Possible hacking

[DerStrom8]

Good day, all.
I have recently had a few laptop issues and I am worried that someone has hacked into my computer and has changed some of my privacy settings. Is there anything that would allow them to view my private information or see what I do, and how would I change it back to my original settings? Oh, and I'm running Windows XP on an Averatec 3200 series laptop.
Many thanks in advance.
Der Strom

 

[RCinFLA]

Stay away from sites that offer to clean and speed up your computer. You are handing the keys to your computer to them.

Any executable program downloaded from web and run on your computer can dump any info on your computer to them. The executable may contain what you expect the program to do, plus other programs that run in the background.

 

[crutschow]

Dowload the free Windows Defender program from Microsoft.

 

[kinarfi]

I second that, and there is a program called crap cleaner that gets rid of spywares if defender doesn't

 

[Birdman Adam]

CCleaner is very good at cleaning out old registry stuff, cookies, and the like. If you think you have a malware problem, download and run the free version of Malwarebytes. It works great.

 

[DerStrom8]

Many thanks for all of the replies. I'll try all of these suggestions this weekend.
Der Strom

 

[House0Fwax]

CCleaner is very good

I'd go along with that, it's a nice little program that does just what it says on the box.

 

[Sceadwian]

You can download Microsoft security essentials which I believe will run on XP, it includes defender which is a basic spyware cleaner and an antivirus program.
If your system is already infected though it may be too late, if you don't know how to tell it's more than a little difficult troubleshoot these kinds of problems over a forum, especially considering you've only said you've had 'issues' without saying what they are.

 

[Reloadron]

Good day, all.
I have recently had a few laptop issues and I am worried that someone has hacked into my computer and has changed some of my privacy settings. Is there anything that would allow them to view my private information or see what I do, and how would I change it back to my original settings? Oh, and I'm running Windows XP on an Averatec 3200 series laptop.
Many thanks in advance.
Der Strom

I guess the first question that comes to my mind is what exactly leads you to believe your security settings were hacked? Understand you are running Windows XP but your reference to security settings doesn't mention which browser and browser version you are running. Such as MSIE, Firefox or another popular browser?

Restoring defaults for example in MSIE is actually pretty easy. Open MSIE and click Tools and choose Internet Options from the drop down menu. Click the security tab and choose Reset All Zones to default level. That would be true for MSIE 8.0.

Ron

Ron

 

[DerStrom8]

I sincerely apologize for the very obscure first post. I usually try to include more information but this time I was in a major hurry.
I guess "hacked" is not exactly the right word for it. I have just noticed that my computer has gotten much slower and often freezes up while I am online, and there is no way to fix it except to reboot the system. Often the cursor does not even move when I "tell" it to, and I am wondering if I may have picked up a virus of some sort. I just ran the CCleaner (which was already installed on my computer, thank goodness ) but I have yet to tell if it helps.
I am not sure if this it is connected at all to the "freezing" problem, but my laptop has been getting unusually warm (actually, hot) on the bottom and I am somewhat concerned. There have been times that it was even too hot to touch. I recently bought a Belkin chill pad for it and it seems to help reduce the heat, but the computer continues to freeze up. Does anyone have any idea why this might happen, and how to fix it?
Again, I apologize for the uninformative first post, and I thank you all for any help you are able to give.
Best regards,
Der Strom

 

[Sceadwian]

Clean it out. It's probably clogged with dust, crashing during overheating is common.
Cleaning out the internals of a laptop isn't that easy though.

 

[BeeBop]

I sincerely apologize for the very obscure first post. I usually try to include more information but this time I was in a major hurry.
I guess "hacked" is not exactly the right word for it. I have just noticed that my computer has gotten much slower and often freezes up while I am online, and there is no way to fix it except to reboot the system. Often the cursor does not even move when I "tell" it to, and I am wondering if I may have picked up a virus of some sort. I just ran the CCleaner (which was already installed on my computer, thank goodness ) but I have yet to tell if it helps.
I am not sure if this it is connected at all to the "freezing" problem, but my laptop has been getting unusually warm (actually, hot) on the bottom and I am somewhat concerned. There have been times that it was even too hot to touch. I recently bought a Belkin chill pad for it and it seems to help reduce the heat, but the computer continues to freeze up. Does anyone have any idea why this might happen, and how to fix it?
Again, I apologize for the uninformative first post, and I thank you all for any help you are able to give.
Best regards,
Der Strom

I've repaired more than one (Toshiba) laptop, with similar problems; the issue was, in every case, dust which had built up on the heat sinks. Taking them apart and blowing out the dust solved the problems.

