Help! I'm being spied upon!

I believe someone has loaded some spy software on my computer. I have no idea what the program is, how to find it, and more importantly how to remove it! I know something has been loaded because the suspected person knows about detailed information that has not been discussed outside of the emails. I would like my privacy back!!! Please help me figure out how to identify whatever is working in the background, and either remove it or block the activity.

I have tried to find something online to help me, and realized I'm way over my head trying to do it myself.

Let me say I'm definately not a "geek", but I'm not totally computer illiterate. A few years ago I pulled off the information superhighway when it was still 2-lanes, and now I'm on the on-ramp, but certainly no where close to being up to speed.

Thanks for the help!!!

Cougar

 

Hi cougar1654!
Welcome to Major Geeks!
Do you have a two-way firewall installed? Is the information you're talking about in the hands of someone who has access to your computer or whom you know?
We can look for malware in your computer after you go through the standard cleaning procedures in the READ & RUN ME FIRST and attach the requested logs with your next post. This will give us more information to work with. Open the logs before you attach them so you know what information you will be posting publically.

Thanks.
abri

 

Hi abri!

To be honest, I don't know what I have anymore. I've got McAfee from Comcast, but either it doesn't provide the info I need, or I can't figure out how to get it. When I've tried to get into the Windows firewall, it's turned off and I don't have the option to turn it on. I know only the administrator can do that, and I thought I was the administrator. But, I can't figure out how to log in as the administrator. One day I stumbled on the procedure, but either couldn't remember my password, or the password had been changed.

The person who did this is my soon-to-be-ex-husband. He does not have physical access to my computer, however, back in late October he was on the computer questioning some sights he thought our son might have gone to. Shortly after that he started making comments about things that were only in emails.

I'm happy to run anything--McAfee runs just about every night--hopefully there are instructions on how to open the logs.

Again, thanks for your help!!! I can't wait to get my life back!!!

Cougar

 

Hi cougar1654!

At the moment, I'm inclined to think this is a software rather than a malware problem and that you would get the best advice of how to regain control of your computer by posting in the Software Forum. It's possible to store your e-mails on a flash drive and carry them with you or to set up a remote online account at Yahoo or someplace where the e-mails are not actually stored on your computer. You could also simply replace the harddrive and put a new operating system on it and reinstall everything. In any case, How to Protect Yourself from Malware would certainly be a beneficial read so that you would enter into a new un-compromised setting that couldn't be so easily breached.

abri

 

Cougar!
One last note. Someone who could post to you in the Software Forum but not in this forum suggested that your husband may have installed a Parental Control program which will send him a report of every keystroke you make, thereby making it useless for you to go to an online e-mail program. I think you will get a lot of helpful information like this in the Software Forum.
Good luck!
abri