Table of contents.

1. Great Britain

     1.1.1 Introduction…………………………………………………. 3

     1.1.2 Wales………………………………………………………... 3

   1.1.3 England…………………………………………………….. 3

   1.1.4 Chester………………………………………………………. 4 

    1.1.5 Scotland ……………………………………………… 4

  1.2.1 The UK on the world tourist`s map....................................... 4

           Accommodation

    1.2.1 Hotels and Guest Houses…………………………………..4-5

   1.2.2 Renting and Buying……………………………………….. 5

    1.2.3 Leisure and Holiday Parks ………………………………... 5

2. Problems in microelectronic circuit technology................6-9

3. Digital signal processor………………………………………… 9

       3.1 Typical characteristics ………………………………….. 9

      3.2 A simple digital processing system ………………………….  9

      3.3 Architecture ………………………………………………. .9-10

      3.4 History …………………………………………………..10-11

      3.5 Modern DSPs …………………………………………………11

4. Diverse Hacker Attack Methods ……………………………... 12

     4.1 Social Engineering …………………………………………. 12

     4.2 The Virtual Probe ………………………………………..12-13

    4.3 Social Spying ……………………………………………..13-14

    4.4 Sniffing ……………………………………………………….14

    4.5 How Does a Sniffer Work ?.............................................14-15

     4.6 How Hackers Use Sniffers ……………………………….15-16

       4.7 How to Detect a Sniffer ……………………………………..16

5. References …………………………………………………. 17 
 
 
 

Great Britain

Introduction

   The UK is a land made up of many regions, each with a special character and cultural heritage. There are non-stop cities; festivals of music, theatre, literature and the arts; and regional countryside with rolling hills, dramatic cliffs, ancient forests, rugged mountains and tranquil lakes. There are also wonderful islands to visit including the extraordinary range of the Scottish Islands, the Isle of Man, Anglesey, the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. They have different traditional cultures, delightful scenery and offer many habitats for wildlife.

   The British Isles is visited by millions of people each year, many returning time and again. It is seeped in history and has some stunning landscapes. It is also quirky at times, so you are assured of an interesting visit!

   Wales

   The principality of Wales is full of fascinating places to visit and stay. The castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon are officially listed as World heritage sites and provide an insight into the troubled past of this great land. The national park of Snowdonia is stunning and provides walkers and climbers with ample opportunities to challenge their limits. South Wales also has interesting places to visit: Pembrokeshire is especially inviting for tourists.

   England

   We all know about the attractions of London but England has a lot more to offer outside of the city. The ‘English Riviera’, Torquay, is blessed with good weather and is a major tourist attraction. This is a great place to stay and explore the local seaside resorts and go inland towards the vast moors.  
Windsor castle is a great place to visit and the town and surrounding areas are beautiful. Warwick castle in the centre of England is world famous and holds regular evens to show how life was like in the time it was built.  
 

   Chester

   This Roman town has a fascinated history stretching back over 1500 years. This can be seen from the Roman, Medieval and Tudor remains liberally scattered across the city. The Walls surrounding the city can be walked around in a couple of hours and allow plenty of opportunity to take photographs. The world famous Rows date back over 500 years and are great for walking and shopping.

   Scotland

   A great place to visit, Scotland still has many places that are relatively uninhabited. And are great for getting away from it all. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles and the numerous lochs provide great fishing (Beware of the Loch Ness monster!) . In parts you can still hear Gaelic spoken and we all know about the Scottish expertise in making Whisky! You can also visit the ski resorts of Aviemore in the Cairngorms . Glasgow, the capital is now recognised as a centre of culture as well as being a great shopping centre.

             The UK on the world tourist`s map

   Accommodation

   Hotels and Guest Houses

   You will find a significant difference in both price and facilities between hotels and guest houses in the UK. Hotels usually offer breakfasts, lunches, teas, dinners, a licensed bar and a range of services and facilities to suit individuals, families and often business groups. Country house hotels will often add recreational facilities in their grounds such as golf, tennis, swimming, health spas, gyms and attended play areas for children. Top league international hotels in London and major cities offer comprehensive amenities and services for business and holiday guests, and a choice of first class and luxury accommodation. Guest houses may not have bars or offer lunch or teas, but will have television and sitting lounges.

