How to Protect Yourself from a Haunted Computer

Naturally, if you saw your lamp levitate, you would believe it to be the work of a ghoul and you would cry out in terror. What then would you believe if you saw your PC’s cursor begin to move on its own? In a spooky scenario like this, your computer isn’t haunted. It’s hacked. In the real world, the latter is the scarier of the two.

When it comes to hauntings, you have to know how to distinguish a false alarm from the real deal. For example, while trying to sleep in your bedroom, you will be able to tell if the crash you hear is the sound of the cat doing something stupid, or a portal from the Underworld unleashing chaos upon our world. With your PC, you should be able to distinguish if your cursor is experiencing a slight tracking issue, or if the movement is at the whim of a remote hacker opening valuable files and programs.

When you encounter a glitch with your mouse, troubleshooting the problem is often as simple as obtaining a new mouse pad, adjusting the mouse settings, or cleaning the gunk from the bottom of the mouse. Unfortunately, taking care of a remote hacker and expelling them from your PC can be as difficult as exercising the spirit of the Dark Lord from Emily Rose.

Someone who’s superstitious may think that a hacker possesses a computer by way of a séance, but those of us with technical backgrounds understand that hackers gain access through malware that’s downloaded via spam email or malicious website. Once in control of your computer, a hacker will then attempt to rip off anything of value. InfoWorld reports that:

Many hackers will break into a computer, wait for it to be idle for a long time (like after midnight), then try to steal your money. Hackers will break into bank accounts and transfer money, trade your stocks, and do all sorts of rogue actions, all designed to lighten your cash load.

What are you to do if you discover that your PC is being haunted by a remote hacker? In a hacking situation like this, you will want to immediately notify your network manager--before the evil spreads. Before severing the connection between your PC and the hacker, we recommend that you take these four spooky steps.

• After you contact XFER, spend a few minutes watching the hacker’s activity. What are they up to? What are they looking for? Try taking screenshots with a camera. This will provide you with evidence.
• Now sever the connection by powering down your PC and unplugging it from the network. This will prevent the hacker from doing any further damage.
• You will now want to change all of your passwords for all of your accounts. Do this from a different network-connected computer, NOT the one that’s compromised. Also, be sure to check your accounts’ records for any suspicious activity.
• Schedule XFER to take a detailed look at your PC to locate and eliminate the malware giving the hacker access.

It’s important to know what signs to look for when you're dealing with hackers. Remember, just like it’s difficult to spot the boogeyman living underneath your bed, a hacker that’s good at covering their tracks may go unnoticed at the expense of making off with your sensitive data. To help catch a remote hacker, you need more eyes looking out for you. XFER offers your business this kind of help with our remote IT services. We can monitor your network to spot any suspicious or malicious activity and then take immediate action to keep you safe.

Protect your system from the scariest malware by calling us at 734-927-6666 / 800-GET-XFER.