HELP, I think my computer has been highjacked

My computer has starting doing some really strange things, i.e. slowed down considerably, as well as making strange noises while no one is using it. When I click on the connention icon in the system tray it is showing that I am sending and receiving data even when I do not have a page opened. Does this make since or has my computer been highjacked?

If you don't have a program like Winpatrol I would seriously look into it.

have you downloaded anything lately, or gone a real shady website? if so, then, you've probably got trouble. the only two i can remember that might highjack a computer is sub seven and back orifice, but that's about it. anyways, you should probably unplug your comp from the internet, and see if it does the same thing.

You may have spy-ware installed on your computer. Download a free Program called Ad Aware and scan your computer. Here is the link:

Ad Aware V6.0

Originally posted by Bushed
My computer has starting doing some really strange things, i.e. slowed down considerably, as well as making strange noises while no one is using it. When I click on the connention icon in the system tray it is showing that I am sending and receiving data even when I do not have a page opened. Does this make since or has my computer been highjacked?

If i were you, I'd download SPYBOT. This will search for any resident programs on your HD that attempt to connect to the internet unbeknownst to you. Also searches for trojans and things of that nature. Of course, Antivirus programs would help too, but I would most certainly try something like spybot.

Does anyone know if you still need a firewall if you are behind a cable modem and a router?

Originally posted by kinglizard
Does anyone know if you still need a firewall if you are behind a cable modem and a router?

YES you do, don't take hijackings lightly, you may be dishing out spam unwillingly, have the problem looked into immediately. Either download a firewall (Zonealarm, WinXP has a built-in firewall) or download a anti-virus scanner and do a quick system scan.

[Edited on 20-3-2004 by thedarkprojekt]

most cable modem servers are already behind a firewall, it really depends on your service provider, as for the router, it also depends on the manufacturer

The internet connection part is nothing out of the ordinary, it's just keeping the connection alive. No signal going back and forth would obviously result in no connection. The sounds are probably just your hard disk and internet connection interacting, again nothing out of the ordinary. The slow part, depends on what your doing. A lot of cases are what everyone has been talking about being spyware, which I would recommend Ad Aware.

Edit: As for firewalls and routers and stuff... Routers all have firewalls, some you might have to activate so you would be pretty safe with a router firewall on.

[Edited on 20-3-2004 by pyxsul]

Originally posted by kinglizard
Does anyone know if you still need a firewall if you are behind a cable modem and a router?

OMG dude of course. I have a Firewall in the router plus I have a Firewall installed in my computer. I use Sygate Security Agent on my laptops and Norton Personal Firewall 2004 in my desktops.

Ah yes, but how many people do you know that actually go into thier router configuration and look into these matters? not many of the clients I deal with have any clue thier router has firewall features (even though in most cases it says on the box) so we tell them to download a software based firewall instead and of course an anti-virus program. I am seeing a disturbing trend in online security these days, people just don't give a # if they are infected, i had to purge about 14 virii/worms from a friend of mines computer, his ISP finally cut off service because he was sending out spam.

Go to download.com and download zone alarm. It's a great firewall program that's saved my computer from being destroyed.

I got my first computer, this one, about 6 months ago. I didn't know any of this stuff then. Fortunately a guy at work is a programmer and guided me through these things. I don't know anything about ATS' security, but if it's possible for an infected computer to affect the site, would it be beneficial to have a spot on here to deal with these sorts of issues?

I have been running Zone Alarm for some time now. The confusing thing is what modules and programs should have access to the internet and what should be blocked.

Originally posted by kinglizard
Does anyone know if you still need a firewall if you are behind a cable modem and a router?

it all depends what kind of router you have. i dont need a software firewall, because my router has an excellent firewall built in, so good unfortunately that some things i can't recieve cause they get blocked. i still have some messing around to do with it, but it all depends on the type of router you have.

My computer has starting doing some really strange things, i.e. slowed down considerably, as well as making strange noises while no one is using it. When I click on the connention icon in the system tray it is showing that I am sending and receiving data even when I do not have a page opened. Does this make since or has my computer been highjacked?

if i were you i would dump my entire harddrive, and start over, and when you do, before you start installing anything, get a good firewall and antivirus software downloaded first.
i run my antivirus (norton) everynight before i go to bed, and i have adaware, and spybot run everytime im done with the internet, so far, this system works really well. if you want some good sites for downloading these, just U2U me. ill gladly give you some help.

Originally posted by Ocelot
You may have spy-ware installed on your computer. Download a free Program called Ad Aware and scan your computer. Here is the link:

Ad Aware V6.0

Thanks man.

63 objects found.

Damn

When I open Zone Alarm I have two "Generic Host Process For Win32 Services" running. Does anyone know what this process is and is it OK to let it run?

Originally posted by kinglizard
When I open Zone Alarm I have two "Generic Host Process For Win32 Services" running. Does anyone know what this process is and is it OK to let it run?

Yes let them run

www.blackviper.com...

Hey, Thanks thedarkprojekt.

if ur comp is old, then it's just ur fan and ur sound system is starting wear down and ur internal stuff is starting to slow down, causing weird noises. it's nothing to worry about. it's just like my comp. it's old as hell so it's doing the same thing.