Can Mac Computer Get Hacked

Every day we see news about computers being hacked and how the cybercriminals make money off people clueless about the protection of their assets.

1. A major security gap has left Apple devices open to hackers. Here's a step-by-step guide to installing Apple's security patches on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac laptop and desktop devices.
2. Mar 08, 2013  Help! My Mac's Been Hacked! Mac users get hacked, too. Here are some tips for when you think your Apple's core is rotten with malware.

For someone not very technical, it may sound as if hackers are so powerful, and the only way to hide is to shut down all devices and go off the grid completely.

However, the truth is that there are several simple things one can do to make sure that we are reasonably safe when browsing the internet without affecting our ability to access the information we need.

Whether or not someone can hack into the computer or phone through WiFi depends on a person’s proximity to the WiFi router. If a cybercriminal in the range of access to the WiFi router, they can connect to the local network and perform various attacks, such as Man In The Middle attack.

If the hacker is outside of the WiFi range, then the way they attack will be different.

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Let’s consider various scenarios of how the computer can be hacked and ways to protect your devices.

Hacking Computer Through Local WiFi

As you probably guessed, it is much easier to hack the computer, which is in close proximity to the hacker’s device.

For instance, your neighbor can connect to your WiFi and use your internet for free. Or you may connect to the free WiFi in the cafe or hotel, but someone already hacked the network, and now everyone, including you, is a potential target.

Or maybe you are using the office WiFi, and it was also hacked.

And it doesn’t have to be a computer, such as a Mac or PC. Your smartphone, iPhone, or Android, which uses the WiFi can be hacked as well.

Let’s see what hackers can do if they are physically connected to the WiFi you are using.

Man in the middle attack

If you have the internet at home from a cable, DSL, or fiber-optic provider, you have a router. Your computer does not directly connect to the internet; it sends and receives data by directing it through the router.

In layman terms, the process is the following:

1. Your computer or phone finds a WiFi router.
2. After submitting the correct password, the router sends back its MAC address. MAC address is an identifier of computer components, and in theory, it should be unique across billions of devices on the planet. The network card on your computer also has a unique MAC address.
3. After you get the MAC address of the router, all internet activity will be going through the router. In the pic below, there is a MAC address next to each device on the local network, and the router’s address is 11:22:33:44:55:66.

When a hacker connects to the local WiFi router, it also finds the MAC address of the router. The hacker changes his computer’s MAC address to be the same as routers one (11:22:33:44:55:66 in the pic below).

Now, all devices on the local network connect to the hacker’s machine, and then the data flows to and from the router. So the hacker becomes a man in the middle (MITM).

Once this happened, the hacker can read all outgoing requests and incoming data using various tools that collect such data.

This means every time you enter a username and password on some web site or enter your credit card number, and it gets saved on the hacker’s machine. Also, every URL you are visiting also gets saved.

There are some limitations, obviously. For instance, if the website uses the HTTPS protocol (S at the end stands for Secure), all traffic is encrypted between your computer and cybercriminals will not be able to crack it (in most cases).

However, if the web site uses HTTP, all data, including the password, is in cleartext.

So, if you want to avoid your data being stolen, always check that web site is using a secure protocol (HTTPS). In the browsers, the secure protocol is usually displayed with a padlock icon next to the URL.

Never enter passwords or financial information on web sites with HTTP!

How the router can be hacked

When it comes to your home WiFi, there are three ways for someone outside to connect to the router:

1. The router is not password protected
2. You tell the password. For instance, you told the guest the password, or she looked it up on the router (if you didn’t change the default one)
3. If the router is using an old authentication protocol

I am going to skip the first two and instead of focus on the last one. The authentication protocol used in with WiFi router is very important.

If your router is old, it is possible that it’s still using WEP protocol, then you should know that anyone who knows a little bit about hacking can hack the router literally in less than a minute.

So, if you have it enabled on your router, then go ahead and disable as I did.

What you should have is WPA2 with AES encryption. In the pic below, the authentication strength (protection from hacking) increases from top to bottom (WPA is less secure, and WPA2-PSK with AES is the most secure).

