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ardour675

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 25, 2012
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So about a few weeks ago, I thought I had some kind of virus/trojan on my mac because my e-mail got hacked into. I called apple and they sent me to the pccareexperts.com. These people used logmein to access my computer and typed in some commands into Terminal, trying to tell me I had foreign IP addresses try to hack into my computer. Well I got really suspicious and decided to end the logmein access, but I'm afraid of what they had typed into Terminal on my mac. I haven't noticed any suspicious activity, but I'm a bit paranoid about them doing something to my computer. Would it be a good idea to do a clean install and try to re-install all of my apps. I don't have a previous back-up before this incident.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
So about a few weeks ago, I thought I had some kind of virus/trojan on my mac because my e-mail got hacked into.
Email accounts can be hacked without access to your computer and without malware being involved. You don't even need to own a computer for your email account to be hacked. Change your email passwords to something long and complex.

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.
  1. Make sure your built-in Mac firewall is enabled in System Preferences > Security > Firewall

  2. Uncheck "Open "safe" files after downloading" in Safari > Preferences > General

  3. Disable Java in your browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox). This will protect you from malware that exploits Java in your browser, including the recent Flashback trojan. Leave Java disabled until you visit a trusted site that requires it, then re-enable only for the duration of your visit to that site. (This is not to be confused with JavaScript, which you should leave enabled.)

  4. Change your DNS servers to OpenDNS servers by reading this.

  5. Be careful to only install software from trusted, reputable sites. Never install pirated software. If you're not sure about an app, ask in this forum before installing.

  6. Never let someone else have access to install anything on your Mac.

  7. Don't open files that you receive from unknown or untrusted sources.

  8. For added security, make sure all network, email, financial and other important passwords are long and complex, including upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

  9. Always keep your Mac and application software updated. Use Software Update for your Mac software. For other software, it's safer to get updates from the developer's site or from the menu item "Check for updates", rather than installing from any notification window that pops up while you're surfing the web.
That's all you need to do to keep your Mac completely free of any Mac OS X malware that has ever been released into the wild. While you may elect to use it, 3rd party antivirus software is not required to keep your Mac malware-free.

Would it be a good idea to do a clean install and try to re-install all of my apps. I don't have a previous back-up before this incident.
If someone else has had access to your computer and you're not absolutely certain of what they did, yes, a clean install would be a good idea.
 
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