has my imac been hacked ?

CeeGee4 said:

When I began to receive returned e-mail for over 200 mails I had not sent, I got a little uncomfortable. Just trashing them was not enough. My server closed me down completely and I had to call them and re-do all my passwords on all devices..

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Your email account was hacked, not your Mac. Email accounts are hacked all the time, usually due to users selecting easy-to-guess passwords. It has nothing to do with what computer you have, as it can happen even if you don't own a computer. Change your email passwords and use long and complex passwords, including special characters, numbers and upper and lower case letters.

I also recommend avoiding Sophos, as it can actually increase a Mac's vulnerability, as described here and here. 3rd party antivirus apps are not needed to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as the user practices safe computing, as described in the following link.

inscrewtable said:

The thing is how do we know that this is really you posting?

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The OP you quoted hasn't been on this site for over a year, so don't hold your breath on getting a response.

GGJstudios said:

Read post #4 in this thread, including the link posted. No, your webcam cannot be remotely hacked. Simply downloading torrents doesn't introduce malware to your Mac. Only installing infected apps can infect your Mac, so don't pirate software. Also, enable your Mac's built-in firewall.

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So the built in webcam cannot be remotely hacked or used? Try again. A school district in PA was sued because of this.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/190101/article.html

As I stated in another thread....you wouldn't go without a condom when having sex with a stranger...so on earth would you step foot on the internet without proper protection for your computer?

BlendedFrog said:

So the built in webcam cannot be remotely hacked or used? Try again. A school district in PA was sued because of this.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/190101/article.html

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Try again. The school district installed software enabling that on the Macs before they gave them to students. That's completely different than remotely hacking into a Mac.

How exactly did the school district get access to students' Webcams? Well, Lower Merion installed security software on the Macs it issued to 2300 students, but never disclosed the possibility that they could be remotely monitored for audio and video input--which could be illegal under federal and state laws governing topics like wiretaps and computer-instrusion.

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