For understand if your computer is being spied on by hackers it is important to know which aspects to pay attention to when using it, so as to grasp precious clues, which otherwise could be overlooked or totally ignored and which, instead, can lead to taking action before it is too late. Cyber attacks don’t always manifest themselves clearly: criminals often operate quietly, compromising the device without the user realizing it. And it is well known: if we ignore the existence of an enemy – in this case a cyber criminal – he can act undisturbed, causing serious damage to the victim. In this in-depth analysis we want to talk to you about some of them signs that can help you understand if your computer is being spied on. These could include anomalous activities, such as slowing down of the PC, unwanted turning on of the webcam and anomalous network traffic coming from the latter. Let’s explore them in detail.
7 signs to understand if your PC is being spied on by hackers
System performance inexplicably degraded
The slow computer performance it’s a clear sign that something is wrong, especially if it happens for no apparent reason. Hackers (or rather crackers) could exploit your system resources to perform tasks in the background, causing a slowdown in overall performance. To find out more, we suggest you monitor your computer resources via the Windows Task Manager (can be called with the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc) or the macOS Activity Monitor (which you can invoke by going to the menu Go > Utilities and double-clicking the utility icon in the window that opens). By doing so, you will find out which processes are causing the anomalous CPU, memory and network consumption that is causing slowdowns. Excessive CPU usage, in particular, is an indicator of possible malware taking up resources for its operations.
Overheating and poor laptop battery life
If your PC is a laptop that overheats or drains the battery more quicklydo not ignore the matter: it could be a hardware problem attributable to the battery itself (perhaps due to incorrect charging routines) or, even worse, it could be due to the activities carried out by the cyber criminal on your PC, this is because malicious software usually consumes large resources in the background which, in addition to slowing down the system (as seen in the previous point), could negatively impact the autonomy of the laptop.
Unusual webcam activations
There webcam turning on unexpectedlyfor example with the light on even when you are not using applications that require it, could indicate that someone is using it to monitor you. It’s disturbing, we realize it, and that’s why it’s a signal that shouldn’t be ignored at all, even in the event that the webcam “light” turns on for fractions of a second and then goes off. If you notice this activity, therefore, check which applications have access to the webcam and delete them if it is software that you did not download.
Browser interface changed
An equally worrying sign is represented by the change in browser interfaceperhaps due to the presence of extensions (not installed by you) that add toolbars and various frills to the appearance of your Internet browsing program. This sign could indicate that cybercriminals have altered your browser settings to hijack your searches and monitor your online activities in general. Periodically check installed extensions and default search engine settings for unauthorized changes.
Security software disabled
In some cases, a compromised computer may end up with the security software disabled without your intervention. Hackers often try to disable antivirus or firewalls to avoid detection. If your security software is disabled, activate it immediately and proceed with a thorough scan of the entire system.
Unknown programs in the installed list
Even the presence of unknown programs among those installed It’s a sign to pay attention to. Regularly check the list of applications downloaded to your PC and check for unrecognized software from suspicious sources. These programs could be remote access tools or spyware installed by hackers to control your PC without you knowing.
Appearance of pop-up messages
If you notice a sudden proliferation of pop-up advertisements that invite you to click on suspicious links, it could be the result of a malware infection. Hackers often exploit pop-ups to attract the user’s attention and trick them into interacting with malicious content. Pop-ups that appear in the desktop notification center, for example, are a potential red flag. In these cases, do not click and check your system with an updated antivirus, which can detect and block the malware responsible for these phenomena.
Another alarm bell concerns the antivirus notifications. If your security program alerts you to suspicious files or unusual activity, don’t ignore these alerts: proceed immediately to quarantine the files or delete them, avoiding any suspicious interactions. To ensure that your antivirus works properly, keep it updated (otherwise it will not be able to inform you of the presence of any threats).
An unmistakable sign of a computer hack is represented by ransom messages due to a ransomware infection, i.e. malicious software that limits access to the infected device, which can be unlocked by paying a ransom (“ransom” in English) via cryptocurrencies. If this is the type of message that appears on your PC, we suggest you Don’t pay the ransom ea immediately report the incident to the authoritieslike the Postal Police.
