Got a problem with a 15 year old hacker...help guys! (1 Viewer)

Derrik Draven · Sep 17, 2003

My girlfriends son is your typical, pasty skinned, reclusive, 15 year old computer hacker.

He has some way of spying on all the websites that my girlfriend surfs to, along with being able to spy on all her I.M. chats. He's doing this remotely from his fathers, on his own computer.

She tells me that he supposedly hasn't installed any software on this pc of hers that I'm using, to do whatever the hell it is he's doing.

She's running windows xp and he told her that it's a hack that's inherent to all xp software.

This isn't a problem for me; just yet, since I'm running a dinosaur P2/300mhz with win95 but, if you guys read another thread I've posted on here, you'll see I'm about to step up to the plate, buy a new pc and, I'll be stuck with winxp...and the nosey little hacker.

Do any of you guys have ANY idea what this hack is he's talking about? I want to make sure the little bastard doesn't get one over on me!!!! We have a dsl connection here and supposedly he knows our ip number and uses this somehow to do his spying.

Do I have to go out and buy some anonymizer software? A firewall? What do I have to do to make sure this snot nosed teen gets the short end of the stick when dealing with me.

Any help from you guru's is EXTREMELY appreciated!!!!!

Glenn Overholt · Sep 17, 2003

Does your girlfriend have a firewall up? If not, get one, and fast!

Glenn

Joe Hsu · Sep 17, 2003

Sounds like it's just a case of someone using remote connection? You can just disable it...and no matter what, everyone should have a firewall, so that'll be a good idea too.

Someone'll probably have a better idea than me tho, so just wait.

Greg Rakaska · Sep 17, 2003

It could be the Remote Desktop Help service that is built in to XP. You can disable the service, add a DSL/Cable router with DHCP, and a software firewall to thwart any attempt he might make.

You might also want to download Spybot Search & Destroy, or purchase something like Pest Patrol.

Chances are he isn't the stereotypical Hollywood teenage computer hacker. If he isn't using Remote Desktop Help service, then he is probably using one of the many available commercial (shareware) snooper programs. Most teenager hackers are "script kiddies" that rely on the work of others to do their damage. If that is the case, then the measures I mentioned will easily stop them.

If he is a genius, then my suggestions may not work as i am no genius!

JamesHl · Sep 17, 2003

If it's remote desktop you can just disable it. Odds are it's a trojan, I don't know what the script kids use these days but it's probably something like back orifice. Most importantly, get a firewall.

Tekara · Sep 17, 2003

first up, the correct term is cracker, as in one who cracks. it may seem like nit picking but hacking is not a crime and almost all people that play around with computers are hackers. aside from that the kid doesn't sounds like a cracker just some snot nosed brat who read some garbage on a website about how to take advantage of the less knowledgable.

next up, cut out the crap with the stereotypes, noone likes being stereotyped so it's rude to stereotype others. this ones a big pet peeve of mine!

now that I'm done ranting about some of pet peeves lets see about your problem. the absolute simplest method to prevent remote access to the computer is a firewall. zone alarm is a great personal software firewall that you can install on a computer that will limit both incomming and outgoing traffic. pay particular attention to the outgoing traffic as in programs on your computer that attempt to access the internet. just set the local network to high security settings to keep your problems down.

finally you can just simply look into pulling your computer off the same network as the kids. easiest method is to invest in a router and daisy chain that behind your main broadband router. it's a simple yet effect method for isolating a computer. I used to use this method when I lived in the dorms. your computer will effectively "hide" behind the router.

anyway, keep us up to date on things.

Jack Shappa · Sep 17, 2003

(Admin note: Personal attack deleted.) Crackers break into secure areas and do damage. "Hackers" break into secure areas just to prove they can but are careful not to damage things. Hacking into someone else's system is VERY illegal, wether you damage things or not. Grandma poking around her own computer is not a hacker. Hackers consider themselves "honorable" and hold disdain for "crackers" who harm the systems they penetrate.

- Cryo

Tekara · Sep 18, 2003

(Admin note: Response to personal attack deleted. Do not respond in kind, simply use the "Report This Post" icon and let the moderators handle it.)

but I know that's not true, right? so let me help you out here. It's not a matter of intent, it's a matter of wether or not the deeds are malicous. hackers are not malicous while crackers are.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hacker
"8. (Deprecated) A malicious meddler who tries to discover
sensitive information by poking around. Hence "password
hacker", "network hacker". The correct term is cracker."

now that perfectly mirrors your attempted definition of a hacker. it gives no reference to any damage caused, just "poking" around looking for security holes. As you can see it is a common definition, but nevertheless incorrect.

here's a great quote from the hacker FAQ:
http://www.plethora.net/~seebs/faqs/hacker.html
"Hackers aren't, contrary to media reporting, the people who break into computers. Those are crackers. Hackers are people who enjoy playing with computers. Your hacker may occasionally circumvent security measures, but this is not malicious; she just does it when the security is in her way, or because she's curious."

remember it is still malicous to gain access to what you do not have permission to access. e.g. it is malicious for someone to break into your house even if they don't steal anything or cause any other problems.

think of non-malicous cracking like a padlock that you forgot the combination to. it's your padlock, but you can't remember the code to unlock it so you have to crack it.

