How to prevent spying

i have to share some files with people from my office (transfer files from office pc to home pc by usb).i dont have any antivirus software installed on my pc.it occured to me someone from my office may have attached a virus to office files and monitoring my home pc.I dont have any reason to believe so but just in case i will buy a new pc (since to my knowledge even formatting and antiviruses cant find some viruses) and use my old pc for office work.I have some questions

1should i change my modem too in case someone is already tracking me and can continue tracking me using my modem even if i change my pc

2should i change my internet membership in case someone can continue tracking me using my internet membership data

3if someone is tracking me is there any other way they can continue tracking me after i changed my pc

i am using cable internet

thanks

 

Hi and welcome to Major Geeks, ttecht!

You should choose one. Here is a nice list to start from: Protect my computer from viruses : (Pick only one)

Have you noticed any strange activity to make you believe this?

If you format every partition on the hard drive, and then create a new partition(s). You will be malware-free. But you will also lose all the data (pictures, documents, installed programs, music, videos, etc) you had on the hard drive.

But you are right that there is no Anti-Virus program that is 100% effective on catching every single infection out there as there are so many new infections and variants of older infections created each day. It takes a while for each company to update their databases.

I do not think this would be necessary, but I could be wrong. Perhaps one of the other Malware Fighters can elaborate on this.

• Can you explain what you mean by membership data since you don't have any type of username / password like a dial-up connection?
• When you say track, do you mean know your location at all times?.. or are concerned someone is viewing your browsing habits? (the websites you go to, places you sign-in to, etc)

Once again, can you explain what you mean by "tracking"?

 

before formatting c i couldnt enter antivirus websites or install antivirus and my computer was too slow.i formatted c and later scanned with kaspersky norton and avg.some viruses found (right after format on c in system volume folder) and cleaned but still i cannot change system clock and when i try to open windows in safe mode a blue screen appears and before i can read coumputer restarts.

if i format both c and d will i be %100 virus free?

viewing my browsing habits or any of my activities.

No i dont have any type of password.i mean any information someone can use to monitor me even i change pc and modem.

 

How much later?

These are infections in System Restore. These really aren't a threat anymore if they are in this folder. Also, if you were to simply flush your system restore points, this would also clear these entries.
See: Disable And Enable System Restore

Are you sure you didn't do a System Restore to a previous date instead of reformat? Because this would explain why you were still noticing infections, especially if you "restored" your system using an infected restore point.

Yes, if you properly reformat all partitions on the hard drive.
You can read the following if you need help with this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348

If you mean information like your full name, social security number, physical address, ip address, PIN numbers, etc. If that information gets to someone with malicious intentions, then I would say yes they could quite possibly be doing malicious things with it. This is why it's important to not give out this information, especially to someone you do not trust.

You can read How to Protect yourself from malware! for more information. There is even information about using credit cards online and creating very strong passwords.

 

i know i didnt do a system restore.i formatted c then install windows and then scanned right after that.

i will format both c and d.i remember reading about bios viruses.what can i do to clear my bios?which parts of a pc can get infected and what can i do to clear?

 

OK

OK

Read the following: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/bios-virus-rootkit-security-backdoor,7400.html

As far as I know, just the hard drives, this includes flash drives and external hard drives, and in some extremely rare cases, the BIOs.

We do malware removal here, follow this link: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

 

prevent spying

I suspect my computer is being spied on so i will format my pc and change my modem.Is there any information (like my ip address) or method this person can use to find or spy my computer again?I changed my ip adress already but i found out there is something called mac adress on the modem so i will change my modem.Should i change my internet service provider too in case there are more adresses or data of this kind?

 

Re: prevent spying

Hi,

All of this is really up to you in my opinion. If you truly feel someone is spying on you, the more equipment you change out, the less chance of someone spying on you again I suppose. I would say if you feel the extra money spent on the new modem/router,ISP, etc make you feel safe, then go for it. But as I said earlier, it's really up to you and how you feel about the situation.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

thisisu