Questions tagged [spyware]

Software created with the purpose to spy on users, collecting data, or performing other actions, that might be useful to attackers.

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How this tracking (and more) was done using an image in an email?

As reported in the NY Times, there was some type of electronic spying in a high-profile military trial. Its claimed that the prosecutors were spying on the defense: The court-martial ... has been ...
StayOnTarget's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
263 views

What are some ways to steal a password/PIN using this system?

http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2007/posters/p147_lim.pdf Essentially uses an on-screen keypad that does not show the complete keypad numbers at a time. The image is refreshed at the rate of the ...
starman_dx's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
332 views

Why Parallels 8 installer looking into my Chrome's Cookies?

While trying to install Parallels on OS X I looked into Activity Monitor to find where is the installed Parallels located (it was weird that it stays invisible in Application folder). And than I found ...
static's user avatar
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3 votes
5 answers
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How can I sandbox a Wine application on Linux?

I would like to run Microsoft Office programs such as Word but do not trust them, nor should anyone. Without running a virtual machine, is there a good way to sandbox a windows application to run on ...
Joe's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
547 views

Can Windows Theme files (aero.msstyles) be sideloaded with spyware in their resources, specifically in UI scripts

Short version: topic Detailed version: I want to use a specific 3rd party theme for Windows. I'm already using an open source solution which I've compiled myself to disable Window's restriction on ...
thebunnyrules's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
3k views

Does Skype compromise my system (beyond the scope of calls/chats)?

First of all, please don't shout at me for wanting to use Skype. I know that it's evil and I fully expect all the calls and text chats going through it to be stored permanently in govt data centers, ...
basic6's user avatar
  • 211
3 votes
1 answer
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MacBookPro's OSX install.log has entries that predate the initial unboxing

Basically what the title says. I recently had a look at my /var/log/install.log and the earliest entries are from about 2 full months prior to me unboxing the computer. The packaging had cellophane, ...
Adelmar's user avatar
  • 151
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Remove malicious rootkits and spyware from HDDs and SSDs

I have read at least twenty articles dating from the time Edward Snowden's startling revelations about rogue nations and bad actors embedding malicious rootkits and spyware in the firmware of hard ...
ssdhddinfected's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
164 views

Under what conditions can malware bypass macOS Catalina's permission system? [closed]

Catalina has some new security features which include System Preferences > Security & Privacy features, which requires apps to request access to specific computer functionality such as camera, ...
user225844's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
483 views

Eventviewer empty logs with English written in Cyrillic Greek [closed]

So a while ago I entered my event viewer on windows 10 and I noticed a bunch of weird entries. They look like they where written in English but with the use of Cyrillic and Greek alphabets. I am ...
user201753's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
201 views

Commercially available spyware not getting detected

I guess everyone here knows those commercially available stealth PC monitoring software. I'm surprised that those trojans are hardly detected by virus scanners. All surveillance makers recommend in ...
chris's user avatar
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Possible EternalBlue Infection, Next Step? [duplicate]

Sorry if I messed up in any manner, e.g. title, details, tags, layout, venue, response plan, etc. I know a little of the stacks and security in general. Short Version: I found material on my other ...
KtX2SkD's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
253 views

Possible Windows 10 Malware [closed]

Data: There are a set of Windows 10 computers. Out of 8 of those computers, three were found to have had the Windows OS altered in an unexpected way. An advanced malware/spyware infection is ...
Darth Micro's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
4k views

How to tell if my MacBook is being spied on [closed]

I've been trying to determine if there is malware on my OS X 10.9.3 Mac, that is could be doing keylogging or other forms of non-destructive intrusion. Given the (not technically based) suspicion I ...
Jason Boyd's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
5k views

Is it possible to store an android apk in SIM card and install it from there?

I suspect somebody has installed a spyware in my android smartphone. I have done factory reset, which is supposed to uninstall all apps in SD card and internal memory. I am curious about following. ...
user2917687's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

discover virus or spyware under Linux

I suspect to be the target of very skilled hackers. 5 or 6 years ago I found spyware on my Linux webserver, it was lkm masked as ppp_deflate module with md5 hash hijacked. I mean with the same md5 ...
user45's user avatar
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2 votes
5 answers
193k views

Can my school see what I'm doing on my laptop at home?

