Aug 28, 2015 I am trying to clean a mac which has had it's contact list hacked. I at first thought that all the contacts were receiving mail because the mail had been hacked. Upon checking email headers it appears that the sender email address (ie that of the mac owner) is spoofed and the hackers seem to 'merely' have a copy of the contacts list, and every. Smartphones are almost always connected to the internet, so it stands to reason that they can be hacked remotely.Or perhaps a jealous boyfriend or girlfriend got hold of your device physically, in which case they could've potentially installed a keystroke logger, a virus, or any other type of tracking app to spy on you. Don't Miss: 13 Tips For Keeping Your Android Phone Secure. Jul 26, 2019 Getting hacked is, however, a real danger for modern day users of devices like computers, smartphones and tablets. There exists an entire underground of so called “black hat” hackers that profit from exploiting vulnerabilities in systems and human psychology.
Signs your Apple ID has been compromised
Your Apple ID might be compromised if you receive an account notification from Apple for a change you didn't make, or if you notice account details or changes you don’t recognize. For example:
- You receive an email or notification that your Apple ID was used to sign in to a device you don't recognize or did not sign in to recently (for example, 'Your Apple ID was used to sign in to iCloud on a Windows PC').
- You receive a confirmation email from Apple that your Apple ID password was changed or your account information was updated, but you don’t remember making any changes.
- Your device was locked or placed in Lost Mode by someone other than you.
- You see messages you didn't send, or items you didn’t delete.
- You see charges or notices for purchases that you didn't make. Learn what to do if you see an unfamiliar iTunes Store or App Store charge on your credit or debit card statement.
- Your password no longer works, or it might have been changed or locked.
- You don't recognize some or all of your account details.
If you received an email, text message, or phone call that you're not sure is valid or you think might be phishing, here are some tips to help determine its legitimacy.
Gain control of your Apple ID
If you think your Apple ID is compromised, use these steps to gain control of it and review your account information:
- Sign in to your Apple ID account page. If you can't sign in or you receive a message that the account is locked when you try to sign in, try to reset or unlock your account.
- Change your Apple ID password and choose a strong password.
- Review all the personal and security information in your account. Update any information that isn't correct or that you don’t recognize, including:
- Your name.
- Your primary Apple ID email address.* If you need to change your email address, update the features and services that you use with Apple ID, so that each one is using your updated Apple ID.
- All alternate email addresses, rescue email addresses, and phone numbers.
- The devices that are associated with your Apple ID, if you've already set up two-factor authentication.
- Security questions and answers. If you think they might be easy to guess, you should change your security questions.
- Check with your email address* provider to make sure that you control every email address associated with your Apple ID. If you don't control the email addresses associated with the Apple ID, you should change the password for the email address or use a different email address.
- Set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. This additional security feature is designed to prevent anyone from accessing your account, even if they know your password.
* In China mainland and India, you can use your phone number as your Apple ID.
If you completed the steps above and think your account might still be compromised, contact Apple Support.
Know which Apple ID is signed in to your device
If you're signed in on your device with an Apple ID that you don't recognize, use these steps to sign out, then back in with a different Apple ID. To make sure that you're signed in to Apple IDs that only you control or trust, you can check the following settings on each of your devices:
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
- Settings > [your name]
- Settings > [your name] > iTunes & App Store
- Settings > Messages > Send & Receive
- Settings > FaceTime
Mac:
- System Preferences > Apple ID
- System Preferences > Internet Accounts
- Messages > Preferences > Accounts
- Facetime > Preferences > Settings
- Mail > Preferences > Accounts
- Calendar > Preferences > Accounts
You should also check iCloud for Windows, your AirPort Time Capsule or other AirPort Base Station, and your Apple TV (for iCloud Photos or Home Sharing).
Make sure your Apple ID is secure
Because you use your Apple ID for so many Apple products and services, you should make sure that your Apple ID is as secure as possible. You should be the only person who knows your password and can sign in with your Apple ID. If someone you don’t know or don’t trust can sign in with your Apple ID, your account is not secure.
Your Apple ID might not be secure for the following reasons:
- Someone else created an Apple ID on your behalf, or you’re using an Apple ID that was already signed in when you received your device.
- You’re sharing an Apple ID with family or friends. Your Apple ID is your personal account. If you want to share purchases with a family member, use Family Sharing. With Family Sharing, you can share a calendar, photos, reminders, and more without sharing your Apple ID.
- You don’t recognize the Apple ID that is signed in on your device.
- You shared your password with someone else intentionally or unintentionally. For example, someone else selected your password for you, you told someone your password, or you entered your password on a phishing site.
- You don't have control of the email address or phone number associated with your Apple ID.
- Your password is weak or is compromised.
- You share your devices with someone else, your devices are not protected by a passcode, or your passcode is easy to guess.
If any of the above are true, you should reset your password as soon as possible and review your account information.
“I’ve been hacked” is a common thing to hearthese days. Whether it’s someone mistakenly referring to a random malwareinfection or a person trying to walk back a regrettable social media post, it’sa term that gets thrown around a lot.
Getting hacked is, however, a real danger for modern day users of devices like computers, smartphones and tablets. There exists an entire underground of so called “black hat” hackers that profit from exploiting vulnerabilities in systems and human psychology. Identity theft and direct monetary theft are two common drivers of these criminal hackers.
The problem is that knowing you’ve been hackedcan be hard. It’s not like there’s a big flashing red light to let you know.Which is why you should be aware of common signs that something isn’t right inyour digital world. Thus, here are the signs that you have been the unfortunatevictim of a hack.
