Why Would Someone Want To Access My Computer
WWW should sand for the Wild Wild West not World Wide Wed and thats because thats exactly what it is. With no real law and anyone from anywhere just about able to reach, connect or communicate with you, the internet is the worlds largest group of people who want to be your friend, indifferent or want to hurt you.
In the early days people were making viruses to hurt you. For whatever reason, financial or for pleasure people did and still make viruses to cause havoc.
With faster internet and computers and a lot of people using their computers for financial, work and personal reasons, internet users have become the perfect target for criminals to profit from, but instead of using viruses to break computers and networks, are not using them to spy and use your computer to profit from, usually financially.
How Do They Do It
Most people have some sort of Antivirus on them now. Whether it is a free one which you can download off the internet or one which comes with your computer like Windows Defender, it has become a lot harder for criminals to simply access your computer.
They have got a lot more sophisticated, a lot more desperate and a lot more smarter.
Enter Social Networking.
A big way they are able to get onto their victims computers is by calling them and pretending to be from a company the customer might use. They usually use big name companies like Telstra Bigpond because there are a lot of people in Australia using these type of companies and a good chance our unsuspecting victim uses them too.
Next they trick the you into going to a particular website and installing software which allows them to control your computer, black the screen so you can’t see what they are doing and plant their seeds.
Another way they do this also is by planting their viruses on certain sites and tricking you into installing it.
An example of this is a fake movie site you might go to, to try and watch a movie. You might get there and click play but nothing will show up but a popup which says you need to install their software to watch the video. But the software is some sort of remote access software and then they have control of your system.
Things to Look Out For
If you see your mouse running around the screen clicking on things when you are not using it there is probably someone on the other end controlling it.
Software they install on your computer is not limited to but usually something ending in “VNC” or “Teamviewer”.
Also if you notice new icons on your desktop or things being deleted without you doing it, there could very well be someone controlling your computer.
There are two main reasons someone would want to control your computer.
- Look for valuable information; to navigate around your computer to see if there is anything they can use, for whatever their objective is.
- To plant Spyware or Keyloggers. Spyware spies on you and Keyloggers record every keystroke you press. This is especially effective to identify and use passwords. If they see you type in a bank web address and then your password and username, they now have your bank details.
What Can You Do
The absolute first thing you should do is disconnect your computer from the internet or turn it off so they do not have further access to your computer or laptop.
Then you need to call any banks or institution which you care if anyone has access to and tell them what has happened and request they change your password.
If you are not able to remedy the problem yourself please call Townsville Computer Repair Nerds on 0402 807 890 as we deal with this on a daily basis.
Townsville Nerds offer a 100% free no obligation diagnosis and quote. If you do not accept out quote the diagnosis is still free.
