Trojan Horse on OSX?

[jlmcclellan]

Hey all,

I know for the most part security is pretty tight on OSX but I was curious what the chances are that I could have somehow (and for the life of me I don't know how) picked up some form of trojan horse, spyware, keylogger or something?

It could all very well be a coincidence but my gmail was hacked about a month ago and my facebook was hacked last night. Both times the person(s) who gained control spammed w/ my account (I don't think the spam content was the same though). Both of them happened to use the same password at the time.

Is there something out there that could've allowed one individual to be going after me or is it more than likely carelessness on my part that somehow exposed my gmail account a month ago and then my FB account recently?

Thoughts?

 

[miles01110]

Your FB and Gmail accounts probably got "hacked" as a result of a weak password. If you have a trojan on your Mac, you must have given administrator permission to install it (meaning you entered your password when prompted).

 

[jlmcclellan]

I never give the admin password unless I know what I'm running. Ok must have been coincidence then.

Thanks.

 

[chown33]

I never give the admin password unless I know what I'm running. Ok must have been coincidence then.

It wasn't coincidence. It was using the same password.

If I were breaking into mail accounts, the first thing I'd do is look at all the messages to see what other services the victim used, then try the same password on those accounts. Then I'd try slight variations on that password, such as adding a "1" or the name of the service.

In my experience, most people have no idea what a weak password is. Since you've changed the password, would you please post the old one that got broken into, so other people can see an actual example.

 

[miles01110]

In my experience, most people have no idea what a weak password is. Since you've changed the password, would you please post the old one that got broken into, so other people can see an actual example.

For starters,

http://blog.wundercounter.com/2009/12/twitter-and-avoiding-weak-passwords.html

 

[GGJstudios]

Anyone's email account can be hacked or spoofed, regardless of what computer or operating system the owner is using. It doesn't involve your computer at all. The hacker/spammer doesn't know or care what kind of computer or OS you have... they only need your email address for spoofing and also the password, to hack in.

Mac Virus/Malware Info