Has my computer been compromised?

[Eric the Red]

On the various boards at The Landzdown Forum you will find information to stop "The Evil Hacker" from gaining access to your computer; advice on Firewalls, Anti-Virus solutions, Malware prevention and elimination tools, symptoms of attacks and what to do to remove infections, etc. However, not all of us are computer experts - what simple step can we take to find out if our computer has been taken over and is being used by "The Evil Hacker" to attack others, send spam or spread malware and viruses?

You are encouraged to visit the sister site of the SANS Internet Storm Center, DShield.org

On that page you will see a line of text:-

"Are you cracked? Click here to see."

By clicking on the link in that sentence your IP address will be compared against a database of known sources of attack and you will be shown the result, if your address has been recorded as that of an attacker you know that you have a problem.

As with everything there is a caveat, the database is compiled from information captured from Firewall logs that volunteeers have submitted. You can, of course, assist DShield.org by using one of the client programs listed on that site to submit your firewall logs and by doing so help in the fight against the hackers and malware vendors as the information that is submitted is used to put pressure on ISP's to clean up their acts as well as in determining the global threat perspective and in determining trends and new attack vectors.

Why am I telling you this? I have no direct connection with DShield other than that I helped in the development of one of their client programs and I regularly submit my logs - I just believe that in the light of recent vulnerabilities and exploits we all need to do more in the fight against "The Evil Hacker"  :breakkie:

[Brynn]

Hi Friends,
I came across this topic while searching for something else.  It caught my eye, and after reading it, I followed the DShield.org link.  However, it seems that page has changed, in the time since Eric the Red first posted this topic.

In order to test your firewall, ports, and have several other privacy and/or security tests performed on your computer, start here:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[Eric the Red]

Brynn,

Thanks for pointing that out. The DShield website has been aligned with the Internet Storm Center and the link is no longer valid. However, as you quite rightly point out, GRC remains a useful resource.  :thumbsup: