Don't mean to scare you, but please look up RATters.
RAT stands for remote administration toolkit, and it's a lot more common that people think. For example, if a ratter manages to infect a persons
computer and get naked pictures of them of credit card details they've just hit blackmail jackpot.
Considering that there are more computer specialists in certain countries than there are computer jobs it's actually quite a large danger. You don't
need to be special or famous for this to happen to you, and there are forums entirely based on this rather questionable hobby.
If you're running windows you can open a command terminal window and use the command
netstat -b to view connections and ports used by
executables, or use
netstat -ano to look for established ports that aren't expected. It can be a good idea to close down all messengers and
browsers before doing this so you don't panic about your own messenger or web browser being open.
This is a pretty old and fairly straight forward technique to look at traffic in and out, and there are many much better guides and videos around
regarding looking after your internet security than I could write here. Internet hypochondria can happen if you shovel too deep into it I suppose.
I keep myself saneish by keeping any details I absolutely need to record encrypted using something like Keepass at least, and not standing naked in
front of anything with a lens. If I have to do banking I do it on a machine that I only use for that purpose. I also wipe my machines away
regularlyish.
Often tool kits are distributed with cracks for software, torrents, via spam emails and all the usual types of things; so if you've been indulging
yourself in that area you might be carrying something.
A lot of persons will say that it doesn't happen that often or the danger is exaggerated, but a large part of that is if a hacker deploys several
hundred tool kits they're only looking for one pay day at a time. A person can carry a RAT and simply not be in the same time zone as the hacker to
become a victim.
Don't go too crazy I suppose, but it's best to play safe and feel happy than worry about it or regret it.
Site note: ja I have seen things happen to people! And ick! Necro thread >.<
edit on 14-6-2013 by Pinke because: side
note
edit on 14-6-2013 by Pinke because: (no reason given)