Recently, a friend asked me if there was a way to tell if someone was spying on their computer or not.
He had the feeling that his boyfriend, computer expert, had installed something on his computer to monitor what he was doing.
Unfortunately, even using standard security programs, it is possible for anyone to spy on computers if they have access to the router and to the wifi network, which in many cases is not absolutely protected.
Although there are many methods of capturing passwords, entering other people's PCs and spying on internet traffic, it is important to note that in 99% of cases, if a PC is spied on or if personal passwords are stolen, the fault lies with superficiality. of the victim.
Perhaps it may also surprise you that the vast majority of espionage on computers is done by friends, acquaintances or relatives who are not so interested in stealing money but in reading personal messages, confidences and communications via chat or via Facebook.
In another article we had seen how to protect access data, logins of bank accounts and credit cards, on this occasion instead, much more generally, we see how to find out if we are spied on the PC by other people and how to arm the PC from external intrusions
1) Scan for viruses and malware
Scanning your computer with antivirus, anti-malware and anti-rootkit programs will surely detect hidden programs and malicious processes that allow you to spy on our computer from afar.
Among the most effective scanning programs, my advice is always to use MalwareBytes Antimalware, free and simple.
If the malware was really sneaky, it might even have some ways to add itself to the list of exceptions in the antivirus program, so the best way is to perform an offline scan of Windows, that is, before Windows loads its services and programs.
Offline scanning can also be done easily with Windows 10's Windows Defender Offline, or with other virus scanning programs when the PC starts.
In another article I had explained how a virus enters the computer, important for understanding which errors lead to dangerous infections.
Finally, you should read the guide to clean up your PC infected with malware by eliminating all traces
2) Update, clean and repair the Windows installation
As mentioned above, there are ways to monitor a computer without necessarily installing a virus program.
In these cases, unless we are tech savvy, it will be difficult to find out if we are being spied on.
The important thing to prevent intrusions and spies on your PC is that Windows is clean, updated and fully functional.
In case you suspect that someone is spying on our activities on the PC, with Windows 10 it is possible to clean the system of all programs without having to reinstall the system, thanks to the Refresh tool that cleans the PC of all programs and apps at once alone.
With Windows 7 and 8 the same procedure is a little less automatic and is described in the guide to format and install Windows from scratch, to have a clean and new PC.
3) Reset and protect your wireless router
The weakest point in terms of security when you want to prevent someone from entering our PC and being able to spy on it is definitely the wireless wheel.
Most people don't care about router security, which is one of the easiest things to hack even without being an expert.
For example, many people protect their wireless networks with a default password or ignore protection on the administration page of your router.
By entering the router settings, anyone could simply change all the settings according to their preferences and even activate the monitoring of online activities.
If it has never been done, then it is worthwhile to completely reset the wireless router.
There is usually a reset button on the back of the router that needs to be held down for 10 or 15 seconds to reset it.
All configured settings will be lost and everything will return to the factory settings.
At this point, secure the wireless network using a WPA2 password with AES and set a password for the router other than the default.
In another article, the guide to security configurations on the wifi router.
READ ALSO: How to protect a wifi network from intrusion and access attempts .
4) If you use public wifi in bars or restaurants, take the right precautions .
Public networks, those of restaurants, hotels, bars or airports and any others that anyone can access and which is not under our control, are insecure because you never know who can monitor traffic.
In another article, the guide to safe surfing on the public network.
5) Disconnect or disconnect or use another network
If you are afraid of being spied on on your PC, you should disconnect your computer or disconnect the device from the network and maybe connect to another network.
6) Use a firewall
To protect your computer from external intrusions "via the internet" you can use a firewall (see the best free firewalls), that is, a program that blocks unauthorized connections from the outside.
In reality Windows is already equipped with Firewall, therefore adding a program of this type that really goes to arm the PC, can be considered a non-mandatory, safe but superfluous measure in many cases.
7) Protect access to the computer
Putting a password on Windows startup is not only used to block other people from using the computer, but also to prevent unauthorized connections to shared resources on the network.
What you should definitely avoid and check is that people close to us, friends, boyfriends, work colleagues or family members and anyone who can access your computer, cannot access your email, Facebook, Ebay and so on accounts.
In another article, how to lock your PC with a password.
For those who want extreme protection to the PC, you could set a password on the Bios or set a USB stick that locks the PC, without which the computer cannot be used.
