Has my Mac been hacked...?

[Isabella82]

Hi,

I noticed something weird on my Mac's Finder - the left hand edge that shows Favourites, Devices and Shared has a shared user that I've never heard of or knowingly given permission to. I've uploaded a screenshot of it. Can anyone shed any light on this, please?

Thanks - and sorry if this is a silly question!

 

[0007776]

It’s someone else on the same network that has sharing tunrned on. Nothing to worry about unless it is your home network and it doesn’t belong to anyone who is supposed to be on the network, but even then most likely you just have to worry about someone using your internet connection and running the usage up and over any cap that your ISP happens to have.

 

[DeltaMac]

"Shared" can be other kinds of devices that are present on your network.
I have an HP printer that appears in "Shared".
It could also be a phone.

 

[Isabella82]

Thank you both! That's helpful - and a big relief So any other device using the same WiFi as my computer will show up there? I haven't deliberately networked it with any other devices, but I live in a shared house so would other people's computers show up on there? I'm just worried about people having direct access to my computer and files through this 'shared' feature, but it sounds like that's not the case.

 

[chabig]

It’s just a device that happens to be on the same network as you. It’s like driving down your street and seeing homes other than yours. Nothing on your computer is shared or visible unless you make it so. Going back to my analogy, keep your doors locked and you’re at no risk.

 

[MacDawg]

They would not have access to your computer and/or files unless you explicitly give permission for that sharing
They would be able to see your computer like you see their device (or printer, etc)
If you click on their device in the finder you will see that you don't have access to them

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

It's likely a device of some kind. My Router allows for sharing a drive or printer through a USB port, so it shows up under shared. If you are really concerned someone else is on your network, you can change the wifi passkey on your home router.

 

[chown33]

I'm pretty sure the Finder's Preferences window will let you change what kind of Shared items appear in the sidebar.

For example, if you turn off Bonjour Computers (or whatever it's called these days), then you won't see other computers that are advertising themselves via Bonjour. By the way, my guess is that's what the other device is: a computer or other device advertising via Bonjour.

And FWIW, you control the sharing done by your computer in System Preferences > Sharing. To share nothing and advertise nothing, uncheck all the Sharing items in the list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonjour_(software)