i cant tell if I've been hacked

J

jennysmith77

Registered
ok so I'm computer dumb........i been reading about mac osx and how easily it can be hacked......i read somewhere about checking the activity monitor in utilities for any suspicious activity......well i cant tell what is suspicious or not....it all looks suspicious to me........especially this user called root who seems to be appearing all over the monitor.....who the hell is
 
Dont worry. Mac is not so easily as you said to be hacked. The number of virus software of mac is far more than the number of virus itself. So, no need to be so worry.
 
'root' is the all-powerful user account in Mac OS X, Linux and other Unix-like OSes.. It's normal to have quite a few background programs running as root, with names like login, mds, update, cupsd, pmTool, just to name a few of the standards.
 
If you are paranoid like me then give the shareware application Little Snitch a whirl. Think of it as a reverse firewall for outbound traffic.

Plus do not rely on the simple OS X firewall. There are free/donationware applications for the Unix included IPFW firewall. If you know advance security firewalls give the big brother freeware/donationware firewall WaterRoof a try.

now there was a proof of trjan released for OS X that screwed with the DNS settings in OS X. It appeared in p0rn videos asking to install additional codecs and a free remover called DNSChanger Removal Tool was made to remove it. Also one more recent trojan in pirated software downloads on BitTorrent has been discovered so don't pirate iWork or Photoshop or anything else.

Just keep any eye out on the Mac articles because they will always inform users of a new threat because it is so rare in the Mac realm to keep on top of things.
 
jennysmith77 said:
....i been reading about mac osx and how easily it can be hacked...
Click to expand...
Please, post a link to where you read this -- in all my dealings with and readings of OS X, I have never heard this statement before.

Mac OS X is most decidedly difficult to hack. Mac OS X is based upon a UNIX distribution that has been security-hardened over the course of 30 years or more.

Please, post a link to where you read that.
 
Link broken, but I suspect that's an article about a semi-recent hacker conference where prizes were offered for hacking various types of computers.

Most all of the successful "hacks" against OS X have some kind of "gotcha" associated with them -- social engineering tricks, physical access to the computer, etc. It has yet to be demonstrated that someone can remotely "hack" into your Mac OS X computer without some kind of intervention on your part. What that means is that if someone "hacks" your computer, more than likely, you were unwittingly tricked into letting them into your computer... much like you being tricked into letting a burglar into your house because he was posing as a home inspector/pizza delivery guy/Jehova's witness/etc. -- it's still you that let him in.

I think the trick with Mac OS X is not really trying to figure out whether you've been hacked or not, but knowing the signs of a trick so as not to get hacked in the first place.

Some signs are:
- Downloading software from unknown or untrusted sources
- Pop-up messages telling you that you need to install more software or some Quicktime codec to view a questionable website
- Being asked by a piece of software other than trusted software for your admin password
 
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