A pc lock via USB is offered for free by the Predator program .
We have also seen that the execution of specific programs and files can be blocked with a password, such as using Verasrypt to protect data on a disk or USB stick.
8) Check the traces of use of the computer
To find out if the PC is being spied on, traces of computer use can be checked to see if someone else has used it and what it has seen and done.
The first, most trivial step on Windows is to see recent files accessible directly from the start menu.
Some versions of Windows provide a list of recently used programs as soon as you click the Start button.
Recent files can be completely disabled and the list can be emptied by eliminating traces of PC use or by removing temporary Windows files.
A check to find out if and how the PC has been used is checking the recently modified files using even simpler file search programs.
On Windows, without using external software, you can search for files by Creation date or modification date.
9) Check the activities on the browser
As for internet browsing, each browser, be it Edge, Firefox or Chrome, has a history of the sites visited .
Smart spies will definitely delete this history or use the incognito or anonymous browsing modes, a feature now supported by all web browsers.
However, you could set a trap using the history of Google searches and the sites visited, unsuspected for most.
Needless to say, if the PC is shared or if there are chances of it being used by other people, you should not store logins to access websites, e-mail or other personal sites, let alone online banks.
If you want to memorize the passwords used on the internet and protect them, it is better to use a service like Keepass to manage logins to websites
Another article also explains how to check if someone is reading your emails.
10) Installing the monitoring software can be a good method to control the use of the computer and it can be done with simpler programs dedicated to monitoring children on the internet or by recording the activity and use of the PC.
You could also use a program like K9 Web Protection to view an internet activity log or use a keylogger to record everything that is typed on the keyboard.
About the keylogger, it is necessary to check that it is not present on the computer and that nobody is spying or recording the use of the PC and keyboard.
To make yourself immune from keyloggers (especially if you use public or traveling PCs) you can use a virtual on-screen keyboard to use to write passwords.
A more extreme measure is the use of an antikeylogger program to protect the writing data on the PC.
Following these 10 safety tips, if someone in chat, games or on Facebook or in real life were to make a threat like " I can enter your computer and do what I want ", there will be nothing to fear (unless that we are not in front of a very high level hacker, but there are few in the world).
READ ALSO: Spy on a PC and see how the computer is used by others
He had the feeling that his boyfriend, computer expert, had installed something on his computer to monitor what he was doing.
Unfortunately, even using standard security programs, it is possible for anyone to spy on computers if they have access to the router and to the wifi network, which in many cases is not absolutely protected.
Although there are many methods of capturing passwords, entering other people's PCs and spying on internet traffic, it is important to note that in 99% of cases, if a PC is spied on or if personal passwords are stolen, the fault lies with superficiality. of the victim.
Perhaps it may also surprise you that the vast majority of espionage on computers is done by friends, acquaintances or relatives who are not so interested in stealing money but in reading personal messages, confidences and communications via chat or via Facebook.
In another article we had seen how to protect access data, logins of bank accounts and credit cards, on this occasion instead, much more generally, we see how to find out if we are spied on the PC by other people and how to arm the PC from external intrusions
1) Scan for viruses and malware
Scanning your computer with antivirus, anti-malware and anti-rootkit programs will surely detect hidden programs and malicious processes that allow you to spy on our computer from afar.
Among the most effective scanning programs, my advice is always to use MalwareBytes Antimalware, free and simple.
If the malware was really sneaky, it might even have some ways to add itself to the list of exceptions in the antivirus program, so the best way is to perform an offline scan of Windows, that is, before Windows loads its services and programs.
Offline scanning can also be done easily with Windows 10's Windows Defender Offline, or with other virus scanning programs when the PC starts.
In another article I had explained how a virus enters the computer, important for understanding which errors lead to dangerous infections.
Finally, you should read the guide to clean up your PC infected with malware by eliminating all traces
2) Update, clean and repair the Windows installation
As mentioned above, there are ways to monitor a computer without necessarily installing a virus program.
In these cases, unless we are tech savvy, it will be difficult to find out if we are being spied on.
The important thing to prevent intrusions and spies on your PC is that Windows is clean, updated and fully functional.
In case you suspect that someone is spying on our activities on the PC, with Windows 10 it is possible to clean the system of all programs without having to reinstall the system, thanks to the Refresh tool that cleans the PC of all programs and apps at once alone.
