How do I tell if I am being attacked by a hacker?

[ibex333]

I've been noticing some strange behavior recently...

First, my antivirus constantly screams telling me it "blocked an attack from ip XXXXXXXX", and also it pops out a message every now and then telling me that I entered the wrong password when I wasn't even touching my antivirus!! Clearly someone is trying to disable the protection so that they can break in, so it's a good thing I set a password.

I am assuming a firewall is one of the options available to me, but those are very complicated to use correctly and get very annoying when used with default settings since they block game access to the internet and interfere with regular internet browsing. On top of that, I use a P2P client... Nuff said.
Are there any intelligent firewalls that require minimal intervention from the user, do not interfere with things I mentioned above, and provide a reasonable level of protection at the same time?

What are some other options available to me aside from the firewall? How do I even tell for sure that someone is trying to break in or already succeeded in breaking in?

Thanx very much.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Do you have a router? Is your IP setup as a DMZ address?

Always assume you're under attack.

 

[thegpfury]

You should definitely invest in a router if you haven't already done so. That adds one more layer of protection between you and the internet.

If you do have a router installed already, update and run your virus scanner to make sure that there's nothing already on your system. Out of idle curiosity, what antivirus do you use? I second what monkey said, make sure that you're not in the DMZ.

For firewalls, I like comodo. It's free, and seems to do a pretty good job keeping things out. Just make sure that you turn off Defense+ unless you like dealing with hundreds of popup messages when programs try to install.

 

[BriGy86]

This is all you need to know.

but in all seriousness I would suggest zonealarm for a firewall. the interface shows you what programs have tried to establish connections and whether they are blocked or not. there should still be a free version.

a few other useful programs are spyware blaster which is a good preventative measure against keyloggers and other spyware. And ccleaner to clear out temporary junk on the PC which is usually where malicious files hide.

you may want to house trend micro's housecall to do an online scan of your computer as well.

 

[drebo]

Seriously? You don't have anything worth "hacking". Likely, you've got a virus/trojan/overly-sensitive-antivirus application.

To think that someone would waste time trying to "hack" a home user. Haha...how arrogant. Too high-risk/low-reward. If someone wanted to steal your identity, they'd take a "pre-approved" creditcard app out of your mailbox or garbage can. Much easier and much more difficult to trace.

What's more than likely the case is that you have an application that likes to phone home every once in a while and your antivirus is overly-sensitive. Worst case? You have a trojan which has attached your computer to a botnet.

 

[spikespiegal]

Likely, you've got a virus/trojan/overly-sensitive-antivirus application.

My favorites are the ones that tell you that having Windows Messenger active is a security risk...of course so you'll update to the full version of the Firewall/AV app.

As you said, no single hacker goes after a home machine.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Getting attacked by a bot is close enough to being attacked by a hacker that quibbling over the exact phrases used is silly.

And yes, some hackers do go after home machines. Usually when you've pissed them off.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Getting attacked by a bot is close enough to being attacked by a hacker that quibbling over the exact phrases used is silly.

And yes, some hackers do go after home machines. Usually when you've pissed them off.

or when they are bored and they see an easy target.