I have a number of instances at the coffee shop where I'm certain that
someone is trying to bust into my laptop, and this morning was exceptional. It
got to the point where I couldn't do anything either online or offline. The
wifi indicator showed constant activity but the task manager showed just the
usual SERVICE activity. Then I noticed that MSIEXEC.EXE was being used fairly
often, so I disconnected and waited for a while, taking the opportunity to
unplug the external hard drive and put it in my pocket. Then I reconnected,
updated the spyware and virus protection, and then left for the bike shop.
MSIEXEC.EXE is a command line (meaning DOS) utility, part of the Windows
installer. The local hacker must have been trying something new this time,
using MSIEXEC.EXE to install a patch in the operating system. So, I have put
MSIEXEC.EXE in a quarantine folder.
We have a lot of students and professionals in the coffee shop at all
hours of the day, and their laptops undoubtedly have a lot of valuable
information. Myself, I'm working on a couple of small-signal electronic
circuit designs that may prove to be patentable, and despite the low profile I
keep there may be at least one hacker who has learned who I am and what I do.
The only reason I need to have that external hard drive there is to store
weather charts and occasional documents. From now on I'm going to leave it at
home and just keep the weather chart folders on the internal drive.
No amount of protection can completely keep hackers from busting into your
machine, regardless of how much effort you go to. They just get better and
the antivirus/malware people can only play catch=up.
We are all doomed!
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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