Uninvited user

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Guest

I have a situation where I believe someone has gained
access to my computer and is using it remotely. If I
leave my computer on for several hours and turn it off,
frequently I will get a message "other people are logged
on to this computer." I have contacted my isp provider
with no resolution. I don't know where to go for help in
finding out who this is (which I believe I know). Can
anyone give me advise on how to find out who is logged on
and what did they gain from my computer in order to do
this? This is a serious situation and one that I want to
follow up on quickly.
 
Do you have multiple profiles on the computer?
You will get that message if another profile was not logged off when
you power off from your profile.
 
Yes, there are multiple profiles. I know that only one
profile is logged on at one time as I am the only user
around the computer.
 
If your computer is shared inside your house, files,
printers etc and the other computer is using a folder in
your computer you will also get that message.
Pedro
 
There is NOT anyone else in my house. I am the only user
unless a visitor stops by. That is why I am not certain
why I am seeing these messages. There are no networks.
there should not be anyone else logged on.
 
Unplug your PC from the internet temporarily...then...

a. Enable the XP Internet Connection Firewall...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;283673

or a third-party personal firewall like ZoneAlarm, etc...

b. Do not have Remote Desktop enabled...

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gomobile/remotedesktop/default.asp

c. Do not have an Incoming Connection defined...

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn_server.htm

d. Run anti-spyware, anti-Trojan and anti-virus software to make sure the machine is clean.

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...
 
The previous message is good advice, especially making sure you have anti-virus on the machine. However, don't mess around with software firewalls when a hardware firewall will provide much higher security. Go with something like a 4 port Linksys router. For around $80 you can have a much more secure environment. If you want to use remote desktop to get at your computer from another location, just open port 3389 on the firewall. There are a few local group policy setting that will also help secure the machine and make the connection better (ie. setting encryption, force remove of wallpaper for RDC connections).
 
The Linksys BEFSR41 is going for under $50 locally here in central Oklahoma... You can get a generic
4-port router off the shelf from Wal-Mart for $40 or so...

Of course we don't know if the original poster has broadband access or not. If he is on a dialup
ISP, like I am, ICS/ICF is a good choice... Are there routers for dialup ISPs? Personally I don't
know...

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

TJ said:
The previous message is good advice, especially making sure you have anti-virus on the machine.
Click to expand...
However, don't mess around with software firewalls when a hardware firewall will provide much higher
security. Go with something like a 4 port Linksys router. For around $80 you can have a much more
secure environment. If you want to use remote desktop to get at your computer from another
location, just open port 3389 on the firewall. There are a few local group policy setting that will
also help secure the machine and make the connection better (ie. setting encryption, force remove of
wallpaper for RDC connections).
 
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