Identifying any type of spyware, hidden user account or monitoring on my system

[MikeGreo]

I want to find out what is currently on my system. Is there a way for me to find if there is any type of spyware, hidden user account or monitoring on my system?

Any assistance on this matter will be much appreciated.

Regards,

Mike

 

[jbarley]

2 free apps commonly used come to mind...

Download Malwarebytes for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of Malwarebytes for Mac for free. Read 136 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

and

Download EtreCheckPro for Mac | MacUpdate

Download the latest version of EtreCheckPro for Mac for free. Read 114 user reviews and compare with similar apps on MacUpdate.

www.macupdate.com

I' m sure there's more, but it's a good start.☺

 

[MikeGreo]

Apparently my system has Sophos Endpoint installed. What can my employer see if this is installed?

 

[revmacian]

Apparently my system has Sophos Endpoint installed. What can my employer see if this is installed?

Employer? Is this a company-owned machine?

 

[MikeGreo]

Yes. My own laptop is recently not working, and I currently on vacation. Nobody in the workplace leaves their laptops in the office. Normally I do not use company laptop for personally things, but until I get back from vacation, I'm kinda stuck with it and I have no other laptop to use.

 

[HDFan]

What can my employer see if this is installed?

What are you worried about?

 

[MikeGreo]

I just want to know, what I am dealing with. Can he see all the websites visited?

 

[Tech198]

System Preferences >> Users & Groups >> Login Items.. should show what's stating up.

Also, check Macintosh HD/ LaunchDeamons & LaunchAgents folders (if you have more than one account on the mac)

Once you found the program(s) name, if you want, (and have permission) you could try deleting them, but if it's a company laptop, all bets are really off, as its theirs, not a personal user.

the plist files would give you a clue for eg: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hidden-launchdaemons-launchagents-mac/

Being a company laptop, you may not have permission, but just to know would be good.

 

[4sallypat]

Sophos Endpoint is similar to a lot of "man in the middle" agents used in MDM.

Your employer can control, observe, and track what you do with your computer, peripherals, etc - anywhere you are connected - outside your corporate network.

Sophos Complete control
Enforce your web, application, device and data policies with ease, thanks to seamless integration within the endpoint agent and the management console.

• Web Control Category-based web filtering enforced on and off the corporate network
• Application Control Point-and-click blocking of applications by category or name
• Peripheral Control Managed access to removable media and mobile devices
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Restrict unauthorized data flow using prebuilt or custom rules

 

[topcat001]

I really dislike (third party) Antivirus programs . Even on windows I only run the the built in software (Defender) and use common sense and have never had an issue. Work machines are another matter, however, and one has to accept company policy.

To get a good idea what's running as background tasks in the system and user domains, use (from Terminal):

launchctl list

To eliminate Apple services (mostly) and list only third party programs, run:

launchctl list|grep -iv apple

If you're feeling geeky look at the man pages of launchd and launchctl. There is a lot of useful info there.

 

[geo88]

If you go to System Preferences and a preference pane called "Profiles" is visible then some or all of your network traffic is being routed through a system wide network profile or vpn configuration. Also, Safari and other browser extensions can be enforced. Whoever admins the network would be able to see all of your ip traffic at the least.