Solved Help! Someone Keeps Hacking Into My Computer!

[Resolved] Help! Someone Keeps Hacking Into My Computer!

First, a few specs on my operating system: I live alone and use one single computer. It is an E-Machine T4010, equipped with Windows XP. My ISP is Verizon and my modem is a Westell VersaLink model 327W. I am using Avast Anti-Virus Home Edition, as well as Spybot Search & Destroy.

Something very disturbing has started happening recently. I'll be on-line, and apparently somebody else starts accessing my computer from a remote location. Suddenly I am unable to type anything into the URL window (it just drifts to the side), and the computer is for the most part, under the control of someone else.

Whenever I notice this happening, I immediately shut off the modem. When I try to shut down the computer, a screen pops up that reads something to the effect of: "There are two parties currently logged into Windows. Do both of you wish to log off?" Needless to say, this is quite unsettling. Somebody could very well be using my computer to conduct illegal activity. No viruses turn up after a thorough avast scan.

My Windows firewall is always on, and last evening at around midnight, it happened even while my security and privacy settings were both on HIGH. It almost always happens during the wee hours of the morning, while I'm listening to an internet radio program. If I happen to be looking at the screen, I can instantly tell when it starts, because the screen saver never pops up.

Any help you can give me in preventing this from continuing would be much appreciated. I'm not even sure if it's something to do with Windows or the Verizon people. Is there some button I can push on this thing that will specifically forbid access from any location other than this one?

Dan in Los Angeles.

 

Are you using a wired or wireless connection?

 

Wired

 

The pdf manual I found isn't clear about the capabilities, but I would suggest you access the modem's control panel and disable wireless if possible. Do you know how to access the modem's control panel?

 

Get a real firewall like Commodo. Windows firewall is very basic & gives very little information.

 

I've never done that but I'll give it a try...Do you know how to get to it?

 

Type http://192.168.1.1 in the web browser’s address
window and press Enter
When prompted for the username and password, try;

admin and password

or

admin and admin

 

or zonealarm free, I now use it on one of my computers.

 

In other words, I'm changing any user name or password that I currently already have?

 

If you've never accessed it, or unless the username and password were configured by whoever installed it, then they will be one of the 2 defaults I listed.

Disabling wireless connections is a first step only. It sounds as though you have infections aboard and we'll gather some logs to check.

 

Alright, first of all, the "Allow Remote Assistance" thing is already unchecked...trying out the "User Accounts" icon in the control panel...

 

When I go into "User Accounts" it basically gives me five things to click on:

Change An Account
Create A New Account
Change The Way Users Log On Or Off
Owner
Guest

Which one should I click on?

 

Click on Change an Account -> Guest & give it a password.

That's for start.

Change your logon password too.

 

I've clicked on Change an Account > Guest, but it's not giving me the option of giving it a password. How do I do that?

 

Is the Guest account even enabled? No reason to create a password if you could, if it's disabled.

 

It's disabled. When I click on Owner, it gives me these five options:

Change My Name
Create A Password
Change My Picture
Change My Account Type
Set Up My Account To Use .NET Passport

Are any of these things relevant?

 

No, they are nothing to be concerned with at this time.

Have you checked the modem yet?

 

How do I get to it? I mean, I know it's sitting on top of my computer, but what am I doing on screen? There's nothing in the control panel that specifically says "modem. "