Hi . My reply is mixed with your words:
christinaxsd said:
I'm not very computer savvy
Panda_man : Here is the right place and you'll be given help
.... > and I have someone I know set up my computer for
me. Is there any way that he could have access to my info. from his home
computer?
Panda_man : Yes ,it is possible.
First let me explain you this.Nowadays there are many (too many) malicious
softwares (it is called malware) .You could have heard of computer viruses
but there are much more than viruses. There are also trojan horses , worms ,
hacking tools , hackers, SPAM , dialers, jokes, spyware , adware , hijackers
and many others .
The situation is being changed every year so these days the most used are
trojans and hack tools that allow someone else to access your PC with the so
called backdoor and to control your PC remotely.
Of course , this can be installed either by you or by someone else.
Goto
http://www.activescan.com
and scan your computer for ALL kind of malware using Panda Software's free
ActiveScan.When you scan all your pc , the scanner allows you to save the
report from the scan .Please , save the report (it is basic TXT file) on your
Desktop and then post it here so we can advise you if there is malware and
how to remove it.
If you think , you can also perform the fast malware removal instruction in
my web-site:
http://pandaman.hit.bg
I only have on pc in my home, windows xp, do i really need remote
access and file sharing? What is Win VNC? If I check properties of a file and
under the file version it says: (xpclient._____) with numbers in the blank
space, what does that mean? I have a lot of questions and I don't really know
where to start. Any advice or info. would be greatly appreciated.
You really don't need Remote Assistant and File and printer sharing.
First , right click on My Computer ->Properties -> "Remote" tab
Now uncheck the Remote Assistante (and possibly Remove Desktop) services.
Then goto Start->Settings->Control Panel->Network connections
Now choose the connection you use (if you have more than one , do this for
all)
right click on it->Properties and uncheck File and Printer Sharing
Now goto Start->Run
and type:
winver
See what is your OS and Service Pack
Here is how to enable ICF (internet connection firewall) so do it for all
your internet connections
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/learnmore/icf.mspx
Goto Control Panel-> Windows Firewall and make sure the firewall is ON .
Also check "Don't allow exceptions" for maximim protection
You don't mention if you have antivirus software or antispyware software
(software that will help you kill the malware) such as Norton or McAfee ,
Kaspersky or Panda , Nod32 or F-prot , CA or F-Secure ,AVG or Avast.... or
Ad-Aware Se or SpyBot Search and Destroy ....... If there is one , there
should be an icon next to the clock ...
If you are not sure , goto Control Panel->add/remove programs and see if
you have.Be careful !
If you have SP2 , learn more about its Security Center:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wscintro.mspx
At the end , if you don't have antivirus software , download a trial version
of one until you buy .
The best are Panda Titanium 2006 Antivirus+Antispyware and Kaspersky AV
http://www.pandasoftware.com/titanium2006
http://www.pandasoftware.com/about_panda/technology
http://www.kaspersky.com/personal
Now , if you don't have download the 30 day trial version of Kaspersky AV
Personal , for example ,which will protect your PC well until you buy one.
http://www.kaspersky.com/trials?chapter=146481750
After you install it , update it and do this to disable its intrusion
prevention system,it is important:
http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showtopic=897
Use Kaspersky's extended databases
http://www.kaspersky.com/faq?chapter=170704912&qid=170052625
Download Ad-Aware SE Personal to check for non-viral malware
At the end , learn how to protect your PC.Download a file from my site and
learn that:
http://pandaman.hit.bg/Protect_your_pc.htm
Hopefully I was able to help you !
Do not hesitate to contact the
community again !
Panda_man