   Hotels have between one and five stars; guest accommodation between one and five diamonds. In Scotland and Northern Ireland all tourist accommodation is also graded regularly to provide a clear indication of the level of facilities you can expect.

   Renting and Buying

   If you are planning a longer stay in the UK, you may consider renting or buying property in the UK.

   Rented property is available all over the UK and there is a large rental market for properties in London. Rented property is offered both furnished and unfurnished and typically involves short-lease tenancies. National, regional and local estate agents also represent owners of rented property and you can also find apartments ('flats') and houses available to let through online agencies, newspaper advertisements and dedicated property magazines.

   Estate agents often provide a complete service for those wishing to buy property. This typically includes professional services such as valuing and surveying potential properties. They may also offer in-house or affiliated legal services to cover the buying process (known as 'conveyancing') and often have links to established mortgage firms who provide long-term loans for purchases.

   Leisure and Holiday Parks

   Leisure and holiday parks are a way of enjoying an extremely wide variety of recreational and leisure pursuits at one site. They are located all over the UK with many based at or near coastal resorts. They usually offer accommodation for touring or camping as well as lodges, chalets or spacious static caravans for hire - all well equipped so you can set up your temporary home as you wish.

   The great benefit of this form of holiday accommodation is the facilities for young children which can include kids clubs, attended play areas, activity workshops, waterslides, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, children's farms, pets corners and even summertime pantomimes. For teenagers and adults there are nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and a variety of sports. Some leisure parks focus on particular interest holidays such as sailing, golfing, fishing or horse-riding.  

   PROBLEMS IN MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY

    The manufacture of silicon microcircuits consists of a number of carefully controlled processes, all of which have to be performed to well-defined specifications.

   In order to understand how transistors and other circuit elements can be made from silicon, it is necessary to consider the physical nature of semiconductor materials.

   In a conductor current is known to be carried by electrons that are free to flow through the lattice of the substance.

   In an insulator all the electrons are tightly bound to atoms or molecules and hence none are available to serve as a carrier of electric charge.

   The situation in a semiconductor is intermediate between the two: free charge carriers are not ordinarily present, but they can be generated with a modest expenditure of energy.

   Semiconductors are similar to insulators in that they have their lower bands completely filled. The semiconductor will conduct if more than a certain voltage is applied. It should be noted that a crystal of pure silicon is a poor conductor of electricity. Thus, conductivity poses a problem.

   Several other requirements are imposed on materials. The basic demand appears to be conductivity because it can substantially improve the resistance and delay times for VLSI. The improvement of conductivity has been made in several ways. Most semiconductor devices are known to be made by introducing controlled numbers of impurity atoms into a crystal, the process called doping.

    To improve the semi-conductor crystal the impurities known as dopants are added to the silicon to produce a special type of conductivity, characterized by either positive (p-type) charge carriers or negative (n-type) ones. In the furnace the crystals are surrounded by vapour containing atoms of the desired dopant. These atoms enter the crystal by substituting for the semiconductor atoms at regular sites in the crystal lattice and move into the interior of the crystal by jumping from one site to an adjacent vacancy. Suppose silicon is doped with boron. Each atom inserted in the silicon lattice creates a deficiency of one electron, a state that is   called a hole. A hole also remains associated with an impurity atom under ordinary circumstances but can become mobile in;   response to an applied voltage. The hole is not a real particle, of course, but merely the absence of an electron at a position;   where one would be found in a pure lattice of silicon atoms. Nevertheless the hole has a positive electric charge and can carry electric current. The hole moves through the lattice in much the same way that the bubble moves through a liquid medium. An adjacent atom transfers an electron to the impurity atom, 'filling" the hole there but creating a new one in its own cloud of electrons; the process is then repeated, so that the hole is passed   along from atom to atom.

   To define the microscopic regions that are exposed to diffusion in various stages of the process, extremely precise photolithographic procedures have been developed. The surface, of the silicon dioxide is coated with a photosensitive organic compound that polymerizes wherever it is struck by ultraviolet radiation and that can be dissolved and washed away everywhere else. By the use of a high-resolution photographic mask I he desired configurations can thus be transferred to the coaled water. In areas where the mask prevents the ultraviolet radiation limn reaching the organic coating the coating is removed. An elemental acid can then attack the silicon dioxide layer and leave the deriving silicon exposed to diffusion.

