how to tell if u been hacked

hi im new to the site and i think this is a great site.

Like 2 months ago my computer went crazy with all this pop ups and the date change back to jan.1, 2000 and thats when i put my anti-virus (pc cillin 2004 it came with the motherboard) and i ran adware and it took off some pop but the anti virus found nothing wrong but i still notice that my im still going slow on stuff which i wasnt before.

Ive notice that the firewall always blocks someone trying to see my netbios browser(i dont know what that mean) well its blocks that when i go use my internet explorer. And i was thinking if that thing that happen to be 2 months ago installed something. How could i tell if i have something that is getting access on my computer.

hi

be sure that your system have been patched and updated. also the same with your anti virus softwares. having a firewall is good also. be sure to properly configure it to block unnecessary ports that an attacker might use to compromise your system.

actually, it is sometimes undetectable and hard to tell if you have been hacked or attack. the best way is to prevent things such as these from happening by thinking ahead that your system has the possibility of being hack. by thinking like a hacker does, you have the upper hand in "avoiding" attacks. but it does not stop there. it is an ongoing battle in the world of computing so by staying informed always you will gain the proper tools to arm yourself against those that just have the pleasure of doing damage.

research and you will learn many things, starting off from this site. it hs all the things you need to know with regards to networking and the like.

browse to each links within this site and you'll truly find atreasure chest of information..

regards

Well the best way to do this is to start from scratch. In other words, right now you're not sure what is wrong with the system. If a hacker is already in the system, it can be very difficult to find and get them completely out.

Your best bet is to do this :

1. Format your system and reinstall Windows (or linux)
2. Before getting online, install a personal firewall such as ZoneAlarm
3. Install Antivirus
4. Do not use Internet Explorer, that is where half this stuff comes from, use Mozilla Firefox. Its faster, more feature packed, way more secure, and it features the latest technology.
5. AFTER installing all the above... THEN get online and hit Windows Update.. get your system completely patched and updated including the virus definitions.

The best way to go about doing this is to download the above programs before you reinstall. Then you can safely reinstall and switch to the safer alternatives listed above BEFORE getting online.

If you do these steps out of order and get online before you install the firewall.. or use IE to surf.. you will be hit within the space of approximately 2 minutes.

Also, rest assured, popups are not usually the work of hackers.. its much more likely that you have some spyware installed..


Cheers,

yeah i will think of reformatting and start clean again.

Thankx for the help guys by giving info on security

oh i forgot to ask if there a way to uninstall internet explorer so i could put Mozilla Firefox.

Control Panel/Add-Remove Programs?

Adding to sahirh's point over IE check out the below news link.

news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39160000,00.htm

I'm new to the boards by the way!