Some hackers employ a dictionary attack to crack WPA protocol, but it takes supercomputers to hack it. So as long as you are not a celebrity or a billionaire, nobody will spend so many resources to break into your network.

Usually, you can connect to the home router settings by going to the local IP address, such as http://192.168.0.1/.

How to tell if someone hacked your router

One of the sure routers hacked signs is the existence of an unknown device connected to the local WiFi network.

As I explained above, in order to perform a man in the middle (MITM) attack, the hacker must connect to the WiFI network first. And if he’s connected, you can see him too.

One way to find out the connected devices is through the router settings. Some routers allow us to see all connected devices and kick them out if needed.

Another way is to use a network scanner app. For instance, I found a cool app called Fing. The app is available for almost all platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.

It is free (with ads) and doesn’t even require creating an account in order to use it.

One cool feature they have is scanning for open ports.

For instance, when I scanned my MacBook Pro, I found that remote desktop and screen sharing features were enabled, and anyone could connect to my Mac remotely.

How to protect from a MITM attack

While it is possible to scan and find unknown devices on the home network, this approach will not work with public WiFi networks, such as the one in Starbucks or the hotel.

You would never know if the public network was compromised. In this case, the only way to protect your privacy is to use a VPN (a virtual private network).

When connected to VPN, your computer or phone creates a secure encrypted channel with the VPN server. After the connection is established, all requests go to the VPN server. The server makes all requests on your behalf and returns the results back to you.

From outside, it looks like the computer is sending some garbage to and back to the same computer. Even if the hacker collecting the information, he won’t be able to tell whether you’re connecting to Google.com or MacMyths.com.

When choosing a VPN software, follow these best practices:

• Do not use a free VPN. They have significant limitations, and you know that good things are never free.
• Test for speed. Some VPS are significantly faster than others.
• Check the provider’s reputation. Since all requests now go through the VPN, technically, the VPN server becomes a man in the middle. So choose only reputable providers.

Personally, I am using NordVPN: it’s the fastest on the market and very inexpensive. It is available for multiple platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.

If you use my NordVPN affiliate link you get a pretty steep discount for three-year plan for up to 6 devices.

Hacking Computer Remotely

We discussed ways to hack the computers and phones through local WiFi, but I know the question that most people ask is whether hackers can connect to the home network when they are on the other end of the world (or more than a hundred yards or meters away).

Fortunately, the answer is no, someone cannot get into your home network, even if they know the password if they are outside of the range (more than 300 feet).

Also, in most cases, hackers cannot get into your computer is off (link).

However, there are other ways to get into your system remotely. Do you remember a story of Bezos’s personal data being leaked?

In his case, he received a message on WhatsApp with malware attachment. When the malware was installed on his phone, it started sending the personal data to the server abroad.

Similarly, we are all at the risk of having malware installed on our computers and smartphones. Some malware open access to the device, so the hackers can access it remotely.

Or, the malware could be a keylogger, and in this case, even having HTTPS or a VPN will not help. A keylogger will record the keys pressed on the keyboard, and if it happens to be a credit card number, then the hacker will have it.

So, how to protect the devices from malware? You need to install an antivirus program.

There is a common myth that Macs cannot have viruses, but this is not true. I was able to inject my Mac with more than 100 malware samples when testing various antimalware solution.

You can check the results of my test and recommended antiviruses in my post: Best Malware Detection App for Mac.

Every time my friends and family ask me for a recommended antivirus, I go with Norton 360. It comes with the biggest bang for the buck and provides antimalware and other security features on all platforms. And it also has its own VPN!

Conclusion

We reviewed multiple ways how someone can hack into your phone or computer through WiFi. I also listed ways to prevent this from happening, which I wanted to reiterate.

If you worry about online security, consider investing in the following tools:

• VPN software
• Antivirus program

Be very cautious when connecting to public WiFi. I’d say if you don’t have VPN installed on a laptop or smartphone don’t use public WiFi, or at least avoid making purchases with a credit card or entering passwords.

