# Can an unused office computer be used by attackers?

Yes, and it is often a good hiding place. A computer that nobody uses but that stays switched on and connected, such as the desk of someone on long leave, a spare PC in a meeting room or an old machine kept for one program, rarely gets updates and nobody notices if it behaves oddly. Attackers use such machines as a quiet base to scan the network, reach servers or send data out. Switch off and disconnect what is not needed, keep the rest patched, and give each machine an owner. On every plan, NetSenX raises alerts when any monitored device starts beaconing to an outside server, scanning, connecting to hosts it never used before or uploading unusual volumes, which stands out most on a machine that should be doing nothing.

General information, not legal advice. National laws can add to the EU texts quoted here, for example deadlines, forms or reporting channels: check your own country's rules.

FAQ: [People, HR and insider risk](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/people) · https://netsenx.com/en/faq/can-an-unused-office-computer-be-used-by-attackers

## Read next

- https://netsenx.com/en/is-someone-inside-your-network
- https://netsenx.com/en/dpa
- https://netsenx.com/en/eu-data-residency

## Related questions

- [How do we spot activity on a computer that should be idle?](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/how-do-we-spot-activity-on-a-computer-that-should-be-idle)
- [What should IT do with the computers of employees on long-term leave?](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/what-should-it-do-with-computers-of-employees-on-long-term-leave)
- [How do we monitor contractors' laptops on our network?](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/how-do-we-monitor-contractors-laptops-on-our-network)
- [Should contractors get a separate network?](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/should-contractors-get-a-separate-network)
- [Can we see when a contractor's laptop stops connecting after the project ends?](https://netsenx.com/en/faq/can-we-see-when-a-contractors-laptop-stops-connecting)