I think my computer has been hacked.

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It most likely was. Even if the OP didn't go on a dodgy site, rouge ads are common for a lot of online advertising systems.

i wonder how many abandoned bots and breeders are lying around simply spewing out goza for people to trip over.
usually their effective duration is on the order of months but it could be years before some computers are cleaned.
when the coder moves on he wouldnt bother to clean anything.

Reading the links Dilbert posted really makes me glad to own a Mac. Only way I can get anything is by installing it myself, and I'm very particular about what software I use. I also have the choice of just getting it all from the Mac App Store, so I know it's safe.

it is worth noticing that most of those cases are indeed actual hacks or supervised software,
it isnt something that happens at random, usually there is very specific targets with very specific pre scouted vectors to those targets,
if you are at that point not even mac or linux would make much of a difference as they could just use weaknesses in your router.
other favourites are mailing usb devices with a hidden usb hub and flash drive to an employer, once plugged in, even to a mac or linux system (if coded for it) the network is as good as compromised,

point is that if you already did anger someone enough to call down groups like anon then you simply cannot do anything at all about it, even visa, mastercard and paypal can be crippled by them.
if you carry high value financial information one should employ segregated networks using compound encryption over multiple raids on multiple networks, that way they would need to crack every single network that is a part of the cloud before having access to any data,
account numbers arent enough in denmark, we use one time codepads for all banking and public needs, randonly generated and paired, so on top of that you would need to hack the central ID servers.

Alright, driveby browser exploits are unlikely to work since there's never been a Mac virus in the wild which can install itself without the user having any input, but if someone tried to hack my computer specifically, yes, they probably could if they were really determined. The best you can do is put as many hurdles in place as possible, I guess.

to be honest it wasnt really aimed specifically at you,
more at the notion of the net being a dangerous place in general.

Also, check this out: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/21 ... _security/

OS X Lion is the most secure OS at the moment. That article does note that driveby exploits are still technically possible, but again, there are none in the wild, and this new security makes them a lot harder to carry out.

At the end of the day, nothing is 100% secure, so you've just got to do the best you can.

True dat.

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?32 ... us-problem

The end of this thread describe a technique for getting rid of a very nasty infection.

http://xkcd.com/456/ (Note mouseover).

I think the "you're gonna need to know the command line to fix it" ceased being a consideration about the same time the xkcd comic was written. (He's up to http://xkcd.com/991/ now.)

In the case of a Microsoft OS, rather than a command line, all you need (or are expected) to know is how to buy a new computer.

Besides - people enjoy the command line!

Really? I installed Ubuntu on a netbook just a few months back and I had to use the command line an awful lot during the time I owned said netbook. This was mainly due to the hardware setup of the netbook, but the problems I had could have occurred for other reasons, and the fixes all required knowledge of the command line.



Nah, that's average Mac users, the average PC user merely has to reinstall Windows every month



Yes, and I count myself among them, but I'm talking about Linux being used by a non-techie, which IMHO isn't a good idea.

My mom, who is assuredly a "non-techie," uses Linux. I think it works out quite nicely; for example she simply can't run rubbish like Smiley Central because, barring the use of WINE, it's incompatible. Actually I'd say Windows is the operating system that, because it allows one to metaphorically shoot oneself in the foot with ease, should only be used by those with a requisite level of technical knowledge.

Last edited by dmm1010 on 16 Dec 2011, 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

But getting support for it is difficult unless you have at least a basic understanding of what you're doing, and like with every system, things will go wrong from time to time. To even use the forums you need basic knowledge (to correctly describe the exact problem and understand the answers). Someone who's simply an average user would struggle IMO.

I guess so, but average users can't fix Windows issues either. Admittedly they're more likely to know someone who can help them with Windows than someone who can help them with Linux, and if all else fails I suppose they can always turn to the Geek Squad.

Generally it's easier to troubleshoot Windows because it's so popular and because it's userbase is average users, and any tech service you ring up will help you out. If I installed Linux on a friends' computer, I know I'd never hear the end of it because they'd always ring me for tech support

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let Geek Squad anywhere near my computer.

no techies at my comp but me thank you

i installed ubuntu netbook edition for my 10 year old little brother, it ran perfectly on the eepc,
after a short intro to the internet icons and the media player he was off, he will need help installing anything new but he mainly uses the internet so no worries.
the problem comes when people want them to be able to do more than browse and hear music, then stuff gets complicated.

the issue always boils down to popularity no matter what one wants..