Jan
Two months ago, I was send a file through MSN, which had not been sent by the person I was talking to, so they must have had a virus doing it. Stupidly I opened the file which was zipped and my computer instantly crashed. Quickly I switched my computer off at the power point and then re-booted it and delelted the file/folder and internet history, cookies, passwords and all of that stuff. I didn't have any Virus programs but downloaded AVG Virus when I reloaded the computer. I have also now downloaded AVG Spyware. My question is, is it possible I still have someone hacking into my computer? My HD makes a bit of noise whenever I'm logging into emails or anything but that wouldn't be related would it? How can I check if I have a hacker without downloading any more programs? Thanks
Answer:
IF you have run avg Antivirus and spy sweeper then its not likely that you have any virus in your computer.
And as far as hacking is concerned, that can be an issue because as it is you dont have an firewall( as mentioned in the question), this is also a very rare possibility as the hacker wont risk hacking into a computer where there is not many things of his use.
Hackers are not interested in your photographs or your emails.
They want something worth the risk they are hacking into the comp which is not an easy task. . like Credit Card details or your bank account details.IF that is the case they might have already got the info (if its stored in the comp)
The second reason for a hacker to hack into your computer is to use your computer and your IP address to hack into someone else's computer( I hope you understand y is this done)
Well what I would recommend is that need not worry abt that much till the time your spy sweeper or your anti-virus scans something.
Just to be sure what you can do is
1. check the internet usage in the website of your ISP.
If your Upload and Download is exceptionally greater that what is used to be then it might be a spyware or a hacker
2. Another way of checking of spyware is to run this command.
(Make sure you are logged out of all messengers like MSn and Yahoo and also all browser window is closed( i.e. you are not doing anything on the internet)…
goto Start >> run>> cmd>>
netstat -a >>
it will give you a long list of result
what you need to do is count the no of lines starting with 'TCP' or 'UDP'
The lines starting with 'TCP' should be not more than 8- 10 and 'UDP' should not be more than 12 -14 is you are not doing anything on the interent.
If there are a lot more than this that means there might be spywares in the comp.
(This command tell the active TCP/IP connections on the comp: ie all connections to the outside world (INTERNET)..
and if you want to look for more free and good Antivirus and spy sweepers then goto www.filehippo.com .
And to make sure that you are installing the best software
compare the software in www.wikipedia.org
Hope this helps…
Cheers
Answer:
If your virus scan & spyware scan both ran & came up clean, you should be ok.
Just a reminder for future reference, which Im sure you will remember from now on since it already happend to you, but when chatting online, or receiving files from anyone always check with that person first to make sure they are the ones that sent it to you. Many viruses spread via contact lists & address books. So…just because it appears to be coming from a friend, doesnt mean it is 
If your in an online chat with someone and a file shows up from them - just ask the person "hey, did you just send me a file?" if they say yes, open it. If they say no, delete it immediately.