With Windows 7 and 8 the same procedure is a little less automatic and is described in the guide to format and install Windows from scratch, to have a clean and new PC.
3) Reset and protect your wireless router
The weakest point in terms of security when you want to prevent someone from entering our PC and being able to spy on it is definitely the wireless wheel.
Most people don't care about router security, which is one of the easiest things to hack even without being an expert.
For example, many people protect their wireless networks with a default password or ignore protection on the administration page of your router.
By entering the router settings, anyone could simply change all the settings according to their preferences and even activate the monitoring of online activities.
If it has never been done, then it is worthwhile to completely reset the wireless router.
There is usually a reset button on the back of the router that needs to be held down for 10 or 15 seconds to reset it.
All configured settings will be lost and everything will return to the factory settings.
At this point, secure the wireless network using a WPA2 password with AES and set a password for the router other than the default.
In another article, the guide to security configurations on the wifi router.
READ ALSO: How to protect a wifi network from intrusion and access attempts .
4) If you use public wifi in bars or restaurants, take the right precautions .
Public networks, those of restaurants, hotels, bars or airports and any others that anyone can access and which is not under our control, are insecure because you never know who can monitor traffic.
In another article, the guide to safe surfing on the public network.
5) Disconnect or disconnect or use another network
If you are afraid of being spied on on your PC, you should disconnect your computer or disconnect the device from the network and maybe connect to another network.
6) Use a firewall
To protect your computer from external intrusions "via the internet" you can use a firewall (see the best free firewalls), that is, a program that blocks unauthorized connections from the outside.
In reality Windows is already equipped with Firewall, therefore adding a program of this type that really goes to arm the PC, can be considered a non-mandatory, safe but superfluous measure in many cases.
7) Protect access to the computer
Putting a password on Windows startup is not only used to block other people from using the computer, but also to prevent unauthorized connections to shared resources on the network.
What you should definitely avoid and check is that people close to us, friends, boyfriends, work colleagues or family members and anyone who can access your computer, cannot access your email, Facebook, Ebay and so on accounts.
In another article, how to lock your PC with a password.
For those who want extreme protection to the PC, you could set a password on the Bios or set a USB stick that locks the PC, without which the computer cannot be used.
A pc lock via USB is offered for free by the Predator program .
We have also seen that the execution of specific programs and files can be blocked with a password, such as using Verasrypt to protect data on a disk or USB stick.
8) Check the traces of use of the computer
To find out if the PC is being spied on, traces of computer use can be checked to see if someone else has used it and what it has seen and done.
The first, most trivial step on Windows is to see recent files accessible directly from the start menu.
Some versions of Windows provide a list of recently used programs as soon as you click the Start button.
Recent files can be completely disabled and the list can be emptied by eliminating traces of PC use or by removing temporary Windows files.
A check to find out if and how the PC has been used is checking the recently modified files using even simpler file search programs.
On Windows, without using external software, you can search for files by Creation date or modification date.
9) Check the activities on the browser
As for internet browsing, each browser, be it Edge, Firefox or Chrome, has a history of the sites visited .
Smart spies will definitely delete this history or use the incognito or anonymous browsing modes, a feature now supported by all web browsers.
However, you could set a trap using the history of Google searches and the sites visited, unsuspected for most.
Needless to say, if the PC is shared or if there are chances of it being used by other people, you should not store logins to access websites, e-mail or other personal sites, let alone online banks.
If you want to memorize the passwords used on the internet and protect them, it is better to use a service like Keepass to manage logins to websites
Another article also explains how to check if someone is reading your emails.
10) Installing the monitoring software can be a good method to control the use of the computer and it can be done with simpler programs dedicated to monitoring children on the internet or by recording the activity and use of the PC.
You could also use a program like K9 Web Protection to view an internet activity log or use a keylogger to record everything that is typed on the keyboard.
About the keylogger, it is necessary to check that it is not present on the computer and that nobody is spying or recording the use of the PC and keyboard.
To make yourself immune from keyloggers (especially if you use public or traveling PCs) you can use a virtual on-screen keyboard to use to write passwords.
A more extreme measure is the use of an antikeylogger program to protect the writing data on the PC.
Following these 10 safety tips, if someone in chat, games or on Facebook or in real life were to make a threat like " I can enter your computer and do what I want ", there will be nothing to fear (unless that we are not in front of a very high level hacker, but there are few in the world).
READ ALSO: Spy on a PC and see how the computer is used by others
