# Hacked. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009 "2003-03-25T13:12:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/1 "2003-03-25T13:12:36Z")
My computer got hacked. When I turned it on, the monitor displayed a “Tagged by \_\_\_ \_\_\_” and “Owned by \_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_” message popped up. Any suggestions as for what to do, other than get a proper firewall( already done)? ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/2 "2003-03-25T13:22:10Z")
that would be an fxp group just scanning around the place. A firewall should keep them out, they generally work on either easy to guess passwords on web servers, or security failings with particular set ups. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/3 "2003-03-25T13:26:03Z")
Sure, turn it off when you aren’t using it is a good start. Hacks tend to take a while, so if you leave your computer on at all times sitting idle you’re just allowing the potential hacker the opportunity to work his magic. Make sure you’ve got all of the latest security patches for ALL of your programs (not just windows). Stop using any file sharing software your use (WinMX, etc). Turn off any web-enabled components of programs that you use regularly but don’t need web ability in. If your firewall program (you don’t mention which one) allows you to ban IPs, ban every suspicious IP you come across that’s identified by your firewall program. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/4 "2003-03-25T13:27:17Z")
I’m using a program called “Firewall 2003”. ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/5 "2003-03-25T13:32:58Z")
as long as it doesn’t allow any connection on any port that will be fine. Check for an installation of a program called Serv-U, which is the ftp that they use. ---
**Author:** ![blinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@blinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/6 "2003-03-25T14:02:22Z")
If it really got hacked, I’d suggest a reinstall and restore from backups, you never know what might be hiding around on the system. Are you sure it wasn’t just some windows messenger (not MSN) popup? I’ve heard they have been used to spam people lately and I could imagine some kiddo would find it fun to message a person and try to scare them. ---
**Author:** ![mallocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mallocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mallocks)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/7 "2003-03-25T14:25:37Z")
blinx, “Tagged by” and “Owned by” are the folders that warez uses create on a hard drive that they have hacked and are hosting illegal files on. They tend to look for open anonymous ftps, or hack systems with discovered exploits. ---
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/8 "2003-03-26T01:19:03Z")
The guy told me that basically hacked into my computer to scare me, and to show me to watch what I download. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hacked/164009/9 "2003-03-26T02:38:47Z")
You may also want to get an anti-virus package that scans for trojan horses if you don’t already have one. [http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/security/trojan.html](http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/security/trojan.html) has an explination about what trojans are and how to get rid of them. Slee