I'm a bit paranoid, but I want to know if my school can see what I'm browsing while logged into my school account but on my home network with my own laptop. I have brought my laptop to school ...
mar's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
387 views

Can unwanted software(like spyware) already present detect the user trying to install an antivirus software and go into hiding?

Just wondering to make sure I completely clean up my device.
william ramirez's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

Is VirtualBox safe and is it possible its spying on the user?

I'm looking to install a virtual machine and since Hyper-V is not available for my Windows 10 production version I'm forced to decide between VirtualBox and VMWare. VMWare looks much more modern and ...
R.Peter's user avatar
  • 43
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a foolproof method to remove spyware from Android smartphone?

I am owning an Android smartphone. I learnt that factory reset may not remove spyware as it might have corrupted the image being installed by factory reset. Is there a foolproof method which ensures ...
user2917687's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
10k views

Is copying & pasting to the clipboard vulnerable to keyloggers? (CTRL+C and CTRL+V) [duplicate]

If I copy a username/password from an email and paste it into an FTP client or an online form in the browser, can keyloggers capture this private information? And does it make any difference whether ...
user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
622 views

how to protect my data from malware/spyware that infected my BIOS?

we all know that some countries do their best to spy on their citizens and the citizen of other countries and that countries maybe have specialized spying agencies wither they are known or not, and, ...
Бассел Жаббор's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
262 views

Is it plausible that NSO Group's 0-click attacks are actually bugdoors?

By bugdoors, I mean OS/app devs deliberately introducing vulnerabilities & sharing with front orgs like the NSO Group which then develops and markets the spyware? Would this process be easier ...
TheReal_Skywalker's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
339 views

How to detect spyware over HTTP?

I am trying to detect spyware on my PC by traffic analysis. I am connected to a VPS (the sniffer) by a VPN and I am going to select all the sent data by the POST method. Is this correct? I mean the ...
MysticDog's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
4k views

Is it really possible to install spyware on a cell phone without having access to it?

A friend is concerned their phone may have spyware on it. A quick search on the web returns a lot of results for software/apps that you can buy to spy on someone's cell. Based on researching this ...
AmyW's user avatar
  • 131
2 votes
1 answer
21k views

Help me understand this adware (compute-1.amazonaws.com)

I ran TCPdump on my Macbook and saw a lot of communication going back and forth between 10.239.68.143 and compute-1.amazonaws.com. I looked up my private IP address with ifconfig and found that that ...
Zen Hacker's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
600 views

Can a antivirus software detect a malware that steals data?

For example, consider a software that wants to package all txt files in the /user/Desktop directory and upload them to its own server. I am not a programmer, but I know it can be done very easily with ...
birisix's user avatar
  • 23
2 votes
1 answer
5k views

What is "Waiting for eb2.3lift.com...."?

I am using purevpn on Firefox, I have noticed that when I open the browser sometimes it hangs and on the bottom left hand corner it says "Waiting for eb2.3lift.com..." I tried to google this eb2....
Donbe_280385's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
931 views

Is there evidence to proof that Windows is spying us ? Are the anti-spy programs works and are they trustable?

Are there any evidences that Windows is spying the users ? Let's focus on Windows 10. I am almost sure it does. The things like telemetry and Cortana... However I never saw a proof like university ...
GuessMe's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
366 views

Suspicious redirect in Chrome

I was online and one of the sites randomly redirected to a site called mcafeesecurity.application-center.club. It was talking about how my mcafee has expired (my subscription is current). I scanned ...
Laura's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to detect if a Windows application is secretly taking print screen and sending to a remote server?

I recently installed a trading application from an apparently legitimate source. It is connected to a remote server and run in administrator mode. I wounder if it does malicious activities without our ...
BARON'S's user avatar
  • 41
2 votes
1 answer
439 views

Windows 10 hacked? [closed]

I've had a very strange experience with Windows 10, where the notification bar, the calendar bar, the start menu all started to pop up and off, and I lost control over my mouse cursor which was ...
Daar's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
1 answer
211 views

What is the most secured UEFI publicly available?

It is very scary to know that spywares were installed on some largely commerciallized laptops at the BIOS level. Example: Lenovo ThinkPad spyware What UEFI would you recommand to have in order to ...
user202459's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
827 views

How to detect surveillance in home network?

