Now that we’re all paranoid, or at least on guard, from Eric’s counter surveillance post, lets increase that paranoia some more by diving into computer counter surveillance.
Computer surveillance is when someone is watching everything you do on your computer. It is not the same as someone blocking certain Web sites or preventing spam in your e-mail inbox. Computers are an excellent source for people to spy on you because of the wealth of information they store.
In 1994, the U.S. government passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (pdf file), which allows for all phone calls and internet traffic to be made available for unimpeded real-time monitoring by Federal law enforcement agencies. These agencies use programs such as TEMPEST, “Magic Lantern” and CIPAV that can identify and report any trigger words or phrases, suspicious Web sites and communication through chat and e-mail with suspicious individuals or groups.
The government is not the only entity that has access to computer surveillance programs. Your neighbors, parents or even your significant other could be using computer software to spy on you.
The most common type of computer surveillance involves installing key logging software or hardware. When key loggers were first developed, they recorded each keystroke made on the computer. However, these programs have developed to include the ability to take screen shots, record chat-room conversations, pictures, and sent or received e-mails.
Some signs that your computer has a key logger or some other form of spyware installed include:
- Slow PC start-up and Internet browsing
- Increased processor usage
- Hard drive constantly running
- Changes in mouse or keyboard response time
- Display errors
To see if there are any suspicious programs that you did not install look in the task bar, task manager and in “Add or Remove Programs” under the Control Panel. If there is anything that looks suspicious, research it and then delete it. In some cases, it may be necessary to restore your operating system from scratch to get rid of it.
You can help prevent computer surveillance by installing a program that detects monitoring software.
I would recommend reading through these additional resources on computer surveillance, key loggers and counter-surveillance measures:
- Wikipedia: Computer Surveillance
- Global Oneness: Computer Surveillance
- How to detect computer and e-mail monitoring or spying software
- How can I tell if someone has installed a keylogger on my computer?
- Keylogger: Every stroke you take I’ll be watching you
I encourage you to share your experience with computer surveillance and any suggestions you may have in regards to warning signs and what to do.
#1 by Mario on November 23, 2009 - 5:09 pm
I am considering putting a device similar to this on my teenagers computer. There is absolutely too many things that are available on the internet these days and I would like the option of being able to pre-act rather than react. Thanks for the post!
#2 by Chaz on November 24, 2009 - 12:25 pm
Great article! I actually found some processes in my Task Manager that I could not identify. One quick search in Google and not only did I find out that I had unwanted programs, but there were tons of blogs and forums on how to remove them. The counter-surveillance resources provided here are very informative as well.
#3 by Timothy on November 24, 2009 - 6:55 pm
We have a software like this at our office to make sure the workers are actualy working and not playing on there computers this kind of software is not always bad.
#4 by Joy on December 15, 2009 - 8:17 am
Although these programs might show a lack of trust in your kids or employees, I can see the benefits of installing them.