Have I been hacked?

T1-N1 · 08-22-2009, 04:25 AM

Hello, tsf! I find myself with some strange problems and hope you can help:

A day or two ago, I found a strange firefox history entry. It was someone logging into their gmail account, which is pretty normal, but the strange thing is -
there's no one by the name displayed in my house, and no one one in the family new anything about it. (no guests were around either)

I tried to check my firewall logs, but logging was not turned on. So i enabled it. But attempts to try and open the log files yielded an access denied message. Which is odd since I am on an admin account.

I also remember a strange incident a couple days ago. I was downloading a 255MB file, plus two few smaller files (50mb, and 5mb).
I set the big file to download using FlashGet, (a download accelerator,) and did other things (browsing, etc).
After a while, I glanced at my BitMeter bandwidth montior window, and to my horror, the DL readout read over 1 gb. As i am on a 5gb monthly cap, I somewhat freaked out.

I checked flashget, but my download had finished. And even if it was still downloading, the combined size of the files was only 310mb, and i was only doing light browsing (no videos etc).

I was (and still am) at a loss as to what could be using that much data. I always set windows and other programs to notify me of any updates, but not to download them automatically, so it couldnt be that, and the file wasnt a torrent or anything, and upload for that period shows only 13mb. Soon the high usage stopped.

I wonder... has my computer been hacked?

In order to find out what program used that bandwidth, I had a look at Resource monitor's network section, but it was no use as it only shows current activity and the high usage had already passed. Does resource montitor have any logs i can look at?

The computer in question is on Vista Home Premium laptop with a wireless connection to the internet.

I'd like to know if I have indeed been hacked, if the mysterious usage could be related to the history log, and why I can't access my firewall logs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

dwalk1989 · 08-22-2009, 08:48 PM

Are you on a wireless network? If that's the case, then someone might have connected to your wireless router and went online.

T1-N1 · 08-23-2009, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwalk1989

Are you on a wireless network? If that's the case, then someone might have connected to your wireless router and went online.

yes, i have a wireless network. if that is all they did, why would there be a history log on my laptop? wouldnt it just be like adding another computer to the network?

clyde123 · 08-24-2009, 05:06 AM

The bandwidth might have been automatic updates, like windows, antivirus, etc.
I would only begin to worry about that if it became a regular thing.

Daniel Tiger · 08-25-2009, 11:04 AM

Is your wireless router password protected? If not you should put in a password.

Dan

Suncoast · 08-25-2009, 06:15 PM

If you have Microsoft Works or Office, there was a rather huge service pack recently. 500mb I seem to recall.

If someone cracked your system, you would likely see a spike in data going out to the Internet, not a spike in data going to your computer.

08-22-2009, 04:25 AM	#1 (permalink)
T1-N1 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP, Vista, Puppy	Have I been hacked? Hello, tsf! I find myself with some strange problems and hope you can help: A day or two ago, I found a strange firefox history entry. It was someone logging into their gmail account, which is pretty normal, but the strange thing is - there's no one by the name displayed in my house, and no one one in the family new anything about it. (no guests were around either) I tried to check my firewall logs, but logging was not turned on. So i enabled it. But attempts to try and open the log files yielded an access denied message. Which is odd since I am on an admin account. I also remember a strange incident a couple days ago. I was downloading a 255MB file, plus two few smaller files (50mb, and 5mb). I set the big file to download using FlashGet, (a download accelerator,) and did other things (browsing, etc). After a while, I glanced at my BitMeter bandwidth montior window, and to my horror, the DL readout read over 1 gb. As i am on a 5gb monthly cap, I somewhat freaked out. I checked flashget, but my download had finished. And even if it was still downloading, the combined size of the files was only 310mb, and i was only doing light browsing (no videos etc). I was (and still am) at a loss as to what could be using that much data. I always set windows and other programs to notify me of any updates, but not to download them automatically, so it couldnt be that, and the file wasnt a torrent or anything, and upload for that period shows only 13mb. Soon the high usage stopped. I wonder... has my computer been hacked? In order to find out what program used that bandwidth, I had a look at Resource monitor's network section, but it was no use as it only shows current activity and the high usage had already passed. Does resource montitor have any logs i can look at? The computer in question is on Vista Home Premium laptop with a wireless connection to the internet. I'd like to know if I have indeed been hacked, if the mysterious usage could be related to the history log, and why I can't access my firewall logs. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

08-22-2009, 08:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
dwalk1989 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 119 OS: Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1)	Re: Have I been hacked? Are you on a wireless network? If that's the case, then someone might have connected to your wireless router and went online.

08-24-2009, 05:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
clyde123 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Glasgow Posts: 398 OS: xp sp2	Re: Have I been hacked? The bandwidth might have been automatic updates, like windows, antivirus, etc. I would only begin to worry about that if it became a regular thing.

08-25-2009, 11:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
Daniel Tiger Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Steeler Nation Capital Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP SP3	Re: Have I been hacked? Is your wireless router password protected? If not you should put in a password. Dan

08-25-2009, 06:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
Suncoast Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Largo, FL, USA Posts: 389 OS: XPP, Linux, 2003, Cisco	Re: Have I been hacked? If you have Microsoft Works or Office, there was a rather huge service pack recently. 500mb I seem to recall. If someone cracked your system, you would likely see a spike in data going out to the Internet, not a spike in data going to your computer.