This topic contains 6 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by 
-
Posts
-
Windows XP
No wireless router
Roadrunner
Firewall on, File and printer sharing, Remote Desktop and UPnP Network are only boxes unchecked in “exceptions”.My question is, could some one gain access to my computer when it’s on and I’m not monitoring it?
Could someone gain access when it’s powered down?
@tyedyeskyguy wrote:
Could someone gain access when it’s powered down?
If your machine is powered down, no one is going to be able to access it unless you have a nic with the magic packet turned on and its allowed thru your firewall, most machines have magic packet turned off by default for Wake on LAN.
As for when its on, way to many variables to say its not possible, but if you are up to date on antivirus, you dont visit alot of porn and warez sites, you keep your ms patches up to date, and your firewall is on, there is a very good chance you are ok.
Personally I would never trust a software firewall as my only firewall protecting me online. Malware can disable most software firewalls or add hidden exceptions in seconds.
I would add a wired/wireless router just for the added hardware firewall. Software firewall is still needed though, to protect your pc from another computer on the network infecting it, this is especially true if you have a laptop you use at other locations. An example would be if you use your laptop at a public hotspot without a software firewall & get a virus, you bring it home & infect all your home computers as soon as you connect to your network.If you use a wireless router I would disable the wireless unless you actually need it, otherwise use WPA(AES) or WPA2 personal encryption with a long password that includes random letters & numbers to avoid any dictionary type attach on your network.
You would be surprised how quickly wireless security can be bypassed if you don’t use a good password.@tyedyeskyguy wrote:
Windows XP
No wireless router
Roadrunner
Firewall on, File and printer sharing, Remote Desktop and UPnP Network are only boxes unchecked in “exceptions”.My question is, could some one gain access to my computer when it’s on and I’m not monitoring it?
Could someone gain access when it’s powered down?
Do you have a wired router or are you just running off the RR modem? I remember reading somewhere with the right commands you could see all the computers in your node with RoadRunner, not sure if they fixed it or not. As others have said, a hardware firewall is an important step in security.
@sammyclaws wrote:
@tyedyeskyguy wrote:
Windows XP
No wireless router
Roadrunner
Firewall on, File and printer sharing, Remote Desktop and UPnP Network are only boxes unchecked in “exceptions”.My question is, could some one gain access to my computer when it’s on and I’m not monitoring it?
Could someone gain access when it’s powered down?
Do you have a wired router or are you just running off the RR modem? I remember reading somewhere with the right commands you could see all the computers in your node with RoadRunner, not sure if they fixed it or not. As others have said, a hardware firewall is an important step in security.
No, just the RR modem. Think I have my issue worked out. I turned off automatic Windows update about a year ago, and removed all the previous patches and updates. My computer ran a whole lot better after doing it. Now though, someone gained access and it had to be when I was on the PC because it’s always powered down when not in use. Not just powered down, but the power strip is turned off too.
@tyedyeskyguy wrote:
My question is, could some one gain access to my computer when it’s on and I’m not monitoring it?
Could someone gain access when it’s powered down?
Yes to both…
Unless you lock the computer in a safe or password protect the computer, anyone who sits down at the computer can use it or turn it on. 😀
@tyedyeskyguy wrote:
Think I have my issue worked out. I turned off automatic Windows update about a year ago, and removed all the previous patches and updates. My computer ran a whole lot better after doing it. Now though, someone gained access and it had to be when I was on the PC because it’s always powered down when not in use. Not just powered down, but the power strip is turned off too.
I fix computers everyday & will guarantee you are right, they gained access because you are running an unpatched system. I recently read over 80% of virus & malware can be avoided by just getting all current windows updates(& software updates). This figure seems pretty accurate from my experience, If I get a PC with all updates it rarely has tons of Virus/malware/security issues.
At this point having run without all updates for so long I wouldn’t trust that PC at all without totally formatting and reinstalling windows. You’ll never know if you get all the holes patched & probably have some deeply embedded root-kit infection.
My only question is, why do you think someone had gained access to your PC?
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.