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Unfortunately, there is no particular way to identify that your
computer has been infected with malicious code. Some infections
may completely destroy files and shut down your computer, while
others may only subtly affect your computer's normal operations.
Be aware of any unusual or unexpected behaviors.
Hacking or Computer Virus
If your computer gets hacked or infected by a virus:
- immediately unplug the phone or cable line from your machine.
Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus software,
and update your firewall.
- take steps to minimize the chances of another incident
- alert the appropriate authorities by contacting:
- Your ISP and the hacker's ISP (if you can tell what it is).
Often the ISP's email address is abuse@yourispname.com or
postmaster@yourispname.com. You can probably confirm it by
looking at the ISP's website. Include information on the incident
from your firewall's log file. By alerting the ISP to the
problem on its system, you can help it prevent similar problems
in the future.
- The FBI at www.ifccfbi.gov.
To fight computer criminals, they need to hear from you.
Internet Fraud
If a scammer takes advantage of you through an Internet auction,
when you're shopping online, or in any other way, report it to the
Federal Trade Commission, at ftc.gov.
The FTC enters Internet, identity theft, and other fraud-related
complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available
to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the
U.S. and abroad.
Deceptive Spam
If you get deceptive spam, including email phishing for your information,
forward it to spam@uce.gov. Be
sure to include the full Internet header of the email. In many email
programs, the full "Internet header" is not automatically included
in forwarded email messages, so you may need to take additional
measures to include the full information needed to detect deceptive
spam. For further information, go to http://getnetwise.org/action/header.
Divulged Personal Information
If you believe you have mistakenly given your information to a
fraudster, file a complaint at ftc.gov,
and then visit the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft website
at www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from a potential theft
of your identity.
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