   A transistor can be made by adding a third doped region in a diode so that, for example, a p-type region is said to be sandwiched between two n-type regions. One of then-doped areas is called the emitter and the other, the collector; the p-region between them is the base.

   The transistor described is called npn transistor. There may be pnp transistors.

   The first transistor structures were formed by alloying or diffusion in bulk single-crystal Ge or Si, but with the development of "planar technology" in the early 1960s the possibility of forming high frequency transistors and integrated circuits using epitaxial semiconductor films was realized! 

   The recent years have seen considerable interest in the subject of oxygen and its precipitates in silicon. It has now been established that their presence can have a variety of effects, harmful as well as beneficial. Oxygen concentration is known to influence many silicon wafer properties, such as wafer strength, resistance to thermal warping, minority carrier lifetime, and instability in resistivity. Oxidation is widely used to create insulating areas. However many phenomena happen not to be understood at present.

   An important aspect of the oxidation process is its low cost. Several hundred wafers can be oxidized simultaneously in a single operation.

   Reactive gas plasma technology is reported to be presently in wide-spread use in the semiconductor industry. This technology is being applied to the deposition and removal of selected materials during the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

   Contributing greatly to the manufacturing technique is a unique crystal forming method known as epitaxial growth.

   After 1964 epitaxial growth remains an important technique in uniconductor device fabrication and the demand for improved device yield per slice, still higher device operating frequencies and more sophisticated device structures has needed continuing innovation and development

   Even before the invention of the transistor the electronic industry had studied the properties of thin film of metallic and insulating materials.

   The techniques for the deposition of thin films are numerous: evaporation, sputtering, anodization, radiation, induced "cracking" or polymerization, chemical reduction, thermal reduction of oxidation and electrophoresis. The first three are the major techniques used in integrated thin film circuit construction and are also applicable to silicon integrated circuitry and device work. These methods singly or in combination enable a variety of resistive, insulating and constructive materials to be laid down onto a suitable substrate.

   In the fabrication of a typical large-scale integrated circuit there are more thin-film steps than diffusion steps. Therefore thin-film technology is probably more critical to the overall yield and performance of the circuit than the diffusion and oxidation steps are. A thin film happens even to be employed to select the areas on a wafer that are to be oxidized. 

   Digital signal processor

   Typical characteristics

   Digital signal processing algorithms typically require a large number of mathematical operations to be performed quickly and repetitively on a set of data. Signals (perhaps from audio or video sensors) are constantly converted from analog to digital, manipulated digitally, and then converted again to analog form, as diagrammed below.

   A simple digital processing system

   Most general-purpose microprocessors and operating systems can execute DSP algorithms successfully, but are not suitable for use in portable devices such as mobile phones and PDAs because of power supply and space constraints. A specialized digital signal processor, however, will tend to provide a lower-cost solution, with better performance, lower latency, and no requirements for specialized cooling or large batteries.

   The architecture of a digital signal processor is optimized specifically for digital signal processing. Most also support some of the features as an applications processor or microcontroller, since signal processing is rarely the only task of a system. Some useful features for optimizing DSP algorithms are outlined below.

   Architecture

   One implication for software architecture is that hand optimized assembly is commonly packaged into libraries for re-use.

   Hardware features visible through DSP instruction sets commonly include:

   Hardware modulo addressing, allowing circular buffers to be implemented without having to constantly test for wrapping. A memory architecture designed for streaming data, using DMA extensively and expecting code to be written to know about cache hierarchies and the associated delays. Driving multiple arithmetic units may require memory architectures to support several accesses per instruction cycle. Separate program and data memories, and sometimes concurrent access on multiple data busses. Special SIMD operations.

   Some processors use VLIW techniques so each instruction drives multiple arithmetic units in parallel.

   Special loop controls, such as architectural support for executing a few instruction words in a very tight loop without overhead for instruction fetches or exit testing

   Deliberate exclusion of a memory management unit. DSPs frequently use multi-tasking operating systems, but have no support for virtual memory or memory protection. Operating systems that use virtual memory require more time for context switching among processes, which increases latency.

   History

   Prior to the advent of stand-alone DSP chips discussed below, most DSP applications were implemented using bit-slice processors. The AMD 2901 bit-slice chip with its family of components was a very popular choice. These bit slice architectures would sometimes include a peripheral multiplier chip.

   In 1978, Intel released the 2920 as an "analog signal processor". It was designed as a microprocessor peripheral, and it had to be initialized by the host. The S2811 was likewise not successful in the market.

