Alright computer boffs, how likley is it that i shall actually get hacked? I'd like to know once and for all... if my dads bull shitting or... i actually do get hacked and people actually do mess my computer so he does need to wtahc my computer or not all the time. Because it feels like big brother .... being watched in everything i do... Is trying to grab hold of the last thing he can actually control as a father, or is he speaking the truth? Oh and he believes this forum is the route of all this evil hacking and shit... ?
You probably can't get hacked. But popups and stuff can put spyware onto your computer which can mess it up. Get AdAware & Spybot and do regular scans with them. Don't download anything unless you don't know what it is (MSN Plus has spyware in it, etc)
Does anyone in your house look at porn? My computer would be completely clear and then my brother would go on and half an hour later it would be full of crap again
Also what browser do you use? We used to have IE but that was full of holes so we changed to Mozilla and that works better. Don't even get popups any more
Get a firewall, www.zonealarm.com is very good and is free and will stop both incoming probes and trojans / spyware "phoning home" from your computer to the internet. If you keep Windows updated it's very unlikely you will have any exploitable vulnerabilities anyway, but a firewall will block anything that you don't specifically request.
Actual hacking - as opposed to infection - is about as likely as a Tory win at the next election. How do you connect to the internet? Do you use a modem or router? Paranoid crap. You'd need your IP address to make any attempt at hacking you, and only the mods would have access to that. And ask yourself - who could even be bothered? Wotcha got on there? Nuclear launch codes?!?
If you have a static IP address or you connect through a router and keep the same IP for long periods its still wise to have some sort of firewall. Usually though the people who are likely to attempt to crack a random machine are kiddies just playing around and scanning for vulnerable computers.
You will get hacked whether you want it or not. Not using dodgy sites will help bit in th eend whenever you connect to a web site or a game server its possible that someone tracks your IP address and trys soemthing they have learnt at school off a mate. The moral is to ensure that you have a decent firewall and antivirus. If you keep them updated you shouldnt have any problem
