Spy hardware detection

[Fronzel]

Hi,

I've been having PC problems for a while now. I suspect someone installed hardware to be able to spy on my computer activity (possibly, streaming to a kind of site). If you were to spy on someone in this way, how would you do it? Would you use certain hardware or certain software?

If I were to take pictures of the contents of my hardware case, would you be able to identify any hardware that doesn't belong there?

In addition, if you were to install hidden cameras in someones house, possibly through TV or other electronics, how would you do it?

Thanks.

 

[Berliner]

Look at your traffic at your point of exit (modem / router).

 

[XavierMace]

What makes you suspect somebody has done this?

 

[Fronzel]

Look at your traffic at your point of exit (modem / router).

Thanks for your reply. However, after some browsing around, apparently there is no way to monitor traffic on the router I connect through?

For some added info: I bought this computer a while ago, ran completely fine, never had to open it. About a year and a half ago I rechecked, and someone had broken the seal, so I know it must have been opened for some reason.

Does this ring a bell for someone, as a way of spying on someone's computer activity?

 

[JackMDS]

You can try to use these few free Apps to see if there is some unexplained Activities.

http://www.howtogeek.com/school/sysinternals-pro/lesson1/

In addition, if you were to install hidden cameras in someones house, possibly through TV or other electronics, how would you do it?

Thanks.

This is Not an acceptable question on our forums.

 

[Fardringle]

If you really think that someone in your own house is spying on you, it might be best to just ask them why. As far as the original question, it is possible to use hardware to spy on someone's computer activities, but it's pretty uncommon. Look for anything that seems out of place attached to the computer or sitting nearby.

 

[mikeymikec]

"Someone must have broken the seal" - is the seal sticker actually torn, or could it have lost its adhesiveness over time, remain whole but un-stuck itself from one part of the case?

 

[Fronzel]

"Someone must have broken the seal" - is the seal sticker actually torn, or could it have lost its adhesiveness over time, remain whole but un-stuck itself from one part of the case?

No, the sticker was actually torn. I want to know if there would be a reason for that, if someone wanted to monitor my PC activity.

To return to a previous reply: is there a way for me to monitor my router incoming and outgoing connections?

 

[Berliner]

Would help if you actually posted what kind of router you have.

You can also just stick another router in between, which does have monitoring capabilities. Can also be an old computer.

For a first look you can also install some kind of software firewall / monitoring or anti-intrusion system on your computer, but that will NOT give you a definitive answer, if the intruder is able to hide itself.

 

[Pandasaurus]

Something like Wireshark can show you exactly what is going in/out of your computer. Windows Resource Monitor also shows pretty much all active network connections, which may show you unwanted traffic going on.

 

[seepy83]

A little advice - if you have never looked at network traffic before, and you start running wireshark to try to figure out if there is anything unusual happening, you may be setting yourself up for increased nervousness/paranoia about what your computer is doing. Computers can be extremely "chatty" depending on what software is running on them, what else is connected to the local network, etc. If you've never looked at wireshark before to get a baseline understanding of what is normal for your computer/network environment, then you're going to have a hard time (as a novice) determining if there is anything suspicious happening.

As for detecting rogue hardware....that should be fairly easy unless your adversary is the CIA or other intelligence agency.
Most people are going to use software to spy...not hardware.

Looking for quick/easy piece of mind? I think these days you can buy a new PC for a few hundred dollars. Just do it and stop using the one you think is compromised.

 

[avos]

Thanks for your reply. However, after some browsing around, apparently there is no way to monitor traffic on the router I connect through?

For some added info: I bought this computer a while ago, ran completely fine, never had to open it. About a year and a half ago I rechecked, and someone had broken the seal, so I know it must have been opened for some reason.

Does this ring a bell for someone, as a way of spying on someone's computer activity?

Out of curiosity how long is "a while ago." When dealing with friends and family that use this to describe how long ago they bought their computer I usually take it as meaning a decade. In other words, long enough ago that just updates alone are enough to severely slow down the computer. Not to mention the countless PUP's (potentially unwanted programs) and other programs fighting for resources in the background.

Hardware spying is highly unlikely. Software is so much easier. If you are really paranoid you could open it up and look if anything is plugged into the internal USB connections.

 

[John Connor]

Run Autoruns go to file and save the arn file an upload it to dropbox and share the link here. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

If it's really good spyware chances are you can't spot it.

If your router supports SNMP you can run a free mundane program called Wallwatcher and collect data from your network that way.

 

[Elixer]

Erm, if "someone" installed *hardware* you should be able to see it, and remove it. If said hardware was installed by someone with a court order, then you got more problems than trying to detect things.
If "someone" installed software, then you should be able to reinstall the OS.