Last week, my cable modem went dead, and the ISP guys came over to my house and replaced the modem, but they came while I was away. I was told that they spent a very long time configuring my cisco ...
daxter1992's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
3k views

Can a Ubuntu live usb be infected with spyware/ virus?

I have a Ubuntu 13.10 live usb. I gave it to somebody so that he can install ubuntu. Now I have received it back. I was wondering if it is possible to infect a live usb with spyware or virus ? If yes, ...
aks's user avatar
  • 61
2 votes
2 answers
463 views

Is This a Virus?

I want to ask about a program is it malware or a program from Mozilla? When I turn on my pc it starts normally but I see an open program called update.exe and it has a firefox icon on it, when I click ...
Unknown's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
18k views

No-name Android app that can't be uninstalled [closed]

Yesterday, I downloaded an apk outside the playstore and like a newbie (shame on me), I didn't check if it was secure or not. It was't working anyway, so I just removed the app. But now, I have this ...
Lina's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
182 views

What other evidence can I obtain regarding this key-logger?

I have a computer that I know has had spyware installed on it (Perfect Key Logger). I have found the location of the key-logger and the date of creation, which is also I think the date of install. I'...
redbot's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
2 answers
575 views

Spyware on Sony Xperia z3 compact ? comand: adb reboot bootloader results in error device not found

Please help as I can not pay a forensic data investigator. For a while now I suspect to being spied on my computers and cellphones. I have two Sony xperia Z3 compact and both were acting strangely ...
iFran's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
7k views

Android apk malware

I was browsing some website last night and that website suddenly sent me an apk called 'browser_update_install.apk', DrWeb light detect it and was able to delete it. My question here is about the apk ...
ymg's user avatar
  • 145
2 votes
1 answer
14k views

How to block all access to Akami deploy servers and Apple push servers?

I no longer blindly trust the numerous connections that occur at night and during the day that always go to "content" and "push" servers like: a23-33-37-54.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com st11p01st-...
Mithras's user avatar
  • 53
2 votes
0 answers
746 views

No root firewall vs any spyware / malware

I am wondering about the effectiveness of no root firewalls as a solution against any type of spyware / malware. Particularly on an android device. No root firewalls like this one here (aptly named) ...
casperTNH's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
5k views

Why is Blizzard's battle.net.exe and agent.exe always sending data over the network in the background 24 hours a day? [closed]

Blizzard, the gaming company that makes WoW, SC and Hearthstone uses battle.net.exe and agent.exe. When I close the battle.net application and don't have any games open, agent.exe runs in the ...
Michael d's user avatar
  • 487
2 votes
0 answers
310 views

Is Microsoft trying to brush the Diagnostics Tracking Service under the rug?

I was working my way through disabling all of the spyware Microsoft has put into Windows 7 when I came across this Google result: "Sep 11, 2015 - Describes an update that enables the Diagnostics ...
SSpoke's user avatar
  • 113
2 votes
2 answers
844 views

How do I secure X server against spyware in a GUI application?

Suppose you have a GUI application, that potentionally may be too curious about your environment, such as the list of window titles. How do I limit application's ability to enumerate windows, capture ...
Vi.'s user avatar
  • 219
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to know if my laptop microphone is recording automatically? (Ubuntu)

How to know if my laptop microphone is recording during the day? Is there any program for ubuntu to check if my laptop microphone is recording automatically by any application during the day?
amin's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
4 answers
2k views

Is Linux really not spying on us?

When I ask someone about Linux, people always say it's really safe and this OS doesn't collect your data and these are not spy operating systems. When I ask them "how?" they say, "...
The Epic's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
975 views

I think I downloaded spyware from an ad on tortoise-svn site

The other day in a rush to quickly download and install tortoise svn, I accidentally clicked on a big download button on an ad on their site and installed something that I don't see on my computer. ...
Riz's user avatar
  • 111
1 vote
2 answers
405 views

Can potential NSA spyware be detected and/or removed?

Just out of curiosity (and because it sounds fascinating) . With all the Snowden revelations, it sounds like nsa has the ability to infect computers with some sort of spyware. I'm asumming these ...
Mounir Sita's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
138 views

Is crimeware defined by anything other than intent?

I'm learning about different types of viruses, and one category of virus is "crimeware." I read the wikipedia page for crimeware, and to me it seems that crimeware is just a specific usage of spyware. ...
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