Your Wireless Mouse Could be Hacked

Ok, I had a client send me information about a new hack that someone created to take over your computer using your wireless mouse.  I did a little checking on it before sending this message and wanted everyone to be aware of it, as well as what is needed.

I don’t want someone to be worried after hearing about this on TV or someplace, and it’s true, so I wanted everyone to be aware.

The truth:

Yes with an antenna a hacker can take control of your computer if you are using a wireless mouse.  (most but not all models are affected).

The hacker can do this up to a distance of 700 ft away.

The hacker will actually need to see your screen in order to take full advantage of this.  He’s not really going to know if he’s successful if he can’t see the screen, and this means he probably is not going to be able to see if you are using it.

You have to move the mouse when he’s trying to get control.

So if you are sitting at your computer using it, and it starts doing weird stuff, just hold the power button down until it shuts off…. 

Again, you have to be sitting at the computer, and moving the wireless moue to activate his hack, and you are going to see him doing stuff the instant he does….

I don’t think this is a major issue, but if you are sitting in a public café or using internet in a public place and your computer starts doing stuff on it’s own, just hold the power button down until it shuts off, and this will disconnect the hacker.  

This might be useful as a prank, but I don’t see it being much we have to worry about.  I am more concerned about people clicking on things that they shouldn’t, or believing someone who calls on the phone about helping them fix the computer….

Or someone calling the number from the popup that appears when they visit an infected web page.

If you have a wireless mouse and are truly worried about this, send me the brand and model number from the bottom of the mouse and I’ll let you know if it’s one of the affected devices and tell you the remedy, which very likely will be replacement. 

I’m using a wireless mouse and not concerned about this at all.

Viruses

                The worst thing going is still the Crypto Wall and other such variants of malware that encrypt all of your documents, pictures, pdf’s etc…. and the ONLY WAY to survive this without losing your data is if you are backed up.  If you do not have a backup plan in place, please contact us for help on this, even hard drive recovery people who specialize in recovering data from damaged hard drives, including those hit by lightning CANNOT help in this instance.   

                You should be running two types of protection, a good antivirus and an anti-malware software.  But even if you have both of these, there is no guarantee that you will not become a victim.  It greatly reduces the likelihood of an attack, but just as a lock and an alarm to not completely prevent a criminal from entering, these can only protect you so far.  Back up your stuff!

Windows 7

                As most of you know, we are still ordering systems with Windows 7 instead of Windows 8 or Windows 10.  I do this because the functionality and the stability of Windows 7 is much more reliable.  With that being said, it’s becoming more and more difficult to get the Windows 7 systems in a quick manner.  We’ve had situations where the systems sometimes took up to 3 weeks or longer to get here.  This is something I just want to let everyone know about, in the event you are planning to purchase a new computer, there can be a delay in getting it.  I still refuse to sell systems with Windows 8 or 10 on them, because I would rather you get mad at someone else and not me.  Microsoft has said they will continue to support Windows 7 at least until 2020, and we hope that they will either fix the problems with Windows 10 by then, or come out with something better.