Random Shared Comp (Help)

[SachaMac]

Hi, recently I noticed that a random shared computer has been popping up in my shared category in the finder. Im not sure if this is a virus of malware, but I ran a full scan using MacScan and nothing came up. Any idea if i should be worried about this thing? There are no windows computers in my home and thats what it identifies as.
heres a screenshot...

https://twitter.com/SachaSagasi/status/284635452617654272/photo/1

 

[maflynn]

If you're on wifi, you have a neighbor using your internet. Do you have a password set for your password. I recommend using WPA2

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi, recently I noticed that a random shared computer has been popping up in my shared category in the finder.

As maflynn said, that indicates the presence of another computer sharing your network. Make sure your network has a long and complex WPA2 password set. You may also want to change it periodically.

Im not sure if this is a virus of malware

It has nothing to do with malware.

Mac Virus/Malware FAQ

 

[macuserx86]

Yup, as the others have said, you have an intruder!

Change your wifi settings to have a WPA2 password

 

[SachaMac]

What if i already have a password? It isn't easy to guess either. Nor do i imagine either one of my neighbors (all old people) have the ability to "crack" the wifi network.

 

[snaky69]

What if i already have a password? It isn't easy to guess either. Nor do i imagine either one of my neighbors (all old people) have the ability to "crack" the wifi network.

One of them may very well have all the time in the world to try and crack it, after all, retired people have a lot of free time!

Just change your Network's password, reboot the router to kick any device off of it, and see if it comes back.

 

[GGJstudios]

What if i already have a password? It isn't easy to guess either. Nor do i imagine either one of my neighbors (all old people) have the ability to "crack" the wifi network.

Is it a WPA2 password? Try changing it and see if the shared computer still appears.

 

[SachaMac]

Is it a WPA2 password? Try changing it and see if the shared computer still appears.

Yeah, it's WPA2 (according to my boyfriend)
He thinks it may be one of his friends computers when they come over.
That being said, if by some chance that it wasnt someone stealing my wifi, or one of his friends computers, what could it be? I havent torrented anything, but I did download around 3 iphone searchers to get the music from my phone onto my mac.
One was iExplorer from the iExplorer website.
the other was iFunbox.
This is why I'm afraid of it being malware or a virus. : (

 

[Ploki]

It's not.

It's another laptop on your network.

No malware, no virus. (Well, you might have it, but this is not a symptom of it.)

 

[monkeybagel]

Hi, recently I noticed that a random shared computer has been popping up in my shared category in the finder. Im not sure if this is a virus of malware, but I ran a full scan using MacScan and nothing came up. Any idea if i should be worried about this thing? There are no windows computers in my home and thats what it identifies as.
heres a screenshot...

https://twitter.com/SachaSagasi/status/284635452617654272/photo/1

That appears to be an HP wireless photo printer. Do you own one of those?

 

[GGJstudios]

This is why I'm afraid of it being malware or a virus. : (

There has never been a Mac OS X virus in the wild, so you can't be affected by something that doesn't exist. The few trojans that exist in the wild are easily avoided and quite rare for a Mac user to encounter. The presence of a shared device is not an indication of any malware, which means it's not a virus, trojan, etc. Read the link in my earlier post.

 

[SachaMac]

Thank You!

That appears to be an HP wireless photo printer. Do you own one of those?

Yes! I Do! Thank you, thats exactly what it is because when I shut it off the device never shows up!