also supported by many banking portals, which gives you additional protection. Therefore, please always use it when browsing the Internet on public computers to keep your confidential information private.

5. Browser extension for hacking "Gmail"
This method does not allow an attacker to gain full access to your Gmail account, but it allows you to control your account indirectly. We have encountered several extensions "Google Chrome" and "Firefox" that secretly perform various actions, such as posting messages to " Google +", adding a "+1 " mark, etc.

How does the browser extension that hacks Gmail work?
When you visit some malicious websites or web pages, you will be prompted to install a browser extension. If installed, the extension will perform all the tasks described by the hacker who created it. The extension can update your status, post various messages, invite friends, join various circles, and so on. You may not even know about it if you haven't checked your Google account for a long time.

How can I prevent such hacking?
You can track all your activities, posts, and comments in your Gmail account using the Activity Log feature. You should not trust third-party websites that offer you to add a browser extension. Install extensions only if you trust the developer. You should not risk your information if you doubt the properties of the proposed extension, and always try to avoid installing them.

6. Browser Vulnerabilities
Browser vulnerabilities are security bugs that exist in older versions of mobile and desktop browsers.

How do browser vulnerabilities work?
Most browser vulnerabilities are only available in older versions of the browser, because all bugs and vulnerabilities found are fixed by the browser developer each time it is updated. For example, a browser vulnerability with the same source policy can allow an attacker to read the response of any page, such as"Gmail". And it will be able to perform any actions on your Gmail account, since an attacker can read the response by accessing the source "Google.com".

How can I protect myself from browser vulnerabilities?
Try to use the latest versions of your browser and operating system and update them regularly. Avoid using an older version of the browser to reduce the risk of hackers breaking into your account.

7. Self XSS vulnerability
"XSS" is basically a web security vulnerability that allows hackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages used by other users. "Self XSS" – Self Cross Site Scripting) is a kind of social engineering attack where the victim accidentally executes the script, thereby helping the hacker.

How does "Self XSS" work?
In this method, the hacker promises to help you break into someone else's Gmail account. But instead of giving you access to someone else's account, the hacker runs malicious "Javascript" in your browser console, which gives them the ability to manipulate your account.

How do I protect myself from XSS?
"Self XSS" is a method of hacking your account using malicious code. Never copy or paste any unknown code that someone else has provided to you in the browser. Otherwise, your Gmail account will be hacked.

8. Trojan
A "Trojan" (Trojan horse) is a malicious program that is used to spy on and control a computer, misleading users about its true intent. The Trojan malware can also be called a "remote keylogger" because it records your key actions on your computer in various applications and sends them to the hacker.

How does the Trojan work?
Software that you think is clean can be a Trojan and can get to you in many ways: a PDF file that you uploaded, any video file obtained from suspicious sources, etc. All of them may contain a Trojan. The Trojan runs in the background, collects the necessary information and sends it to the hacker. The Trojan can be sent in any form to any medium: a flash drive, an iPod, a website, or an email. In our case, the Trojan will record the password "Gmail"that you typed in your browser and send it to the hacker via the Internet.

How do I protect myself from a Trojan?

• Do not install programs from an unknown source
• Do not play media files obtained from an untrusted source
• Don't open files uploaded from questionable sources
• Don't use other people's flash drives on your computer
• Update the antivirus software installed on your computer

The presence of updated antivirus software does not guarantee you absolute security from hacking. Any antivirus software is a collection of detected malware and viruses. Its task is to compare each file with the virus database and block or delete the found matches. Sometimes this is not enough, because there are some programs that allow you to create hidden Trojans. But they are almost never used to hack a regular user's account. Therefore, having an updated antivirus program will protect your account from the Trojan.

9. «Gmail Zero Day»
"Zero Day" is a security vulnerability that is unknown to the relevant software developer. In our case, the security vulnerability is related to "Gmail" and is called "Gmail Zero Day".

How does the "Gmail Zero Day" vulnerability work?
Gmail Zero Day vulnerabilities are very rare. These are basically loopholes in the protection of individual system nodes that Google does not know about. But Google uses the "Google Bug Bounty" bonus program to find such bugs and fix them.

There are two types of people who discover a zero-day vulnerability. The first is computer security specialists and enthusiastic bug researchers from all over the world, who test Google products (in our case, Gmail) and report the security vulnerabilities found to the appropriate service to fix them.

The second is hackers (the so-called "Blackhat"), who discover a zero-day vulnerability, but do not disclose it, but use it for their own personal gain.

How to protect yourself from "Gmail Zero Day"?
As we mentioned earlier, zero-day vulnerabilities are very rare and mostly target only powerful people and celebrities. They are practically not used to attack the accounts of ordinary users.