Security and spying question

Not to sound paranoid...ok but maybe I am....I believe my husband is spying on me.
He works from home with a big hardware/sorftware corporation so he has infinately more knowledge re: computers than I do, although I am self taught and have learned quite a bit from these forums (thanks!)
We are networked, 3 computers in the house.
I believe he is able to read what emails I send (he's made references to some things I've revealed to my girlfriends) and also able to see what websites I visit as well as capture passwords and actively use them.
I'm not a dumb blonde, but I am blonde....so here's the question....
How do I figure out if he's breeched my computer's security and is indeed spying on me?
Here's what I have done so far:
1. Checked the msconfig startup file and found nothing suspicious.
2. Checked Add/Remove programs
3. Downloaded and ran Easycleaner, Auslogics Registry Defrag, as well as the program that eliminates 10 common security problems with the registry.
4. Downloaded and ran AdAware, Spybot and Ccleaner (I run these regularly, although I realize fully they don't really have anything to do with the spying I suspect is happening here.
5. Downloaded and installed a keystroke detector (nothing detected)

Does anyone have any other ideas as to how I can discover if he's indeed spying on me or stealing passwords?

Thanks a bundle.

 

Oh and I neglected to mention, I've also done everything outlined in the "Do this First" sticky thread.
Is there any other way he could be getting the information he has from my computer?
Any ideas for discovering these?
Thanks

 

I have moved your thread to the software forum. This is not a malware cleaning issue.

It's not really a software issue either. How can you discover if he is spying on you? Talk to him - if anyone knows him well it should be you, as his wife. The real question I would be asking though is why would he need to spy on you...what are you afraid of him finding out?

 

I agree with Lev. Are you worried that he might find out something? He's your husband and you should be able to talk to him about this. Anyway- I'm not sure if he could do this covertly, but he can use a remote viewing type of utility where he can basically see your desktop and everything that's going as if he was sitting at your PC. Windows XP has this service built-in; it's called remote assistance IIRC. But, again, I have no idea if he can do this secretly without you being aware of it.

 

There are a lot of remote monitoring programs out there that log everything done on one computer and email it to an email address, upload the logs to an FTP server, etc. Of course, the remote monitoring programs I'm referring to require installation on the target computer (yours, in this case). So, if he has administrator access to your computer, then yes it's possible. As to you finding out whether he is or not, I agree that asking him is the way to go, as these programs are designed not to be found, etc.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses!
My husband and I are going through a divorce so I'm fairly certain he won't be forthcoming with me about spying if that is what he's doing. I think he's interested in seeing what I (OR my friends) have to say about him, bad or good.
I'd really rather him not be spying on me for any reason, I'm sure you all can understand, especially under the circumstances!
Thank you again and I'd love to hear any more input anyone has!

 

The best way to prevent someone from spying on your computer is:


1. If I was in your shoes, I would back up all personal files (documents, pictures, music, etc.), completely format the hard drive, and reinstall everything, since there are monitoring programs that are extremely difficult to detect once they are installed on a system.

2. Ensure you are the only person with access to the computer. This means putting a BIOS password on it and not letting anyone else use your computer. This also includes ensuring you are the only one with a Windows logon as well, and using strong passwords (both BIOS and Windows), and disable the ability to boot from the CD/DVD drive in your BIOS settings (take it off the boot devices list, etc). Also, since BIOS passwords can be reset on desktops fairly easily (especially since your husband is proficient with computers), secure the tower case... google around for physical security options, as there are plenty out there... just some way to prevent the case from being opened. Disable the Guest account in Windows, too.

3. Use a firewall (in addition to Windows firewall). Look in the MG downloads section to find one... I use Comodo, personally.

4. Install monitoring software on your computer that captures as much information as possible, and review the logs to ensure there is no activity on the computer outside of your own (Spectorsoft's Spector Pro is expensive, but definitely does a great job).

5. Since your computers are networked, ensure that none of your hard drive partitions are being shared on the network. You can check if they are, by right clicking on the drive in My Computer, going to Properties, and going to the Sharing tab. Also, disable Remote Desktop.

6. Regularly (at least weekly) run a complete virus scan on your computer.

7. Use the firewall you install to completely lock out all connections (or turn the computer off) while you're not using your computer.