by Miguel Matos

Created on: November 21, 2010

Computers will be hacked from time to time no matter how many software packages to secure your computer you install. This happens because it is currently impossible to make an operating system to be invulnerable to viruses and hackers, however with the right tools not only you learn when you are under attack but you also are able to report an attack and get attention from the security company.

1. To know if your computer has been hacked look at the internet lights when you are not using it. If the lights are flashing that means that someone may be inside your computer doing bad things because data is being transfered and no other application is being used at the moment. This is dangerous, in this case you should turn off your internet to get back the control of your computer. The worst attacks will remove your files and inject spies to see what you are doing in the computer and to steal information like passwords and bank accounts addresses and logins.

2. If you see the firewall with outgoing connections that means that there is data going from your computer to a remote server without your consent. This is also dangerous, a hacker may be sending files from the computer to his server and watching them. This is very important to look because the firewall is what controls the flow of data in your computer. If the firewall is showing incoming connections that should not be there, you should close them all.

3. If you see the computer automatically running some applications it should not, maybe it is a hacker running applications and starting software that you did not request. The best action to take is to stop that application from running, monitor the firewall to see if the hacker is attacking again and from there you may have to remove that software and upgrade the operating system and the security software to something more secure.

Hackers are a real problem on the internet because there is no way to keep them away forever. The best way to keep your computer secure is to check from time to time how your applications are running. If they are running with a suspicious behavior you should run the anti virus to clean viruses and you should check the firewall and block the software that should not be running at all.
Computer security is a very serious problem these days and with the number of people surfing the internet this problem is only getting worse.

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