Windows: Detect hacker attacks - how it works

If you want to check your system for hacker attacks, you can track down the potential dangers under Windows yourself. We show you what warning signals there are and how to check your system for attacks.

Warning signals: How to identify hacker attacks

The following criteria are only signs of a hacker attack. Some are fairly clear, but other indications can be insignificant in many cases.

1. You receive virus messages even though you have not opened, started or downloaded a file or program at all.
2. You will receive messages about the discovery of viruses from programs you do not know. The Remove Fake Antivirus tool helps here.
3. The load on your computer is remarkably high. If the CPU and hard disk usage in Task Manager is increased even when all programs are closed, this is also an indication.
4. Unwanted actions are carried out on your computer. This can be shown, for example, in the form of an automatically or unintentionally opened website.
5. You will find out from friends or colleagues that spam emails have been sent from your email address.

Windows: Detect and block hacker attacks using board tools

Every hacker attack requires a process and a connection to the Internet under Windows. These prerequisites make the potential attacks visible even to laypeople.

1. Open the command prompt and enter the command "netstat -o". Windows then lists all processes that are currently connecting to the Internet.
2. If a connection appears to be conspicuous or if you want to check all connections once, you need the respective process ID from the "PID" column.
3. Now open the Task Manager and switch to the "Details" or "Processes" tab, depending on the Windows version. With a right click you can search for the service online and stop it if in doubt.
4. However, before stopping a process, you should block the Internet connection from the process. This works through the Windows firewall. Create a new "outgoing rule" for the process. You can find detailed instructions in this practical tip.

Detect hacker attacks with the Process Explorer

You can also detect hacker attacks with some professional software that offers you even more options:

1. First download the free Process Explorer and start the program.
2. You are now shown processes that are marked in blue, pink and violet. You should pay close attention to the purple processes, as these could possibly contain malicious code.
3. Right-click on a noticeable process and select the "Check VirusTotal" option. The process is then uploaded to an online virus scanner and analyzed. The process is checked here by around 50 virus scanners. If several programs raise the alarm, this is another indication.
4. If you have identified a process as defective, click on it with the right mouse button and select the "Suspend" option. The tool now tries to stop the process and to find all associated files.

Windows: Detect hackers with the event log

• Experienced Windows users can also venture into the event log. Even the smallest changes and accesses in the system are recorded here.
• For laypeople, the search for a hacker attack is similar to the search for a needle in a haystack. This guide shows you how to call up the event logs under Windows.