my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Well, I am not an expert but that is what he says...lol...

any advice?

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

AVG Antivirus or you might have to go with something like Norton or Mcaffe

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

How does he know? I have my wireless router at home set up so no one can get in plus my windows firewall on top of that

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Do you have anti virus protection and is it up to date? If you buy anti virus protection it only lasts a year or so. Same with spyware.

I recommend going the free route though. If you do have a virus scanner running but it is not updated, download the following, uninstall the current virus scanner then install these

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebyte...=dl&tag=button

Download that, install it, do an update, disconnect from the internet and run it. Let it go all the way, use the fast scan, not full scan. when it finishes allow it to remove the malware it finds

http://free.avg.com/download?prd=afe

Download this, click download now, not the premiums one you have to pay for. Install it. Update it.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Download this, install it, run through the wizard which will save your registry, update itself. Make sure the browser is closed too. It will ask to immunize. When you do that it will count how many are protected and how many are not. Then at the top click "immunize" and it will immunize your browser.

Once it is done updating and immunizing, do a scan. You do this by clicking "Search and Destroy" and then "Check for problems" at the top. It will scan for spyware and hopefully remove them all. If you run into something it can't remove it will ask if you want to run it on reboot, say yes.

when you first run it, the options to the far left is the normal menu, but in the right hand side you will see "check for problems", "Recovery" and "Update"...on any normal day when you run this first run update. You want to update it a couple times a week. You have to do this manually.

The AVG will or should update itself if you allow it to on install.

Oh yes, with spybot S&D on the install part do NOT let it install TeaTimer.

You can then run AVG after this if you want.

If after all this your system is clean, then just make sure you keep AVG and Spybot updated.

Also if you ever receive an email from a bank or some other business you use and they ask you to click this link and fill out forms, don't do it! Call them first yourself and ask if they were really wanting this information. People send emails like that to fraudulent websites and you fill out teh form and just send that person your personal information and next thing you know your back account is wiped out.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

If you are concerned about security you should change the wireless router key codes every now and then. They can be cracked. If you download malware it can circumvent your firewall or disable it.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Please wireless router users....please heed these Prax's words.

Wireless convenience should only be enjoyed when accompanied by a diligent system administrator is in the mix.....not the case at most of our homes where the airwaves connect our desktops and laptops (with four years of Turbo Tax filings just waiting for an exploit)to the evils that roam the WAN, seeking whom they may destroy.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Wpa-psk

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Prax...when are you coming to Brazil to help us get set up right???? We need your help...
Hope you are feeling better.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Well, I do not know...however my documents open up...appear on the screen...computer logs off by itself...and other strange things...I have no eartly idea...that is what my son said...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

somebody needs to make a missionary visit to Brazil to help this old lady that is computer dumb!

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

good call....but really is the stuff of an engaged SA

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

WPA is more secure than WEP but still by no means invulnerable expecially to an aspiring kiddie hacker next door.

If I was still a kid and I can see your wireless router I would attempt to hack it. The means is on the internet.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

I can walk you through it. The main thing is to download the malware "Malbytes" program, install it, Update it, then run quick scan.

It's easy and if you get stuck just PM me

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Please, click the link I just posted for Malbytes. Download it. Update it. Disconnect from the internet, then click quick scan.

Also download spybot from the other link I gave and install it after wards, update it, immunize it, run it.

If you do anything that involves passwords, credit card numbers, SS numbers then you need to do this NOW. Your private information could be taken by someone else.

It's also possible someone has placed malicious spyware on your PC, like Keystroke loggers and some sort of remote connections.

You also need to make sure your firewall is on. Please don't wait and think you need someone better at computers to do this. It's not that hard. Just start at the beginning with that one program I mentioned

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

FOLKS...
print this out.
tape it to your mirror.
put a copy on your dashboard.

This is the world we live in.... AND ON.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

WILL DO IT. Just as soon as one of the church sisters gets off our other computer ...will let you know if I can do it...lol..thanks

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Do you guys have a network where several PCs can connect to the internet at the same time? If so you need to do this for all PCs on that network

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

The other danger of these malicious stuff is they can slow down your PCs performance and in experience even PCs that are clean still have problems. The registry needs to be cleaned up too. It's better to NOT get infected to begin with.

