How to Detect Remotely Accessed Computer

There is hardly anything that scares you like a personal computer being hacked. If you think your computer is being controlled by a hacker, the first thing you should do is disconnect from the network. Once you are disconnected from the network, you can find and remove the gateway that the hacker used to access your system. Once the system is secure, there are several steps you can take to keep your computer from being compromised.

Table of Contents

Check for signs of intrusion

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Disconnect the computer’s network connection. If you believe someone is accessing your computer remotely, disconnect from the network immediately. That means you will unplug the Ethernet cable and turn off the Wi-Fi network connection.

Some sure signs that your computer is compromised are the mouse moving when you are not using it, the application opening itself right in front of you, or the file being accidentally deleted. However, you don’t need to worry too much about pop-up ads – many apps with auto-update feature can generate pop-ups during the update process.
Slow internet speed or strange programs are not necessarily signs of a compromised computer.

Check the list of recently accessed files and applications. Both Windows and Mac computers allow you to see a list of recently accessed files and applications. If you see something out of the ordinary on these lists, someone has probably hacked your computer. Check the information in the following way:

Windows: To view recently opened files, you will press Windows key + E to open File Explorer. Check the “Recent files” section at the bottom of the main control panel for signs of anomalies. You can also view recently opened apps at the top of the Start menu.
Mac: Click the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of the screen and choose Recent Items . You can click Applications to see recently used applications, Documents to view files, and Servers to see a list of “out-of-the-box” connections. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Open Task Manager or Activity Monitor. These utilities can tell you what’s going on on your computer.

Windows – Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc .
Mac – Open the Applications folder in Finder, double-click the Utilities folder, and double-click Activity Monitor . ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Find the remote access program in the list of active programs. Now that the Task Manager or Activity Monitor has been opened, you will see the list of active programs to find strange or suspicious programs. Here are a few common remote access programs that may have been installed on your computer without your permission:

VNC, RealVNC, TightVNC, UltraVNC, LogMeIn, GoToMyPC and TeamViewer.
Look for programs that seem suspicious or you’ve never heard of. You can look up information online if you don’t know what program it is.

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Notice the erratic high performance of the CPU. You will see this information in Task Manager or Activity Monitor. While a high CPU activity isn’t necessarily an unusual sign of an intrusion, if you’re not using your computer it can indicate a lot of background activity beyond your control is running. . However, CPU activity also increases when something is updating or there is a torrent being downloaded that you forgot.

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Scan your computer for viruses and malware. If you use Windows 10, you can use the built-in scan tool in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security to detect rogue apps. If you’re on a Mac, see the instructions for using Mac-specific scanning tools.

Malware is often the easiest way for hackers to get into your personal computer.
If you don’t have anti-virus software, you can download the program using another computer and save it to a USB to transfer to your computer. Install an anti-virus program and scan your computer.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a free third-party anti-malware program that works on both Windows and Mac computers. You can download this program for free at https://www.malwarebytes.com.

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Quarantine found files. If your anti-virus or anti-malware program detects any files during the scan, quarantining will stop them from affecting the system.

Download and launch the Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit Beta program. You can download this program for free at https://www.malwarebytes.com/antirootkit. As such, the program will help you find and remove “rootkits” – harmful programs that “hide” in your system files. Your computer will be scanned by the program, which may take some time.

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Monitor your computer after removing malicious code. If your anti-virus and/or anti-malware program finds malicious programs, you’ve successfully removed the malicious agent, but you still need to monitor your computer closely to make sure it’s not. that damage has been completely erased.

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Change all your passwords. If your computer has been compromised, it is possible that all passwords have been saved with a keystroke tracker. If you’re sure the malicious agent is gone, change the password for your entire account. Avoid using the same password for multiple services.

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Sign out of all accounts. After changing your password, you will check each account and log out completely. Remember to sign out of that account on all devices. This is to ensure that the new password is valid and that the old password cannot be used by others.

Wipe the whole system if you can’t get rid of the intrusion. If the computer is still compromised or you think there is still a harmful element, the only way to be sure is to wipe the system and reinstall the operating system. However, you need to back up important data first as everything will be wiped and reset.

When backing up data on an infected computer, be sure to scan each file before backing up. Re-importing the old file can always infect the computer again.
See instructions on how to format a Windows or Mac computer and reinstall the operating system.

Prevent future intrusion

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Keep your anti-virus and anti-malware programs up to date. An up-to-date antivirus will identify most potential attacks. Windows operating system has built-in anti-virus program Windows Defender that automatically updates and executes in the background. In addition, you can also find many other free programs such as BitDefender, avast! and AVG. You only need to install an anti-virus program.

See instructions to enable Windows Defender on Windows computers.
You can also refer to the instructions for installing another antivirus program if you do not want to use Defender. The Windows Defender program will automatically disable it if you install another antivirus program.

Make sure your firewall is properly configured. If you’re not using a web server or other program that requires remote access to your computer, you don’t need to open the ports. Most programs that need a gateway use UPnP – which opens the port when needed and closes itself when the program is not in use. Opening the connection port indefinitely will make your network vulnerable to intrusion.

See how to set up port forwarding on your router and make sure none are open unless necessary for the server you’re using.

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Be careful with email attachments. Attaching files in emails is one of the most common ways to expose your system to viruses and malware. You should only open attachments sent from trusted people, and you can be sure that they actively sent the file. If someone in your contacts has a computer infected with a virus, they may send a virus attachment without even knowing it.

Make sure the passwords you use are highly secure and hard to guess. Each password-protected service or program you use must have a unique and hard-to-guess password. Here’s how to make sure hackers can’t use the compromised service’s password to access other accounts. Check out the guide to using the password manager to make it easier for you.

Advice

Note that your computer may start up on its own to install the update. Many newer computers are set to automatically update the system, usually in the evening when you are not using the computer. If the computer restarts on its own when you’re not using it, it’s because the computer is in Sleep mode to be “wakeed up” to install updates.
While your computer can be accessed remotely, the chances are usually very low. There are several steps you can take to prevent intrusions.

Steps

Check for signs of intrusion

Prevent future intrusion

Advice

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