Someone took over my computer

[Zoe]

Don't restart unless you are in safe mode. what kind of computer do you have? Call the manufacturer and do as others above have said. Your bank should be opening soon. Tell them to lock your account and ask them to help you reset your password and then reopen your account.

 

[Atlanta CG]

Thanks all for the replies. it is now at the MicroCenter repair department and hopefully it can be restored. I do have Eset and Malwarebytes and Defender but they did not catch it.

 

[sputnam]

Thanks all for the replies. it is now at the MicroCenter repair department and hopefully it can be restored. I do have Eset and Malwarebytes and Defender but they did not catch it.

If you are using the free versions, they are not as rigorous. There are other good ones but, I like BitDefender.

 

[Tom D]

This is one post i would love to hear the ending of what happened.

 

[cashcatz]

Have you run any quality virus scanners? Do you use anti-virus software?

Malwarebytes is great, I'd imagine it would have caught most nasty stuff. This sounds like a general computer issue.

 

[RCA]

I am on my computer and all of a sudden the screen turns all black and the arrow is moving around. I was in my bank account at the time, I cntr/alt/delete to cancel the program I was in and the arrow goes to the cancel my delete. Finally I pulled the plug. I know someone bad is operating my computer but I just do not know what to do. I'm fairly confident moving around a computer but do not know where to turn to stop this.

You did the right thing.

Propely setting up good security nowadays is getting complicated. In fact, "managing" every computer and device on your home network can be a time-consuming challenge. Nowadays, you want as few computers as possible. Every computer is another security nightmare to deal with.

In general:

1. Try to keep your business computers and devices isolated from all other computers and devices on your home network.
2. Avoid, as much as possible, websites known to be associated with criminal activity, such as ****, gaming, travel, etc..
3. Be very careful clicking on links in emails. Unsubscribe to websites you don't absolutely need. Report spam.
4. Use a good VPN like NordVPN (#1) or Proton (#2 - but has in some cases stronger security than NordVPN, although it will significantly slow access to websites). Purchase and enable all of their extra threat protection.
5. Make sure your firewalls are always active. Sometimes, you will need to disable them - but then you have to make sure to reenable them ASAP.
6. Use 2FA on everything.
7. Use Yubi keys.
8. Use Google Authenticator.
9. Use full disk encryption. On Apple, this is easy -->. And in fact, using Apple computers will reduce the probability of hackers getting into your system, because they are not nearly as prevalent as Windows systems.
10. Get used to using strong passwords of 25+ characters. 1Password is excellent for this. Passwords made up of names are easy to use. 1Password will generate this for you and you can pick one if it suits you, otherwise have it generate another. In 1Password, you can store all kinds of other vital information as well.
11. Have encrypted backups. Apple has Time Machine which is absolutely excellent and well integrated. They also have "File Vault" for disk encryption, which is also excellent.

The above just scratches the surface.

Last but not least: Your bank accounts are the most precious resource to protect. Always keep an eye on them. If you are NOT good at security, you might consider logging on to them every day!

Talk to ChatGPT about your computer and network security. It will give you plenty of good advice. It will remind you of things to check.

 

[cashcatz]

You did the right thing.

Propely setting up good security nowadays is getting complicated. In fact, "managing" every computer and device on your home network can be a time-consuming challenge. Nowadays, you want as few computers as possible. Every computer is another security nightmare to deal with.

In general:

1. Try to keep your business computers and devices isolated from all other computers and devices on your home network.
2. Avoid, as much as possible, websites known to be associated with criminal activity, such as ****, gaming, travel, etc..
3. Be very careful clicking on links in emails. Unsubscribe to websites you don't absolutely need. Report spam.
4. Use a good VPN like NordVPN (#1) or Proton (#2 - but has in some cases stronger security than NordVPN, although it will significantly slow access to websites). Purchase and enable all of their extra threat protection.
5. Make sure your firewalls are always active. Sometimes, you will need to disable them - but then you have to make sure to reenable them ASAP.
6. Use 2FA on everything.
7. Use Yubi keys.
8. Use Google Authenticator.
9. Use full disk encryption. On Apple, this is easy -->. And in fact, using Apple computers will reduce the probability of hackers getting into your system, because they are not nearly as prevalent as Windows systems.
10. Get used to using strong passwords of 25+ characters. 1Password is excellent for this. Passwords made up of names are easy to use. 1Password will generate this for you and you can pick one if it suits you, otherwise have it generate another. In 1Password, you can store all kinds of other vital information as well.
11. Have encrypted backups. Apple has Time Machine which is absolutely excellent and well integrated. They also have "File Vault" for disk encryption, which is also excellent.

The above just scratches the surface.

Last but not least: Your bank accounts are the most precious resource to protect. Always keep an eye on them. If you are NOT good at security, you might consider logging on to them every day!

Talk to ChatGPT about your computer and network security. It will give you plenty of good advice. It will remind you of things to check.

I mistake I see a lot of folks use is a human readable and weak password like "mustang67". That is just askin' for a hackin'. The password managers will generate a strong password for you that you never have to worry about remembering as it will fill it for you across all devices - all you need to provide is a fingerprint.

 

[RCA]

You need to get into the lifelong habit of using long passwords, using a password manager like 1Password, using 2FA, using YubiKeys, and Google Authenticator. IT IS A NUISANCE. But if you make it a habit, not so much. Of course, if a device goes down and you decide to rebuild it from scratch, you will quickly see the dark side. Take incremental backups everyday, full or "core" backups maybe every month (where a core backup is defined to be a bootable backup that includes the operating system and all essential programs and data to rebuild a system. Test your core backups to make sure they work - every once in a while.

 

[Carnivore]

Lots of good advice. when you are totally not connected to the internet Take a look for an app called anydesk

The Fast Remote Desktop Application – AnyDesk

Discover AnyDesk, the secure and intuitive remote desktop app with innovative features, perfect for seamless remote desktop application across devices.

anydesk.com

if that is there it could be someone controlling your computer Just a hunch

 

[cashcatz]

IT IS A NUISANCE

Way less of a nuisances than getting hacked and losing access.