That is why it is important to have a virus scanner (just one, more than one causes conflicts), spyware scanners (you can have more than one and sometimes that is a good thing. Spybot and Adaware are both free), a firewall (windows will do, but if you want better protection and control go with a third party, but they can be less intuitive...hard to use for some).

When you go to a website and something pops up saying you are infected, click here? DO NOT CLICK THERE. Just close the pop up by clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner. If you get emails with attachments, make sure you know the sender, but even then the senders PC can be infected. That is why you need an active virus scanner.

Also very important, Micro Soft comes out with weekly security fixes. If your PC is not getting regular updates your PC is vulnerable.

To find out if you are getting updates with XP click on Start/control panel/System/automatic updates. If you don't want the hassle just set it to automatic. I prefer to download the updates and let me chose to install.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

So let's pretend you did....

How do you get rid of the stupid thing? It's such a pain...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

my computer has to be on for the others to have internet.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

WPA2 (AES encryption with a strong password) is currently impervious to any known hacking or cracking attempt. A dictionary brute force attack will always work if the password is weak, but otherwise it should be completely safe.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

'Tigershark' is pretty strong.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

I am familiar with many of them and have used a few myself (although I don't remember one called Tigershark). NO brute force method works if the password is sufficiently long and random. A 16 character passphrase using 26 letters and 10 digits for a total of 36 possible characters per space is 36 to the 16th power long, or a number with 24 digits in it.

If you need some great passwords, look here.
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that there probley is no such thing is'TIGERSHARK' but I could be wrong..LOL

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Jaws is coming after you...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

All good advice. I personally swtched to Avira anti-virus a while back - also free, but AVG is great as well.

Once this particular issue is resolved via Prax's instructions, you might also consider working with someone that you trust as a PC admin to setup a remote access configuration so they can troubleshoot remotely. I use logmein.com (free edition) to maintain several computers for family members. XP also has a remote desktop feature (if you have XP Pro). They can be a little tricky to setup on the front end, but are well worth it.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Sister, those are not hackers, those be debils!!!! Ask your husband to anoint it with oil and pray the debils out of it!

I think they are IBM debils!
:thumbsup



Debils I say! With horns on them! Very common in Brazil!!!

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Avast is also nice and unlike other free virus scanners, is a full suite

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

bump

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Speaking of viruses and worms, I am doing something that I always wanted too.... setting up a completely unpatched XP system on its own network just to see how infected it becomes.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

lol. Do you know how to set up a sandbox?

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Yes, several different ways. But I am putting it on it's own (lightweight) PC behind its very own router, completely separate from the rest of the network.

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

This is my favorite "sandbox" program -since I really do not like using VMware.

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail...e/1139521062/1

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

my computer went crazy...and nothing will work...I am on my portable modem...I will let you all know what they say about it tomorrow...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Did you get a chance to do what I said? Also, try booting in safe mode. Before Windows begins to load hit F8 or hold it until the safe mode screen loads. Select "Safe Mode", the first one. IF you get an option to log on as Admin, choose that. It might be a good idea to use a different PC to download those programs then burn them to a USB key or CD and use that to install on the infected PC

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Yes, I loaded the AVG . I tried safe mode and the others modes too! the screen just keeps repeating ...but will not open...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

Devils I say!

Sister, try laying your hair over the computer and praying for it!:ursofunny


Just kidding.

Some of the different things these guys are saying on this thread are wild. I have never heard of this stuff. I had a laptop doing the same thing, I thought it was the hard drive and bought a new laptop.

Next time I will just send it to one of the guys on this forum.:thumbsup

Lord Bless Sis A on her computer!!!!!




PS Sis A,.... Just try the hair and let us know how it works!

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

hair did not work...I should write a book why hair does not work...ha...lol...Can you imagine this old lady trying to work on a computer...

Re: my son said hackers are on my computer...
 

:nahGotta post the pics of you laying your hair on the computer!


Bwahahaha! Blackmail! :gotcha