   In 1980 the first stand-alone, complete DSPs  were presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference '80.

   The first DSP produced by Texas Instruments (TI), the TMS32010 presented in 1983, proved to be an even bigger success. It was based on the Harvard architecture, and so had separate instruction and data memory. It already had a special instruction set, with instructions like load-and-accumulate or multiply-and-accumulate.

   About five years later, the second generation of DSPs began to spread. Some of them operated on 24-bit variables and a typical model only required about 21ns for a MAC (multiply-accumulate).

   The main improvement in the third generation was the appearance of application-specific units and instructions in the data path, or sometimes as coprocessors. These units allowed direct hardware acceleration of very specific but complex mathematical problems, like the Fourier-transform or matrix operations.

   The fourth generation is best characterized by the changes in the instruction set and the instruction encoding/decoding.

   Modern DSPs

   Modern signal processors yield greater performance; this is due in part to both technological and architectural advancements like lower design rules, fast-access two-level cache, (E)DMA circuitry and a wider bus system.

   Texas Instruments produce the C6000 series DSP’s, which have clock speeds of 1.2 GHz and implement separate instruction and data caches.

   NXP Semiconductors produce DSP's based on TriMedia VLIW technology, optimized for audio and video processing. In some products the DSP core is hidden as a fixed-function block into a SoC, but NXP also provides a range of flexible single core media processors.

   Most DSP's use fixed-point arithmetic, because in real world signal processing the additional range provided by floating point is not needed, and there is a large speed benefit and cost benefit due to reduced hardware complexity. Floating point DSP's may be invaluable in applications where a wide dynamic range is required. Product developers might also use floating point DSP's to reduce the cost and complexity of software development in exchange for more expensive hardware, since it is generally easier to implement algorithms in floating point.

   Diverse Hacker Attack Methods

   The stereotyped image conjured up by most people when they hear the term "hacker" is that of a pallid, atrophied recluse cloistered in a dank bedroom, whose spotted complexion is revealed only by the unearthly glare of a Linux box used for port scanning with Perl. However, although computer skill is central to a hacker's profession, there are many additional facets that he must master. A real hacker must also rely on physical and interpersonal skills such as social engineering and other "wet work" that involves human interaction.

   Social Engineering

   Social engineering is not unique to hacking. In fact, many people use this type of trickery every day, both criminally and professionally. Whether it be haggling for a lower price on a lawn mower at a garage sale, or convincing your spouse you really need that new toy or outfit, you are manipulating the "target." Although your motives might be benign, you are guilty of socially engineering the other party.

   The Virtual Probe

   One example of social engineering that information technology managers face on a weekly basis is solicitation from vendors. An inimical form of sales takes the form of thinly disguised telemarketing. Straying far from ethical standards of sales technique, such vendors will attempt to trick you into giving them information so they can put your company's name on a mailing list.

   Here is one such attempt that we get regularly:

   "Hi, this is the copier repair company. We need to get the model of your copier for our service records. Can you get that for us?"

   Like the scam artist, a hacker often uses similar techniques. A popular method that hackers use is pretending to be a survey company. A hacker can call and ask all kinds of questions about the network operating systems, intrusion detection systems (IDSs), firewalls, and more in the guise of a researcher. If the hacker was really malicious, she could even offer a cash reward for the time it took for the network administrator to answer the questions. Unfortunately, most people fall for the bait and reveal sensitive network information.  

   One of the most common goals of a hacker is to obtain a valid user account and password.

   For example, many organizations use a virtual private network (VPN) that enables remote employees to connect to the network from home and essentially become a part of the local network. As VPNs are set up and maintained by the IT department, hackers will often impersonate an actual employee and ask one of the IT staff for the password by pretending to have lost the settings. If the IT employee believes the person, he willingly and often gladly hands over the keys. Voila! The hacker now can connect from anywhere on the Internet and use an authorized account to work his way deeper into the network.

   Social Spying

   Social spying is the process of "using observation to acquire information." Although social engineering can provide a hacker with crucial information, small businesses are better protected against social engineering because many people in very small companies know each other.

