URGENT---HAS YOUR COMPUTER BEEN HACKED?

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Permalink Reply by Scott Cooper on April 21, 2010 at 7:54am

Hey Gil,
I just went through this, the attacker was a Mall Ware,, I had to run several programs and changed my password to a very difficult password to stop future attacks..

I major time and money waste...

It passed in about four days..

Good Luck with this.

Scott

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Permalink Reply by Richard Nongard - NLPBoard.com on April 21, 2010 at 8:36am

My sympathies Gil. I had a similar issue two months ago, ended up buying a mac, in part to avoid the problems that plague the PC.
Best of luck as you resolve the issue.

Richard

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on April 21, 2010 at 9:45am

Thanks, Gil. I did receive a couple of those spam messages from your address, but didn't open them as I saw the content description wasn't compatible with you!

Best wishes,

Kelley

PS ~ The worst malware is the one that alerts you that you have been hacked and need to upload the cleansing program, which is, of course, more malware!

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on April 22, 2010 at 10:54am

You have my empathy. I got some malware a couple of months ago that resulted in crashing my hard drive beyond repair; so I ended up having the drive reformatted. It was time consuming to reinstall all the software; but fortunately I listened to the ads for carbonite, so all but one of my document files were restored. (Of course, the one that was lost took me 16 hours to create again.) I wish they could catch the idiots who create this internet vandalism!
Roy

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on April 22, 2010 at 12:54pm

Thanks, Roy. I have been considering an online backup subscription. My question is: does the service conduct backups that delay or interfere with regular use? I get annoyed when this sucker slows down! Anyone might answer this, btw...

Roy Hunter said:

You have my empathy. I got some malware a couple of months ago that resulted in crashing my hard drive beyond repair; so I ended up having the drive reformatted. It was time consuming to reinstall all the software; but fortunately I listened to the ads for carbonite, so all but one of my document files were restored. (Of course, the one that was lost took me 16 hours to create again.) I wish they could catch the idiots who create this internet vandalism!
Roy

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Permalink Reply by Craig Eubanks on April 22, 2010 at 4:02pm

Hey Gil,

I'm sorry to hear about this. I've seen some of the spam in one of my accounts.

As for how to solve the problem... it ain't easy. And you can't do it yourself.

I'm guessing you have a Windows PC, because Macs and Linux machines as of this writing, don't get these kinds of malware problems.

If you have a local guy who fixes your system and knows how to look for "root kits" and "malware", have him scan your system. The best way is from another computer because these bad programs know how to hide when your machine is running.

You'll need to go to a professional who has up-to-date tools. You can't do it yourself because these things know how to hide from detection once installed. Your drive will need to be scanned by another computer while yours is not booted up.

Once you are pronounced "clean", be sure to apply all software updates pronto. It would actually be best to get the same guy who cleans your drive to make sure it's updated. He can do it OFF the Internet. (An unpatched machine can be owned in less than 10 minutes once connected to the Internet)

Once you are cleaned and patched, next step is to get 2 firewalls. Get a software firewall for your windows machine and buy a router/firewall. The router is a hardware firewall which is much harder to penetrate and it can be set up to hide your inside network and machines. It adds a very strong extra layer of protection.

Then, download and use Firefox. Stop using Internet Explorer forever. IE is tied directly into the core of Windows so it provides a direct path for malware execution. You'll never know it happened. It's a huge design flaw that will haunt Microsoft until they completely redesign Windows (and the new version Windows 7 still has this problem)

Also, if you use Outlook, it has the same problem. Use Thunderbird as an email client. Or use Gmail. Anything but outlook.

If you must use Outlook, ask your computer guy how to change settings to prevent it from automatically running scripts and downloading stuff.

The only way I know to prevent these kind problems is to not use Windows. Macs don't have these problems, Windows has thousands of variations of these problems.

But... most of these things happen due to downloading a program, opening an email with a payload, or going to a hacked website. Which is why I say getting a Mac is your best defense.

Macs aren't perfect, but the are way the hell more secure than Windows.

Cheers,

Craig

P.S. Not too many years ago I did network security for some pretty big networks. Windows PC's are the bane of a secure network.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Hanover on April 22, 2010 at 7:33pm

I agree wholeheartedly with everything Craig has said.

I've been using both Macs and PCs since 1989 (I started when I was 10...ahem...)

Anyway, in all those years, my Mac got infected once, in 1989 (ironically, it picked up the virus when it was in the shop for repairs.)

And in all those years, I've literally lost count of the number of PC files destroyed, blue screens of doom, hacked emails, hard drives crashed, etc. because of malware and viruses. I'm using a 6-year-old Mac Powerbook that still runs like a champ. My dad sometimes buys two new PCs a year because they get completely destroyed by malware.

If you're not tech-savvy, and the stuff on your computer is important to you, do yourself a favor and go get a Mac.

And yes, I avoid Microsoft products whenever possible, especially Internet Explorer and Outlook.

And yes, you should have an external backup like Carbonite or Mozy, but remember, they may back up the hidden malware and corrupt files along with the good stuff. I have two layers of backups...Time Machine (automagic backups to an external hard drive) plus Mozy (automagic backups to a bunker somewhere in Utah or something).

Kathleen
Marketing and PR for people who value results

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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on April 27, 2010 at 2:35am

This is Rob Woodgate - a colleague of Gil's.

Gil has asked me to let you all know that he is temporarily unable to post as his PC is now 'out of action'.
He hopes to have the situation resolved soon, and will no doubt post as soon as he is able.

Regards
Rob

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on April 27, 2010 at 4:17am

PcLand where i dwell because of the errors of a misspent youth is a land of patches and updates and firewalls. Occasionally Jacob Marley wanders by carrying a chain of patches and updates longer than any I have ever seen. Alas we are doomed to an eternity of closing the barn door after the horses have left.

Hugh Cole

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