Tekara · Sep 18, 2003

oh and as far as the media, they got a hold of the term hacker back when the term hacker refered to almost all computer users as when computers first came out the only ones that did anything with them were the enthusiests. so when a computer enthusiest was to blame for some crime they where called by the common nickname of "hacker"

It can be equated to calling someone who plays golf and uses a 9-iron to mame another person a golfer and describing the maming as golfing. After all he is something of a golf enthusiast which qualifies him to be a golfer and he uses his golf equipment to perform his malicous act which would mean he is golfing, no? Of course not, most everyone knows better and would easily think that line of thought to be ridiculous.

AllanN · Sep 18, 2003

just some snot nosed brat

You should take your own advice. I agree that the term Hacker gets abused. But this thread is about Derrik protect his computer so lets stick to that.

Derrik, make sure your computer is has the latest patches, anti virus and some sort of firewall software. If you can I recommend a hardware based firewall/router and a firewall on your PC. Look at Linksys for hardware firewalls/routers. They make both wired and wireless products at fair prices. I personally use this product. Having a hardware firewall means that the attacker has to breach the firewall before he can even gain access to the PC's behind it. Since the firewall is very proprietary in it software design its hard to crack. Take a look at Norton Internet Security 2003 for a inclusive Virus, Firewall, and Privacy Control software.

Click to expand...

Ryan Spaight · Sep 18, 2003

A hardware firewall using NAT (Network Address Translation), such as the Linksys box mentioned above, is an excellent and easy way to lock out this sort of activity. Basically, the firewall assumes your IP address and your PC gets one that is meaningless on the Internet.

So the kid ends up talking to the router, and not the PC. Which is a far less interesting conversation.

This will also protect you from Blaster-type worms, without relying on pattern-based virus scanners. (You still need one of those, of course, but a NAT firewall will stop that particular sort of attack cold without needing to know about a specific new threat.)

Finally, get yourself a free copy of Ad-Aware and run it occasionally to look for spyware-type stuff a virus scanner won't catch.

Ryan

Ryan

Jeff R. · Sep 18, 2003

My guess is that he has some sort of network sniffer set up. If all the computers go through a hub, the sniffer can be installed on any computer on the network because the hub sends all network traffic to all the computers. If the hub is replaced with a switch, then network is routed only to the destination computer and not shared with the other computers on the network. He would then have to get the sniffer installed on a computer that physically sits between all the computers and the internet which would be much easier to spot.

John_Bonner · Sep 18, 2003

She tells me that he supposedly hasn't installed any software on this pc of hers that I'm using, to do whatever the hell it is he's doing.

How can she be so sure? He may have installed a key-logger type program which tracks every keystroke or mouse click on a pc. I'm not familiar with how they work but they are available. I'd be willing to bet there are also versions that can work remotely.

Click to expand...

Bruce N · Sep 18, 2003

This is not a computer problem. This is a parent/child problem. Junior needs to learn NOW that this behavior is not acceptable!

JamesHl · Sep 18, 2003

Oh yeah, I didn't even think of a keylogger.

Lee L · Sep 18, 2003

Just have her start going to sites advocating Tough Love and or Military Schools.

AllanN · Sep 18, 2003

How can she be so sure? He may have installed a key-logger type program which tracks every keystroke or mouse click on a pc.

This could also be the case if he had physical access to the PC. Like others have said depending oh his abilities it could be something simple like Remote Desktop built into windows. Or it could be something more advanced, like a sniffer or key logging program. I’m betting its something simple that a firewall and a good kick in the ass can handle.

Click to expand...

Jason Merrick · Sep 18, 2003

Just have her start going to sites advocating Tough Love and or Military Schools.

Click to expand...

MarkHastings · Sep 18, 2003

Is your girlfriends computer up to date as far as Windows Updates?

Microsoft announced a security warning on Sept. 10th. Basically, without this update installed, people could hack into your system. Microsoft deemed this a CRITICAL update and said it should be mandatory that everyone update their systems.

I'd use the Windows update to make sure you've installed this. If this isn't the reason, it's still a good thing to do.

MS03-039: A Buffer Overrun in RPCSS Could Allow an Attacker to Run Malicious Programs

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol that is used by Windows. RPC provides an inter-process communication mechanism that allows a program that is running on one computer to seamlessly access services on another computer.

DonRoeber · Sep 18, 2003

are you sure the kid is actually doing this? He may just be all talk.

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