Unauthorized workgroup

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Somehow I have a workgroup on my home computer 'David's Viao'. Have I been hackked? How do I get rid of it? I'm running McAffe personal firewall. I don't seem to be able to run Windows network diagnostic tests. The system is able to access the net, send and receive e-mail.
 
----- Walter wrote: -----

Somehow I have a workgroup on my home computer 'David's Viao'. Have I been hackked? How do I get rid of it? I'm running McAffe personal firewall. I don't seem to be able to run Windows network diagnostic tests. The system is able to access the net, send and receive e-mail.

Hi Walter,
I have the same problem right now....a work group and other remote users as well and im running Trend Micro Internet Security.

It doesnt matter what type of firewall you have I think because windows has so many flaws and bugs that if someone wants in badly enough they can get in.

I even went out and bought a brand new hard drive because formating the old one wasnt getting rid of them. The new drive didnt work either. I just found out that apparently a pcmcia device on all systems is capable of storing ram so that when you reboot the bios uses the data as part of the boot process.

I have even made sure that i have alllllllll the updates even the ones that are not listed on the windows update page the ones that you have to search for....they didnt work.

I have been working on getting rid of intruders for over a month now and no success.

So...hopefully someone with extreme knowledge will read this post and give us both some useful advice.

Sincerely,

iCroN!
 
Somehow I have a workgroup on my home computer 'David's Viao'. Have I been hackked? How do I get rid of it? I'm running McAffe personal firewall. I don't seem to be able to run Windows network diagnostic tests. The system is able to access the net, send and receive e-mail.
Click to expand...

More information, please - Are you running wireless? When was your last
anti-virus update? What is your operating system - XP pro or XP home?
It may be something in the way you've got your firewall set up. In any
case, I've found that a software firewall and a hardware router solve a
multitude of issues for a minimum of cash. Of course, you have to read
up on how to set them up securely.


Some helpful places for info on locking down your operating system
include:

http://www.grc.com
(Read through the site, and run the "Shields UP!" test...the
news.grc.com folks are really helpful as well, if you want to add a news
server to your reader)

http://www.blackviper.com
(He explains what to open or close, and why...)

Here's my setup, which has worked very well for me so far:

XP Pro, no wireless

Hardware router, with port 113 set to detour to la-la land, and set up
after a LOT of reading...

ZoneAlarm Pro (Basic is free; Pro, you pay for. Pro has a few more
features, but they both provide the same protection)

I update my AV every time I log on

I check for Critical patches every time (or every other time...) I log
on

I run Spybot Search & Destroy, set to "Immunize", and I check that
almost every time I log on.

I run AdAware occasionally (the free version), and update it every time
I log on.

I'm checking out the evaluation version of Pest Patrol, just to have
another tool. I probably won't buy it.

Custom settings based on blackviper's suggestions

Most of these things can be automated. I just run them by hand because
I'm a control freak. On the "wetware" (user) side of the keyboard:

I very rarely open attachments, and never from people I don't know
(although that's not much protection, these days - even if it's from
someone I know, I have to know what the file is before I'll open it)

I know that no reputable financial or computer organizations are going
to ask me by email for my personal information, no matter HOW pretty the
email looks.

One thing you don't have much control over (yet) is websites that
download malware to your computer when you visit them. Rumor has it
that the next XP service pack is going to put the kibosh on that. I
sure hope so!

Hope there are some useful ideas here. The answer is somewhere in your
setup. The first thing that came to my head was "I wonder if he's
running an unsecured wireless LAN?" These days, if you just pull stuff
out of the box and plug it in, even a dial-up will be infected in
minutes... seconds, even.

~ Rosanne
 
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