Thou shalt not be hacked

One fraudulent act that is illegal in some ways and helpful in others is hacking. and the computer professional is one who is never hacked.

It basically happens when a hacker exploits a security breach in a network or computer and is able to access the information through the internet. As long as he is not detected or the computer shut down, he will be able to hack the computer as long as it is online.

One way to minimize the consequences of having a hacker is by protecting the computer system.
So follow these simple guidelines and you will be saved.

1. Stop using Internet explorer and switch to Opera or Mozilla Firefox. They are more secure and off course faster than that
2. Update your antivirus and save yourself from Trojans. See more on Trojans.
3. and Don’t click on unknown links they can be the great source of phishing. See more on Phishing
   
4. Boot into safe mode and run all three scans.
5. While the scans are going check your registry (Click start --> Run and type regedit to get intot he registry) and look in HKEY_CurrentUser/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run & HKEY_Local_Machine/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run. Verify that all programs listed are legitimate and wanted.
6. If or when your antivirus scan comes across anything, search for that file name in your registry and delete it.
7. Use explorer to go to the windows/system32 folder and sort by date. If you haven't already done so, make sure you can see the entire file names. click Tools --> Folder Options and unclick the box labeled "Hide extensions for known file types" and under Hidden files and folders click "Show hidden files and folders." However, make sure you choose "Hide protected operating system files" so you don't accidentally remove anything that would cripple your computer.. You are looking for recent files with names ending with .exe and .dll that look suspicious. Major culprits will have gibberish names such as alkjdlkjfa.exe.
8. Once you can get clean scans in safe mode, reboot in normal mode and scan all over again. If you can't get a clean scan in regular mode then you have something more persistant that could take more research.
9. Make sure your firewall doesn't have strange exceptions.
10. If you suspect anything that is going wrong with your computer is the action of a stalker, on a more secure system change all your passwords.
11. If your system has been specifically targeted and hacked you can never be 100% sure that your system is no longer compromised so start with 9, make backups of personal files on the infected system and format and re-install Windows.

Make these security measures, a part of your computer routine and If you know more please comment here.

Take care !

Scimitar
(The One handed curved sword featuring a slim blade)