Has your computer ever been hacked into?

[easysurfer]

Well, yesterday as I was on my laptop, I noticed the mouse arrow mysteriously moving on it's own. It looked alot like someone had hacked into my computer and was "mousing around".

Has your computer ever been hacked into before?

I have not but did have a password hacked into in the past and have had viruses send emails naming me as the sender.

BTW...my laptop wasn't hacked into. Ends up, I'm at a friend's house and she has a wireless mouse (same brand) right in the other room. She was randomly clicking playing a computer game that also controlled my mouse using the same frequency

 

[harley]

Definitely been hacked. I have been made part of various botnets, used to send spam, had somebody playing with my cd tray, etc. Part of the risk of hanging around the IRCs and warez sites back in the day. These days, I'm relatively safe. I haven't had to rebuild my laptop in over 3 months.

As far as your cursor, I guess the wireless mouse could cause it. But it can also be a problem with the touchpad, ex. dust in the sensors, worn out mouse button, etc. I've had this problem myself quite often, mostly on Dells. The palmrest seems to exert pressure on the touchpad, moving the mouse. Hacking seems the least likely explanation.

 

[easysurfer]

Thanks for the suggestion about maybe the touchpad. But it definitely is the wireless mouse. As a temporary fix, I just disconnect my mouse as use the touchpad while my friend is online -- no more funny mouse arrow movements when I do that. For a moment yesterday, my mind was racing thinking, what if someone installed a keylogger, and what if they captured my id and passwords, and what if they accessed my data on my portable drive? A pretty scary thought.

 

[Rustward]

Depends how you define "hacked into". My definition would be some person or system intentionally accessing your computer over a network with the intention of either stealing your information or using your computer for some purpose of which you would not approve. Never been there. Have received a virus or two, caught by AV software. Did get infected on a corporate computer in 1998 (I believe) before everybody was required to run AV software. It was not a malicious virus, though, and removal was relatively easy. And some spammer probably guessed my Verizon email password when it was VERIZON1. Well, that won't happen again. Oh, and about 10 years ago, there was something called Comet Cursor. I'm not sure what it did, but I got it. Was not malicious, but it slowed the 'puter to a crawl after about 7 or 8 hours of use.

If you have broadband (DSL, cable, FiOS, U-verse ...), get behind a NAT (Network Address Translation) router if you are not already there. They are inexpensive (usually <$50) and provide a lot of bang for the buck as far as intrusion prevention.

Answered No, but had id and passwords compromised. For email, the ID part is easy.

 

[kumquat]

Probably, you are missing an option or two:
1) Yes, but I still don't know it.
2) I don't think so, but how would I know.

A large percentage of the world fits those categories.

 

[Midpack]

I said no, but the real answer is 'not that I know of, no evidence or any file damage that I've ever seen.'

 

[Dawg52]

Yes, but not as you describe. I had Fidelity call me once about an attempt to access my account from an outside source. They felt it came from some spyware that had been downloaded to my pc. My anti-virus updates ended without my knowledge.

Ended up buying a new laptop with new antivirus software. And I know I'm getting updates now. That was about 3 years ago. Laptop seems to be running well without problems, that I know of.

 

[VaCollector]

I voted "No"....but I'd really be in the "I really don't know" category too!

 

[Westernskies]

Yes- someone hacked into my computer, signed me up for this siite under a different user name, posted wild conservative ramblings in the Soapbox, alienated the liberals, earned a few infractions, and then left me to establish my true identity when I figured out what had happened...

I think it was another forum member, but I can't prove it...

 

[harley]

Probably, you are missing an option or two:
1) Yes, but I still don't know it.
2) I don't think so, but how would I know.

A large percentage of the world fits those categories.

Yeah, back in my early days in network security our team lead used to say "we're going to implement these changes tonight, if the real owner of the network lets us".