If There's a RAT in Your Laptop, You Won't Know Who's Watching You
It sounds like a virtual haunting, and it happens on your computer. File folders go missing. The mouse curser starts roaming around on its own. Pop up messages appear for no particular reason. The laptop shuts down without a command. After it restarts, the webcam light is on. But if you’re not using the computer in genreal, and the camera in particular, who is?
If you’re lucky, your computer has viruses; if you’re not so lucky, your PC may have a RAT problem. A RAT infestation can lead to a whole new level of privacy violation.
Remote access tools (RATs) were developed to allow users to access their PCs away from the office—think advanced telecommuting—but a new generation of hackers is developing increasingly advanced RAT software that allows them to take over a computer owned by an innocent target—think you—and make it their “slave.” Once they’re in, they can spy on you through the webcam and listen into your conversations on the microphone, effectively turning your computer into a one-way mirror into your life.
