My girlfriend called me(im away for the month) and said ichat dissapeared off of her dock. She couldnt find it in the apps menu either and said her apps were geekin out movin around by themselves. then today she says she find msn messenger in her apps folder and has never seen it before. she is the only one who uses this computer, whats the deal?
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apps dissapearing...virus?
- Thread starter livinzlife
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Are you really sure of that? There could've been somebody else in the house later who used her computer.
or
This could be a hacker that randomly deletes applications. Mac OS X could be hacked.
shes definately the only one who uses it...how can she avoid hacking and what risks are there now if thats the case
Does she have a Firewall on and does she use unprotected (no password) wireless network?
she uses an unprotected network, but shes like in the woods so its not like theres people around. she said she didnt have her firewall activated until tonight when i told her to check
Me1000
macrumors 68000
Her physical location is irrelevant when you are on the internet...
hahahaha 😀
so what risks is she at and why would someone bother just deleting ichat and installing messenger...what actions should i have her take
Me1000
macrumors 68000
The firewall helps, but im not willing to say she was hacked...
Did she actually see the icons moving around? If that was the case someone VNC'd/remote desktop'd into her machine, if she has screen sharing turned on that could be it... Especially if someone is inside your network.
Did she actually see the icons moving around? If that was the case someone VNC'd/remote desktop'd into her machine, if she has screen sharing turned on that could be it... Especially if someone is inside your network.
Infrared
macrumors 68000
Happens to mine as well, coaxed her brother to get a iMac and programs also have a tendency to disappear under mysterious circumstances and it is left up to me get them back. For the life of me I do not understand how they manage to do this. The brother has gone back to wincrap, the traitor.
Yep...
Set up a perimeter with lights and infra-red. A trip-wires connected to frag grenades, too.
Hell, I'd just build a moat around her house. Or hire midgets with machetes.
Or she could admit she pulled the apps off the dock on accident.
Set up a perimeter with lights and infra-red. A trip-wires connected to frag grenades, too.
Hell, I'd just build a moat around her house. Or hire midgets with machetes.
Or she could admit she pulled the apps off the dock on accident.
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
well thanks for the people who are helping and all the people with the smartass comments are really cool. she said the apps will move around even when she has turned everything off like bt and airport so is it just a bug?
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
Does she have a physical internet connection or just the AirPort one? Tell her to turn off the base station completely and if things are still happening it's probably her.
Repairing permissions is always a good thing.
Repairing permissions is always a good thing.
arkitect
macrumors G3
Well if these things are moving around all by themselves then not so much bugs as creepy crawlies? 😉
Infrared
macrumors 68000
It could be. Very hard to say unless you can actually see it.
If she could upload a short clip of her screen to youtube, we
might be better able to diagnose this.
This is possible. My friend who is a hacker/geek, can hack Mac OS X if he wants to over the unprotected wireless network and it took him an hour to do it. He said Mac OS X is not as secure as you think it is.
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
What does he do to the computers once he's in? I'm fairly certain that it doesn't amount to "hacking" and is only the by-product of stupidity associated with running an open wireless network.
The burning question that has yet to have been answered:
Does she literally see things moving around on her screen, right before her eyes?
Your friend probably just setup screensharing and or ssh, afp, etc, and then went to another computer and used such features. He's pretty lame for doing it. I'd recommend you stop handing out with him.
Does she literally see things moving around on her screen, right before her eyes?
Your friend probably just setup screensharing and or ssh, afp, etc, and then went to another computer and used such features. He's pretty lame for doing it. I'd recommend you stop handing out with him.