Has my laptop been hacked?

[Micah86]

A few weeks ago I got notifications on my laptop from my Norton and Avast antivirus software saying someone was trying to bypass my VPN, and that they had accessed my saved passwords on my Avast Secure Browser, Google Chrome, and Windows Edge. Luckily I don't save passwords in case this very situation happens. However, I'm a bit concerned that they were able to access my saved passwords as this seems quite technical. What does it mean? Does it mean they have access to my laptop/WiFi/etc? How were they able to potentially bypass my VPN and access my saved passwords? I can't remember clearly if the hacker did actually bypass my VPN or not, but I think they did. I contacted Norton, Avast, and Acer, and none of them could help me and the only thing they could suggest is that I contact my Internet Service Provider, so that's why I'm seeking help here. I did contact a Microsoft Windows agent and they helped me do a DNS refresh and DNS reconfiguration. I'm not sure what exactly it does but they said it would help. I'm still concerned about the security of my laptop/WiFi and etc, and not sure if it is still safe to use. Could someone please give me some advice and any help with my questions? Thanks in advance! 🙂

[Ribblelancs]

How were the notifications given? Were they from one or both of your antivirus programs?

Norton is forever warning of setting up a vpn, and activating the save password feature.

Google is forever asking to use Chrome as the default. Try deactivating Avast temporarily.

Edge gives a good result, if used as the default browser.

[Les-Gibson]

Open Settings in Chrome and in the Left Hand pane, click Safety Check to check for compromised passwords and extensions

[Micah86]

Thank you for your reply! And yes, the notifications were from both Norton and Avast, almost at the same time too

[Micah86]

Thanks for your reply! 🙂 I tried this just now and it said none of my passwords were leaked. But I don't use safe passwords on my laptop. I was wondering about the current safety and security of using my laptop now after the recent incident where the hacker potentially bypassed my VPN and was able to access the part of saved passwords. I'm wondering if they are still connected to my laptop and/or wifi, and about the security of my WiFi. Do you have any idea? 🙂 

[Les-Gibson]

All I can advise is that you download and run the official Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9905 and then make sure your anti-virus programme has the latest definitions and do a full scan

[Ribblelancs]

Whichever browser you decide to use, make sure that your virus protection Safe Search is enabled.

e.g. Norton has a Safe Search feature, McAfee has Site Adviser. (presumably Avast has a safe search feature?). This will give a warning if a site is unsafe, or even unproved to be safe. A site marked as unsafe is just that:- it will find a way through your security.

Sometimes it's better to stick to the one browser, otherwise when you switch between them, then each time they will ask you to set it as a default...more chopping and changing.