Computer security experts

[scottbombedout]

Now I don't want to appear paronoid , however I think I am being set up somewhat. Can't go into too many details.

But questions for our resident computer security experts.

How easy is it to get stuff off someones computer remotely?

How easy is it to put stuff on someones computer?

What are the signs of keylogging?

How easy to read someones emails?

If I take my pc to an expert, would they be able to tell what has been passed and where to?

[Joe Bob]

Keyloggers and other malware come in usually via an attachment via email. If you think someone is looking at your box, use another box....one that had no connection to you. Use another email address. Don't let it out of your sight or secure it when not in use.

If it's the black helicopters all bets are off.

[stomachmonkey]

Personal or corporate computer.

Answers to your questions.

Easy

Easy

Should not be any

Easy

Maybe, at least some of it

[krystar]

average internet user's computer is infected with tons of mal/spy/adware

average internet user will click on anything that's shiny.

average internet user will click OK/Yes on anything that looks like it's a dialog box. as long as the box disappears afterwards.

[VincentVega]

Also, you can run spyware scans yourself and ID most issues you may have. If your PC is part of a windows domain your should consider your data anything but private.

[id10t]

What others have said. On top of that, what about physical security?

[genrex]

Could Scott run a full system scan using Microsoft Security Essentials to find any keyloggers? Would MSE (or some other program) detect things like that?

_

[VincentVega]

Lots of options, I like Spybot search and destroy.

[John Rogers]

You did not say if it was a home computer/network or at your work place? Big, BIG difference. At home you can and should be in control. If at work then you are at the corporate mercy and I would check that computer security form you signed to make sure you are NOT doing anything against the rules. If you are being set up and it is just you then someone has a reason, no matter how off the wall it might be. If it is everyone and the company has reasons to do that then there is probably nothing you can do.

Spy/logger/ software has gotten so well designed now that you will never know it is there and in a corporate setup it will go onto the PC when you log in and "patch" or "update" is pushed out. Most times they hide in that little program named "svchost.exe" as a DLL and hum along and no one suspects anything.

[flipper35]

Malwarebyes is good as well. Hijack this is good for pointing things out.

You don't have to click anything shiny or out of the norm. For a while it was common to get a Flash ad approved and then swap it with a malicious ad that looked the same after approval. The ad would then deposit malicious software on your machine without you knowing even if you were on a legit site. Most of the time this is transparent to the end user so the author or user of said package can get the info off of your machine he likes before being found out.

To answer directly:

How easy is it to get stuff off someones computer remotely? Depends on how security conscious you are, medium to really easy. Macs are tougher as well.

How easy is it to put stuff on someones computer? See above, once they have control and as long as you are on the internet there isn't much they couldn't do, including listening and watching on your built in web cam.

What are the signs of keylogging? What he said, there normally isn't any signs, unless you consider that a sign.

How easy to read someones emails? In the wild or on your computer? If it is on your computer, see above. In the wild it depends on your providers security. I don't generally leave email on the server when using a POP3 account.

If I take my pc to an expert, would they be able to tell what has been passed and where to? Depending on the type of payload dropped of like as it part of a botnet or a keylogger? A good security expert might be able to tell where but a good payload won't keep track of what was sent. A good internet firewall might have logs of it though but most consumer products don't log much.

[flipper35]

John, in our environment we push almost all our software and updates to the end user transparenty. We don't use keyloggers on the computers but we can check up on people if we have to to see what they were up to. Our management software keeps track of processes running on the machines as well.

[Eric Coffey]

If you are on a "network" and are not the admin, anything is probably fair game.

f you are connected via wireless router (and are the admin/owner), you can/should log into the router and check settings (attached devices, access logs, etc.). Obviously you should use the highest level of encryption available with a super-strong password (long as possible with caps, numbers, symbols, etc.). Also, if it's an option set it up to only allow specific MAC addresses (your machines) to access it. I would turn off your SSID broadcast if possible as well.

On your computer itself, be sure that your firewall is up/operational, with no unknown "exceptions" and all file sharing disabled (and any shared folders deleted/empty). Regular scans with Malwarebytes/CCleaner/Spybot probably couldn't hurt either.

Even then, I am sure there are plenty of ways around it all if someone really wants in. YMMV.