// IS SOMEONE ON MY PC?
Is someone remotely accessing your computer?
The mouse moved on its own, a window opened that you didn’t open, or someone “from Microsoft” or your bank was on your PC yesterday. Here’s how to check, in Windows itself, whether anyone is connected right now, which remote-control programs are on the PC, and how to cut them off. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Cut them off in seconds
- ● Free remote access check app
- ● Scam recovery specialists
/01 — START HERE
Think someone is on your PC right now?
If the mouse is moving or windows are opening by themselves right now, disconnect from the internet straight away. Click the network icon by the clock and switch Wi-Fi off, or pull out the network cable. A remote connection needs the internet, so that ends it immediately. Then work through the checks below calmly.
Not every odd thing is a person. A pointer that drifts slowly is usually a worn mouse or a touchpad catching a sleeve; a pop-up saying “virus found” is usually a website’s alert, not someone on the PC. What points to a real person is deliberate movement: the pointer going to the Start menu, typing, opening your email or online banking.
Watch: check for remote access, and cut them off
Where remote-control programs show up on a Windows 11 PC, and what to do if someone did get in.
1 min 27 s · a spoken guide with captions · filmed on a clean copy of Windows 11 · Watch on YouTube
Free tools in the film: 365 PC Manager (free, for Windows)
What the video says
Mouse moving by itself? Someone from Microsoft or your bank been on your PC? Here’s how to check, and cut them off. If it’s happening right now, disconnect from the internet. Switch Wi-Fi off, or pull out the network cable. A remote connection can’t work without it. Look at the icons by the clock. Click the little arrow to see the hidden ones. AnyDesk, TeamViewer and ScreenConnect often sit here. You can also press Control, Shift and Escape, and look in Task Manager’s Processes. Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, and sort by date installed. Look for anything new from the day of the call. Or search for its name. Here, there’s no AnyDesk. Then check System, Remote Desktop. If it’s on and you don’t use it, switch it off. Home editions don’t have it. If someone did get in, uninstall the program, run a full Windows Security scan, change your passwords from another device, and ring your bank if you paid. Our free app checks this in one go. 365 PC Manager shows whether a remote session is open right now, and every remote-control program on the PC. Download it free at 365techies.co.uk.
// FIX IT WITH ME · STEP BY STEP
Check and cut them off, step by step
The steps from this guide, one at a time, in the order that fixes the most cases fastest. Tell it what happened and it shows the next step. Nothing here leaves your device.Last reviewed 18 October 2026
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01Disconnect from the internet
If the mouse moves or windows open by themselves, switch Wi-Fi off or unplug the network cable. That ends any remote connection.
Is that step done? -
02Look for remote-control programs
Check the icons by the clock and Task Manager’s Processes for AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, RustDesk or remoting_host.
Is that step done? -
03Check what was installed recently
Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, sort by date installed, and look for anything installed on the day of the call or pop-up.
Is that step done? -
04Check Remote Desktop and Quick Assist
On Windows Pro, switch Remote Desktop off in Settings, System, Remote Desktop if you don’t use it, and close any Quick Assist window.
Is that step done? -
05Uninstall, scan and change passwords
Uninstall the program, run a full Windows Security scan, change your passwords from another device and ring your bank if you paid or shared details.
Is that step done?
Rather have it done for you? Remote help from £20, or in person across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Ringwood and the New Forest, with no call-out fee.
Sorted{mins}. Nice work.
Keep the internet off until the program is uninstalled.
Not sure it’s gone? That is a job for us.
With your permission we connect to your screen and sort it in one session. Usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
Is someone remotely accessing your computer? - the fix order (365techies.co.uk/is-someone-remotely-accessing-my-computer/) 1. Disconnect from the internet: If the mouse moves or windows open by themselves, switch Wi-Fi off or unplug the network cable. That ends any remote connection. 2. Look for remote-control programs: Check the icons by the clock and Task Manager’s Processes for AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, RustDesk or remoting_host. 3. Check what was installed recently: Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, sort by date installed, and look for anything installed on the day of the call or pop-up. 4. Check Remote Desktop and Quick Assist: On Windows Pro, switch Remote Desktop off in Settings, System, Remote Desktop if you don’t use it, and close any Quick Assist window. 5. Uninstall, scan and change passwords: Uninstall the program, run a full Windows Security scan, change your passwords from another device and ring your bank if you paid or shared details. Still stuck? 365 Techies fix it remotely: 01202 775566 - https://365techies.co.uk/remote-support/At a glance
| Happening right now? | Disconnect from the internet first: switch Wi-Fi off or unplug the cable. That ends any remote connection. |
|---|---|
| The usual way in | A remote-control program someone talked you into installing: AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, RustDesk and similar. |
| Installed is not connected | These programs stay running all day so a helper can reach them. Running does not mean someone is watching. |
| What Windows can tell you | For its own tools — Remote Desktop, Quick Assist and Remote Assistance — Windows knows for certain when they are in use. |
| Then | Uninstall the program, run a full scan, change your passwords from another device, and ring your bank if you paid or shared card details. |
| Free check | The Remote access check in our free 365 PC Manager app shows what is connected and what is installed, and can cut them off. |
/02 — HOW THEY GET IN
How someone gets remote access in the first place
In almost every scam it starts with a phone call or a pop-up: someone claiming to be from Microsoft, your broadband provider, your bank or Amazon says there is a problem and asks you to install a program so they can “fix it”. Microsoft warns that scammers ask you to install software that lets them access your computer, then present normal Windows messages as faults (Microsoft).