A Hacker Tells You
We’re starting with the most obvious sign thatyou’ve been hacked, which is simply being contacted by someone purporting to bethe hacker and having them say so.
This could be via direct message, by email orthrough malware such as ransomware. Either way, the hacker will usually tellyou that they’ve compromised you and then provide some form of evidence. Thiswill then be followed by some sort of demand, often money in the form of acryptocurrency payment.
What should you do? The first thing you should know is that just because someone says they’ve managed to hack you, doesn’t mean that’s the case. One recent trick is to contact a person via email and then show them that they have their password for a specific account.
What’s actually happening here is that the scammer has pulled an old password and hopes to scare you into giving them money or something of real use. If they actually had access to your account they’d demonstrate it in a concrete way (like encrypting your entire computer).
So, log into the account in question, changethe password and activate two-factor authentication if possible. Also, if anyother accounts are using the password you’ve been threatened with, change themimmediately. Then forget all about it. Also, never ever give money to thesepeople, it will do nothing to help you and only embolden them.
If the threat is real, then contact theservice provider and let them know your account has been hijacked. If you’vebeen a victim of ransomware, which encrypts your data and asks for money, cutyour losses. Wipe the machine and restore data from backups. You should alsokeep your most critical info in something like Dropbox, which lets you rollback any changes for a long window period.
You Can’t Log In
One of the first signs that you’ve been hacked is when your credentials for an account refuse to work. You’ve double-checked and still can’t log in. Weird, right? Well this is a pretty obvious sign that someone else has the keys to your kingdom and that can be a very serious situation.
Whatshould you do? The right course of action here dependson a few things. You should immediately initiate a password reset and changeyour password if you can. Then, if the service offers it, activate two-factorauthentication. This means having to type in an additional one-time code fromyour phone or via email, but is a very effective way to prevent hacking.
If your primary email account has been hackedand you have not set up any backup recovery options prior to it happening, youneed to get in touch with the service provider immediately so that they cansuspend the account and then verify your identity.
Activity That Wasn’t You
Are your friends messaging you because of something you posted on Twitter? Did your online persona suddenly send some very NSFW content to your boss?
That’s a pretty clear-cut sign that your account has been taken over. You can follow exactly the same advice as in the point above, but also be sure to post a notice on your social media accounts apologizing for the content and disclaiming yourself.
Your Browser is Being Rebellious
Did you notice something strange when openingup your web browser? Your usual home page is nowhere to be seen. Instead somestrange new search engine sits there, waiting for you like an unwanted frog inthe bath. You try to type in a search term in the address bar, but it all justredirects you to that weird new site. When you try to visit your usualwebsites, the address and site don’t look quite the way they should. What’sgoing on?
This is a common technique hackers achievethrough malware, called browser hijacking.Your browser has been compromised and you can’t trust it anymore. Often, when abrowser is hijacked, you are redirected to fake versions of websites that arecontrolled by the hacker who created the malware. They can then capture yourdetails and gain access to other sites such as online banking services usingyour name.
Sometimes the goal is to simply turn yourmachine into an advertising money mill. Ads will pop up and be clicked onautomatically. Gaming the system and making money for those advertisers.Whatever the reason, this is a pretty bad situation to be in!
What Should You Do? First, you should uninstall any software added to the system since the problems started. You should also look for any applications you don’t remember installing and remove them.
This is usually not enough to get rid of the problem, so after finishing the normal uninstall process, you then need to use a malware removal tool such as Malwarebytes to clean out the infestation.
Your Device is Acting Strangely
The signs above are pretty overt, but often a compromise of your device is a little more subtle. If your computer is constantly slow and working at full capacity, that could be a sign things aren’t right. Does the battery on your phone run out much more quickly? Does the mouse pointer move by itself or applications open and close without you doing anything? Are some things, such as your antivirus, suddenly disabled?
These and other similar signs point to outsideinterference, with a hacker gaining control of your system somehow. Scary,right?
What Should You Do? First of all, disconnect that device from the internet! If someone is actively sending it commands, cutting off that access is the first step. Secondly, if you can, run anti-malware and antivirus software.
However, the best option is probably to do a factory reset or complete wipe and reinstall of that system. You may even want to have the device cleaned by a specialist, to make sure that nothing remains on it that could open a window for the hacker again.
Your Webcam Lights Up When Not inUse
Have you ever seen photos of people in frontof a computer, with a little piece of tape stuck over their webcam? That’sbecause webcam hacking is surprisingly common and the last thing you want is tobe spied on! If you notice your webcam activity light coming on when you aren’tusing it, be very suspicious!
What Should You Do? Again, we want to run malware and antivirus software. You’ll also want to see if the make and model of your webcam has received a driver or firmware update, which may contain a patch for any security flaws hackers have found.
Am I Hacked Mac Os
If you have a webcam that can be switched off or disconnected, you should only have it turned on when using it. If you have a built-in camera, well that sticky tape strategy is not a bad one.
Checking if You’re The Victim ofa Data Breach
When big (or small) companies who keep you data get hacked, it could be years before that information is used against you. Often the companies don’t even know that its happened until the stolen data is put up for sale. Luckily you can head over to Have I Been Pwned, which maintains a searchable database of all known data breaches.
By simply putting in your email address, you can see if you have been compromised. If you have been a victim, go ahead and change all your passwords. In fact, you may want to make use of a password manager that auto-generates unique strong passwords for you.
Am I Hacked Test
Hack This!
While there are plenty of shady people out onthe net who want to target regular people for personal gain, you don’t have totake it lying down. If you pay attention and practice a good security approach,you can often contain the situation before any serious damage is done!