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Keith McCord reporting It's kind of sick, actually. Someone set up a website called defacers-challenge.com, urging computer hackers to do their thing beginning this Sunday.
Computer experts around the nation say hackers will be awarded points for breaking into web servers, and posting some sort of a message. The more secure the server, the more points awarded.
The goal of the hackers is to vandalize 6,000 web sites.
Computer security companies are taking the threat seriously, and alerting internet service providers.
"I don't think we raise an eyebrow at all, because we're of the opinion that we're under attack all the time."
Pete Ashdown is President of XMission, a Salt Lake City ISP.
He says his company receives advisories constantly about new viruses and hacker threats. And the company's equipment does know when hackers are nosing around.
"If you look at our log files, it's a constant deluge of what they call scanners--software that's looking for holes. It's going on all the time."
The average user at home isn't necessarily a target for this particular hacker contest. However, if hackers do get into various sites, they could cause some disruptions.
Ashdown says hacking is a fact of life in the world of computers, and we should all be prepared.
"You can't be complacent about it," he says, "because once you get complacent, that's when you get hit."
Security experts say all computer users should just assume that hackers are out there, and take precautions all the time, not just this weekend.