- The programs used are real, legitimate tools — AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, RustDesk, or Windows’ own Quick Assist. Companies use them for genuine support too.
- Once installed, some can be left so they connect without anyone clicking Accept — “unattended access” — which is how a scammer comes back later.
- Remote Desktop, built into Windows Pro, can also be switched on and used from outside if a router has been opened up for it. Windows Home cannot accept Remote Desktop connections.
/03 — CHECK WINDOWS ITSELF
Check for remote-control programs, in order
- Look by the clock. Click the small arrow next to the clock and look for an AnyDesk, TeamViewer or other remote-control icon you don’t recognise.
- Look in Task Manager. Press Ctrl, Shift and Esc together, click Processes, and look for AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer, ScreenConnect, RustDesk or remoting_host (Chrome Remote Desktop).
- Look at what’s installed. Open Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps, and sort by date installed. Anything installed on the day of a phone call or pop-up is the first suspect.
- Check Remote Desktop. On Windows Pro, open Settings, then System, then Remote Desktop. If it is On and you don’t use it, switch it off.
- Check for Quick Assist. If a Quick Assist window is open, someone is sharing your screen. Close it.
/04 — WHO HAS CONNECTED?
See who has connected, from the programs’ own lists
Two of the common programs keep their own record of incoming connections, which is the closest thing to a visitors’ book:
- AnyDesk: a file called connection_trace.txt, in C:\ProgramData\AnyDesk or in your own AppData\Roaming\AnyDesk folder.
- TeamViewer: a file called Connections_incoming.txt, in the TeamViewer folder inside Program Files.
Open them in Notepad to see the dates and the IDs that connected. A missing file proves nothing either way: other programs keep no list we can read, and a file can be deleted.
/05 — CUT THEM OFF
Cut them off and lock them out
- Stay off the internet until the program is gone.
- Uninstall the remote-control program in Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps. If it refuses because it is running, restart the PC and try again.
- Run a full scan with Windows Security, as Microsoft advises, then a second opinion from a scanner such as Malwarebytes.
- Change your passwords from a different device you trust — email first, then banking and shopping — and turn on two-step verification.
- If you paid anything or shared card or bank details, ring your bank straight away (in the UK, 159 reaches most banks).
- Look for user accounts you don’t recognise in Settings, then Accounts, then Other users.
If you gave a scammer access and want the full checklist, our guide gave a scammer remote access to your computer? goes through every step.
/06 — THE QUICK WAY
Let our free app check it for you
FREE · WINDOWS 10 & 11 · NO SIGN-UP
Remote access: is anyone connected right now?
It tells you for certain when Windows’ own remote tools are in use — a Remote Desktop session, Quick Assist or Remote Assistance — and lists the remote-control programs on the PC, such as AnyDesk and TeamViewer, saying which are running. It never calls a running program a connection. When you tap, it reads AnyDesk’s and TeamViewer’s own lists of who connected, and its Cut them off button closes those programs or disconnects the Wi-Fi.
In the app: Safety, then Remote access.
Download 365 PC Manager free ↓What else it checks
Made by us, a family IT firm in Bournemouth since 1995, and digitally signed by 365 Techies Ltd.
/07 — WHEN TO CALL US
When to call us
If a remote-control program won’t uninstall, keeps coming back, or you are not sure what the scammer did while they were on, get the PC checked properly before you use it for banking again. Ring 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC and sort it while you watch: usually the same day, remote help from £20, and no fix, no fee.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Can someone access my computer without me knowing?
They need a way in, and that is almost always a remote-control program installed with someone’s help. Most show a banner or coloured border while connected, but a program left set up for “unattended access” can connect when you’re not looking. That is why removing the program matters more than watching the screen.
Does turning off the internet stop them?
Yes. A remote connection needs the internet, so switching Wi-Fi off or unplugging the cable ends it immediately. Keep it off until the program is uninstalled.
Is it safe to uninstall AnyDesk or TeamViewer?
Yes, unless you use it with someone you trust, such as a family member or your own IT company. If you don’t remember installing it, remove it.
How do I tell a scammer from my real IT company?
A genuine support company tells you before it connects, and you contacted them first. Microsoft, banks and broadband providers do not ring out of the blue asking to connect to your PC. If in doubt, hang up and ring the company on a number you already have.
Does a running AnyDesk mean someone is connected?
No. These programs stay running all day so a helper can reach them when needed. Running only means the door exists; whether anyone used it is in the program’s own list of connections.
Can you check my computer remotely?
Yes. With your permission we connect to your Windows PC using our own support program, check it properly and remove anything left behind, while you watch. Remote help from £20, no fix, no fee.
// Still stuck?
Worried someone still has a way in?
We check the computer properly, remove what the scammer left behind and help you secure your accounts, while you watch. Call 01202 775566 or text 07520 615332.
We’ll fix it with you
- Checking the problem is free
- Fixes from £20, agreed before we start
- We phone first, and you watch every step
Stop it happening again
- A full service every six weeks, written up
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