If you are interested in the topic of security, there is a great course available on Udemy about ethical hacking. The instructor teaches how to hack computers ethically and most importantly what can you do to prevent from being targeted:

Also, check my other post:

Photo credit: ©canva.com/cyano66

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If you’re thinking hackers did not hack your computer machine because you’re a small fly nobody wants to hack you. That’s your biggest mistake hackers always try to increase IP database through hacking computer.

When hackers, hack any website or server they generally do it by opening that particular site to millions of IP address and hence the server in cash. So you’ve to check if you’re being targeted by the hacker or if on your mac there is any backdoor from which you’re monitored.

If you questioning your self “How to tell If your mac has been remotely accessed” by hackers. If you’ve felt your computer has been hacked you can easily check it and prevent using simple tools and software such as installing anti-virus on your Mac.

The answer is simple, there some ways from which you can easily determine your computer is hacked.

Must Watch This Video To Know Why Your Mac Has Been Hack

1 # Can I Tell If My Mac Has Been Hacked

To determine if your mac has been already hacked by hackers you have to know if things. First of all, you've to spot some sign of possible hacking.

You'll have to consider whether anything out of the usual is happening on your notebook. You know how your computer runs better than anyone else. If you've noticed anything usual after starting your MacBook. The weird sign includes.

• When you try to open any file but it won't open.
• Any Program automatically starts without running it.
• You cannot access any file or program protected by password setup by you.
• When you're not using your computer but still sometimes its connect to the internet automatically.
• File contents have been changed but your not who change them
• Your Printer not working but all look fine.
• The wired warring message shows up on the screen.
• Go online and check your online account passwords.

There are lots of signs from which you can easily detect your computer is hacked by somebody or there is a backdoor on your computer which remotely accessed by the hacker.

2 # Go online to check your Online Accounts through Private Browser

When you try to login into your online account such as Email Account you see a password failure. If you're feeling you're already hacked then, in this case, check your online account using a private browser. Because private browsing is safe and secure.

You can also notice if your network connection is redirected to another IP address or computer. Lots of small hackers try to hack network to enjoy free internet but they can also remotely control your computer.

When you're browsing through the web browser you may also see an extra browser open up automatically without doing anything. If you own a domain for your website or blog you can access it after getting hacked.

3 # Anti-Virus Stop Working When Mac Computer Has Been Hacked

In Mac, if you already installed an anti-virus then this the best thing you've done to secure notebook. To find out if your mac address has been hacked. You can easily check it out by scanning your Mac.

Usually, Mac users have to scan its system regularly to know if check anything usual such as the trojan virus. Trojan Virus is the virus created by hackers these viri contain backdoor or the spirits and command lines to open hidden gateways on your computer.

If you notice lots of trojan virus on your computer on the regular scan it is also a sign that your mac has been hacked.

4 # Check All Accounts Created By You on Mac Using Command Line

If you're thinking how would I know if my mac has been hacked into. Have you notice someone has seen your information and conversation on your computer. According to hackers, it is easier to hack mac in comparison to PC.

There are lots of mac terminal hack commands with the help of which hackers entered into your computer. But you can also use a command line to determine whether your Mac has been used without your authorization.

Step 1:

Login into your Mac OS notebook using for the regular account

Step 2:

Is My Mac Hacked

Click on Applications > Utilities > Terminal

Step 3:

In Terminal (Command Prompt). Enter this command line 'sudo -l'.

Can Apple Computers Be Hacked

Step 4:

Press Enter and then type account password and again press Enter.

Computer Hacked What To Do

Step 5:

Again in Terminal type following command line to open up the complete list of all accounts created on your Mac.

dscl . list /users

Step 6:

Press the 'Enter' button

Now you can easily check a complete list of account on your Mac OS computer. Check whether any account is created on Mac without your permission. If your mac is hacked there are additional accounts created by hackers.

Step 7:

In this last step, check whether an account is misused by any hacker. Type gave the following command line on Terminal

My Mac Has Been Hacked

last

Can Mac Computers Get Hacked

Hit 'Enter' now you can see each account on Mac last login date and time. Check out if there is an account which recently login without your permission.