   To illustrate one of the nontechnical ways social spying can be used, consider how many people handle ATM cards. For example, do you hide your PIN when you take money out at the ATM? Take note of how people protect their PIN the next time you are in line at the ATM. You will probably note most people do not care. Most will whip out their card and punch the numbers without a care for who could be watching. If the wrong person memorized the PIN, he would have all the information needed to access the funds in the account, provided he could first get his hands on the ATM card. Thus, a purse-snatcher would not only get the money just withdrawn from an ATM, but could easily go back and withdraw the entire day's limit.

   In addition to snooping on people as they actively type their user information, most offices have at least several people who are guilty of posting their password on or near their computer monitor. This type of blatant disregard for security is every network administrator's worst nightmare. Regardless of repeated memos, personal visits, and warnings, some people seem to always find an excuse to post their network password right in plain view.

   Sniffing

   A sniffer is a program and/or device that monitors all information passing through a computer network. It sniffs the data passing through the network off the wire and determines where the data is going, where it's coming from, and what it is. In addition to these basic functions, sniffers might have extra features that enable them to filter a certain type of data, capture passwords, and more. Some sniffers (for example, the FBI's controversial mass-monitoring tool Carnivore) can even rebuild files sent across a network, such as an email or Web page.

   A sniffer is one of the most important information gathering tools in a hacker's arsenal. The sniffer gives the hacker a complete picture (network topology, IP addresses) of the data sent and received by the computer or network it is monitoring. This data includes, but is not limited to, all email messages, passwords, user names, and documents. With this information, a hacker can form a complete picture of the data traveling on a network, as well as capture important tidbits of data that can help her gain complete control over a network.

   How Does a Sniffer Work?

   For a computer to have the capability to sniff a network, it must have a network card running in a special mode. This is called promiscuous mode, which means it can receive all the traffic sent across the network. A network card will normally only accept information that has been sent to its specific network address. This network address is properly known as the Media Access Control (MAC) address. You can find your own MAC address by going to the Windows Taskbar and clicking Start?Run and typing winipcfg (for Windows 95/98/ME) or ipconfig /all (for Windows NT/2000/.NET Server). The MAC address is also called the physical address.

   There are different layers involved in network communications. Normally, the Network layer is responsible for searching the packets of information for their destination address. This destination address is the MAC address of a computer. There is a unique MAC address for every network card in the world. Although you can change the address, the MAC address ensures that the data is delivered to the right computer. If a computer's address does not match the address in the packet, the data is normally ignored.

   The reason a network card has this option to run in promiscuous mode is for troubleshooting purposes. Normally, a computer does not want or need information to be sent to other computers on the network. However, in the event that something goes wrong with the network wiring or hardware, it is important for a network technician to look inside the data traveling on the network to see what is causing the problem. For example, one common indication of a bad network card is when computers start to have a difficult time transferring data. This could be the result of information overload on the network wires. The flood of data would jam the network and stop any productive communication. After a technician plugs in a computer with the capability to examine the network, he would quickly pinpoint the origin of the corrupt data, and thus the location of the broken network card. He could then simply replace the bad card and everything would be back to normal.

   Another way to visualize a sniffer is to consider two different personality types at a cocktail party. One type is the person who listens and replies to conversations in which he is actively involved. This is how a network card is supposed to work on your local machine. It is supposed to listen and reply to information sent directly to it. On the other hand, there are those people at the party who stand quietly and listen to everyone's conversation.

   How Hackers Use Sniffers

   As previously mentioned, sniffers like this are used every day to troubleshoot faulty equipment and monitor network traffic. Hackers can use this or similar tools to peer inside a network. However, they are not out to troubleshoot. Instead, they are out to glean passwords and other gems.

   How to Detect a Sniffer

   There are a few ways a network technician can detect a NIC running in promiscuous mode. One way is to physically check all the local computers for any sniffer devices or programs. There are also software detection programs that can scan networks for devices that are running sniffer programs (for example, AntiSniff). These scanner programs use different aspects of the Domain Name Service and TCP/IP components of a network system to detect any malicious programs or devices that are capturing packets (running in promiscuous mode). However, for the average home user, there is really no way to detect whether a computer out on the Internet is sniffing your information. This is why encryption is strongly recommended.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References 

1. Википедия - свободная энциклопедия

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

2. THE NATIONAL FORUM OF MODERN TECNOLOGY       http://naviny.by/rubrics/english/2007/09/17/ic_news_259_277040

3. Optimizing Digital Signal and Image Processing on Intel® Architecture. White - Paper Peter Carlston. January 2009.

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