Hacking Truths: How Not To Get Hacked

How Not To Get Hacked

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Monday, September 3, 2007

Protect Urself !

Follow These Simple Guidelines n u are done

1. Stop using Internet Explorer and make the switch to Opera, it's more secure, plain and simple.

2. Get Spybot Search and Destroy or Spyware Doctor and immediately update it.

3. Get Adaware SE and immediately update it.
(Use both as a 1-2 punch on infected client computers and between the two there's not much they won't kill)

4. Update your anti virus

5. Boot into safe mode and run all three scans

6. While the scans are going check your registry (Click start --> Run and type regedit to get intot he registry) and look in HKEY_CurrentUser/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run & HKEY_Local_Machine/software/microsoft/windows/currentversion/run. Verify that all programs listed are legitimate and wanted.

7. If or when your antivirus scan comes across anything, search for that file name in your registry and delete it.

8. Use explorer to go to the windows/system32 folder and sort by date. If you haven't already done so, make sure you can see the entire file names. click Tools --> Folder Options and unclick the box labeled "Hide extensions for known file types" and under Hidden files and folders click "Show hidden files and folders." However, make sure you choose "Hide protected operating system files" so you don't accidentally remove anything that would cripple your computer.. You are looking for recent files with names ending with .exe and .dll that look suspicious. Major culprits will have gibberish names such as alkjdlkjfa.exe.

9. Once you can get clean scans in safe mode, reboot in normal mode and scan all over again. If you can't get a clean scan in regular mode then you have something more persistant that could take more research.

10. Make sure your firewall doesn't have strange exceptions.

11. If you suspect anything that is going wrong with your computer is the action of a stalker, on a more secure system change all your passwords.

12. If your system has been specifically targeted and hacked you can never be 100% sure that your system is no longer compromised so start with 11, make backups of personal files on the infected system and format and re-install Windows.

Good luck!