Perhaps your lap top has a buildup?

EDIT: I see Sceadwian types much faster than me.

 

[Sceadwian]

Didn't mean to steal your thunder BeeBop. Laptops or PC's most people don't realize how much dust is a factor. I clean out our households PC's every 6 months, they're pretty dense at that point in an active household, especially with pets. Cat's probably kill more PC's than faulty components do over the long term. Their hair gets sucked into vents and acts as nucleation sites for dust buildup. I cleaned a few of my brother in laws PC's after 2 years, you could knit a sweater out of the crap that I pulled out of there. (not a joke)

It's just not something a typical consumer thinks about, because we're just trying to use the devices not care for them. I've never personally lost a PC to dust, but my brother in law has lost two, and a Playstation 3 because of it. Mind you I clean ours out every six months =) He never does.

 

[DerStrom8]

I was wondering about that, as well. I had a friend with a computer that kept freezing up, and it suddenly stopped working altogether. He took it to be repaired and it turned out he had loads of dust built up inside and it overheated and fried something (the motherboard?). He ended up having to buy a brand new tower.
Anyway, I'll see if I can get inside with an air compressor and blow out all the dust. I do have a few pets, myself
Thanks for the help!
Der Strom

 

[BeeBop]

Didn't mean to steal your thunder BeeBop. Laptops or PC's most people don't realize how much dust is a factor. I clean out our households PC's every 6 months, they're pretty dense at that point in an active household, especially with pets. Cat's probably kill more PC's than faulty components do over the long term. Their hair gets sucked into vents and acts as nucleation sites for dust buildup. I cleaned a few of my brother in laws PC's after 2 years, you could knit a sweater out of the crap that I pulled out of there. (not a joke)

It's just not something a typical consumer thinks about, because we're just trying to use the devices not care for them. I've never personally lost a PC to dust, but my brother in law has lost two, and a Playstation 3 because of it. Mind you I clean ours out every six months =) He never does.

Nor did I mean to steal yours!

I couldn't agree with you more on this point!

I love cats too; although I can't keep a small furry these days, but recall the days when I could. Although allergic to fur (or the mites which live on it,) I allowed my cat to sleep on my bed - next to my head, which would cause me to be 'stuffed up.' Also had to clean my machines more often. Well worth it in terms of the trade off for what that 'fur-ball' did for me spiritually.

 

[DerStrom8]

Hahaha! I've got some of the friendliest cats in the world, and I wouldn't give them up for anything
I, personally, am not allergic to cats, but I'm afraid my laptop is lol
Thanks again for all the help!
Der Strom

 

[Sceadwian]

Typical pet allergies are dander, meaning skin flakes and have nothing to do with the fur or parasites on them.

There are hypo allergenic cat breeds. I kid you not.
**broken link removed**
I wish the prices they charged were a joke, but for the rare person that these cats are aimed for they deliver.

 

[BeeBop]

Hahaha! I've got some of the friendliest cats in the world, and I wouldn't give them up for anything
I, personally, am not allergic to cats, but I'm afraid my laptop is lol
Thanks again for all the help!
Der Strom

Hope that fixes it! Please let us know.

 

[BeeBop]

Typical pet allergies are dander, meaning skin flakes and have nothing to do with the fur or parasites on them.

There are hypo allergenic cat breeds. I kid you not.
**broken link removed**
I wish the prices they charged were a joke, but for the rare person that these cats are aimed for they deliver.

Yes, that is what it was - dander. (must stop eating out of aluminum!)

Amazing! Thanks for that link, but if I had the 36 large they want for one, I could save many animals from the shelter. LOL

 

[Sceadwian]

The cheaper ones are only 9,000.
Or you could just wear a particulate filter over your nose and mouth for the rest of your life.