anti keylogger for mac

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hi,

i've discovered that someone i've been talking to in skype on the other side of the world knows whenever i am on the computer -;- he told me he has a secret and can tell when i am home

i haven't been a long term mac user, but i thought these things could not happen on a mac ??

i have my fire wall ON -;-

i want to know how i can find out if he has put a keylogger in the OS

he does seem to know whenever i am home and on the computer its uncanny so i tend to think he has put a keylogger here

how do i find it and remove it and install something that won't let this happen again for FREE ...as i don't have the resources to purchase anything

thank you in advance
 
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he seems to know you are at home and on the computer?

\Is is just when you are, like, at home on your computer and using Skype?

No-one could remote install zip without your password, so it sounds more like the person is just trying to mess with your head.

I would just cease contact with the person and delete all contact with the individual, eventually they will just loose interest.

also, if you feel you may have been the target of any scam from this person, then definitely avoid any communication what so ever and hopefully they will simply loose interest
 

Raz0rEdge

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Ok..you're getting just a tad paranoid..so let's work through this..

When you are away from your home, do you keep your computer off or sleeping? Either way, you come home and then turn it on or wake it up, and if Skype was already running and you were logged in before, it will be available, if you explicitely turn it on then you'll login with your profile.

Now on the REMOTE ("other side of the world" as you put it), your friend and others have you in their contact list and when you get logged into Skype, it will notify them about that. Skype, like other services, also has a way of monitoring your activity or inactivity on the computer and relaying that information so that you can be logged into Skype but away from the computer so people wouldn't try to chat with you since they can tell you're not there..

All of this is the WAY Skype and other IM services work and have worked since they came into existence. Next this isn't necessarily Mac specific..

Lastly, when you don't know what's going on it is easy to trigger happy and suggest virus, trojan and so on..keyloggers don't fall into either of these categories as they are used for legitimate reasons by paranoid parents..

Now for applications like keyloggers to be installed, it would require Administrator level privileges, so you're friend who have had to send you a link to an application or something pretending to be an application and you must have clicked on it and then allowed it to install giving your admin password and THEN you might have a keylogger..

If there is ANYTHING you should know about the Internet in general, trust nothing and noone. If anything ever prompts you for your admin password, think twice about entering it, only enter it when you were expecting it because you specifically launched a program or installer that you know is trusted..
 
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Don't get too worried.

If he has Skype launched, and got you down as a friend from previous contact, Skype will tell him whenever you are on Skype yourself.

Do you have Skype auto loading when you power up ?

If so, stop it.

SImple as that.
 
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And block the guy if he's that much of a bother.
 
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hi

thank you all for your replies

i had my paypal account hacked into and someone used my credit card details to buy some dumb computer game -;- over $100 out of my account - a lot of money for me -;- so yes i am a tad paranoid now

how did they get into my paypal in the first place ?? how did they know my password ??

i don't often leave skype open but i did render the dock invisible so have forgotten that its open ....so it could be that

but i think it was off the first time i noticed that he knew i was on line - but memory not that good....

i did go and get a free rootkit hunter and ran it but it found nothing....

i've been on the internet since 1990 when machines only had 8 GB of memory !!! and i've watched it get out of control ever since -;- but i had a microstuft then ....not a mac -;-

every one tells me these things can't happen to a mac -;- i am not sure why but since paypal as hacked i am quite paranoid ...and when he told me he has a program that can tell him when i am on line i wonder .....???

but thank you all for your replies....

cheers
j:)
 
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chas_m

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how did they get into my paypal in the first place ?? how did they know my password ??

Guessing. Most people's passwords are laughably easy to work out. Do you have a pet?

i don't often leave skype open but i did render the dock invisible so have forgotten that its open ....so it could be that

I really have no idea what "render the dock invisible" means but most likely you have Skype set to auto-load on startup and it stays on in the background. If so, that's how your "friend" knows when you're on.

i did go and get a free rootkit hunter and ran it but it found nothing....

Well of course not. This isn't a PC you're working on.
 

cwa107


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hi

thank you all for your replies

i had my paypal account hacked into and someone used my credit card details to buy some dumb computer game -;- over $100 out of my account - a lot of money for me -;- so yes i am a tad paranoid now

how did they get into my paypal in the first place ?? how did they know my password ??

As Chas_M said, probably guessing. Especially if any part of your username is in your password, or if your password happens to have your kids or pets names in it. Another method is to use what is known as a "brute force attack" - if it's a weak password (i.e. no changes of case, special characters or numbers - and particularly if it's a "dictionary" word) it can be very easy to crack.

If you want a truly strong password, make sure it has a mix of special characters, numbers and changes of case. You can also take a word or phrase that you'll remember and "modify" it with numbers and special characters to make it strong.

For example, I'll use the phrase "Let there be light":

L3t+h3r3bL!T3

You'll see that I used 3's for "e", changed the case several times and used "!" for "i" and "+" for "t".

Easy enough to remember, but almost impossible to crack.

i don't often leave skype open but i did render the dock invisible so have forgotten that its open ....so it could be that

but i think it was off the first time i noticed that he knew i was on line - but memory not that good....

If you leave it open like that, your status will be updated when you're on the computer and away. That's how he knows. There's no special magic there.

i did go and get a free rootkit hunter and ran it but it found nothing....

i've been on the internet since 1990 when machines only had 8 GB of memory !!! and i've watched it get out of control ever since -;- but i had a microstuft then ....not a mac -;-

You mean 8MB of RAM. 8GB is a fair bit ;)

While your Mac is very secure, no computer can protect you from yourself. Use strong passwords, take the time to understand how your software works, and if someone steps out-of-line online, drop them like a bad habit ;)


every one tells me these things can't happen to a mac -;- i am not sure why but since paypal as hacked i am quite paranoid ...and when he told me he has a program that can tell him when i am on line i wonder .....???

but thank you all for your replies....

cheers
j:)

It's not that they "can't happen to a mac", it's that the Mac is generally pretty well protected. Even still, you need to apply some safe surfing protocols, or any computer you use can be compromised.
 
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