Check If Someone Have Remote Access to Your Windows PC - Make Tech Easier

One of the most dangerous types of malware is designed to obtain remote access to victim PCs, such as remote access Trojans (RATs) and kernel-level rootkits. They run silently, making detection difficult. If you are worried about someone unauthorized to access your Windows PC remotely, learn how to confirm and remove this threat.

Table of contents

• Warning signs from someone visiting your PC
• How to confirm that your PC is being accessed remotely
• How to stop remote access and protect your PC

Warning signs from someone visiting your PC

While most remote access attempts are silent, they do carry some warning signs. While these signals may be considered common Windows problems, combined, they can serve as strong evidence of remote access activity.

• Exceptional mouse/keyboard activity : This may be the action of remote tools if your cursor moves abnormally or if you enter text without typing it. These tools can cause problems such as cursor jump/transfer even when not actively controlling. This signal can also be used as a confirmation if the mouse and keyboard start performing tasks such as accessing the browser address bar and entering the website address.
• Programs open and close by themselves : Hackers may also send commands to open specific applications (such as antivirus software or command prompts) to further control the system or disable security features. If you notice that the program opens and closes itself, this is the Red Flag signal.
• Create new unknown user accounts : Some criminals may try to create secondary accounts so that they can continue to access after detection. They may disable user switching to hide the account in the lock screen interface. Go to Windows Settings -> Accounts and find the secondary account in the Home and Other Users section.

• Sudden performance drop : Remote control activities can also consume a lot of resources, so you may notice a sudden performance drop. This is especially worth considering, as occasional performance drops can be caused by remote control activities.
• Windows Remote Desktop is enabled by itself : Windows Remote Desktop is quite fragile, so hackers often use it to create remote connections. It is disabled by default, so if enabled without your intervention, it may be a hacker. In Windows settings, go to System->Remote Desktop to see if it is enabled.

How to confirm that your PC is being accessed remotely

If you notice the above signal, please take the necessary steps to confirm your suspicion. You can confirm that someone is accessing your Windows PC by tracking the activity of components/applications involved in the remote access process. Here are some of the most reliable methods:

Check Windows Event Viewer Log

Windows Event Viewer is a great built-in tool that tracks user activity and helps detect remote access attempts by tracking RDP activity and login logs.

Search for "Event Viewer" in Windows Search and open the Event Viewer .

Go to Windows Logs -> Security and click the Event ID tab to sort events by ID. Look for all events with ID 4624 and check their details to make sure there are no events with login type 10 . Event ID 4624 is used for login attempts, and login type 10 corresponds to a remote login using a remote access service, which a hacker may use.

You can also look for event ID 4778 because it shows the remote session reconnection. The details page for each event will tell you important identification details such as the account name or network IP address.

Track network traffic

Remote access depends on network connections, so tracking network traffic is a reliable way to detect it. We recommend using the GlassWire free version to do this because it not only helps track, it also automatically defends against malicious connections.

In the GlassWire app, you will see all app connections in the GlassWire protection section. The app will automatically rate connections and mark untrusted connections. In most cases, it should be able to detect malicious remote connections and warn you.

In addition to the application's algorithms, you can also look for clues such as the high data usage of unknown applications. Remote connections use continuous data, so they should be easily detected.

View scheduled tasks

Many remote access attempts are managed through the Task Scheduler tool in Windows. This helps them persist after a PC restart and perform tasks without continuing running. If your PC is infected, you should see tasks from unknown applications in the Task Scheduler.

Search for "Task Scheduler" in Windows Search and open the Task Scheduler application. In the left panel, open Task Scheduler (local) -> Task Scheduler Library . Find any unfamiliar or suspicious folders other than Microsoft. If any is found, right-click on the task and select Properties .

In properties, browse the triggers and actions tabs to understand what the task does and when it is executed, which should be enough to tell if it is harmful. For example, if a task runs an unknown application or script when logged in or when the system is idle, it may be for malicious purposes.

If you do not find suspicious tasks, you may want to view the Microsoft folder. It is possible that complex malware is hidden in system folders. Find tasks that look suspicious, such as names with common names such as "systemMonitor" or misspelled. Fortunately, you don't have to study every task, as most tasks are authored by Microsoft Corporation, which can be safely skipped.

How to stop remote access and protect your PC

Once you confirm that someone is accessing your Windows PC remotely, your first step should be to disconnect the internet so that they cannot cause further damage. Your priority should be to control the damage, not eliminate the threat. So use another device to reset the password for important accounts, such as email, financial accounts, social media accounts, etc. At the same time, ensure that important data is backed up.

Follow these methods to clear remote access malware:

Run Microsoft Defender offline scan

If your security system cannot detect or protect this remote access attack, this could be advanced malware such as rootkit or bootkit. Offline scanning from Microsoft Defender can help you. It will scan your PC in a safe and minimal environment at startup to find it when the malware is inactive.

To run the scan, search for "windows security" in Windows Search and open the Windows Security Application.

Go to Virus and Threat Protection -> Scan options , select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) , and click Scan now .

This will restart your PC and run a full system scan. If any threats are found, they will be displayed in the Protection History section of Windows Security Applications.

Clear suspicious programs

Whether the scan detects a problem, you should manually review the program to ensure there are no unknown programs that act as gateways. In Windows settings, go to Applications -> Installed Applications and find any applications that are not part of Windows that you don't remember installing. In addition, clear remote access applications that may be compromised, such as TeamViewer, AnyDesk, VNC, Chrome Remote Desktop, etc.

There is a possibility that malicious browser extensions are the reasons. Make sure to check all extensions and uninstall suspicious extensions.

Block inbound remote access to ports in firewall

If you don't access your PC remotely or get help from anyone, you can block common inbound ports for remote connections in your firewall. This will block incoming remote connections, but allows you to control other devices if needed.

Search for "windows defender firewall" in Windows Search and open the Windows Defender Firewall Advanced Security Application.

Select Inbound Rules -> New Rules , and then Ports -> Next . Select TCP and provide one of the following port numbers.

• 3389 (Windows Remote Desktop)
• 5900 (virtual network computing)
• 5938 (TeamViewer)
• 6568 (AnyDesk)
• 8200 (GoToMyPC)

Select Block Connection and complete the settings to create the rule. Make sure to give the rule a clear name so you can recognize it later. Repeat this process to block each port.

If necessary, perform a clean Windows installation

If nothing works, or you don't want to take the risk, doing a clean Windows installation is another option. It is extremely rare that malware can survive both offline antivirus scanning and clean operating system installation. However, you will have to back up important data, as a clean installation will delete all data on your PC.

Check out our guide on how to perform a clean Windows installation for all the steps to safely install clean Windows.

If you have concerns about PC access, whether it is remote or local access, don't take risks. This control will always escalate into a bigger security issue. Of course, it's better to prevent it from happening, so make sure to use these Windows security settings and advanced Windows Defender options.

Image source: Vecteezy. All screenshots were taken by Karrar Haider.

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