Concern that my macbook has been hacked or has a virus

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Hey guys
Please, no judgmental comments here as I have been trying to deal with this problem for a while.
I've been going to youporn way too often since i got my mac a year ago.
I know, I know...shouldn't have done it, but I've reached a point where I realize I have a problem, so that's why I'm here with questions.

I figured that I needed to express my concerns about having been hacked over the years, or the possibility of a virus on my laptop.

I'm obviously stupid and not computer-savvy because I don't have any kind of anti-virus program on my macbook...I also just realized that my Firewall was not even on. Is this a sign that someone hacked into my computer and changed that, or is that something that you had to manually do anyway?

I have had my macbook for a year and 1 month now. Aside from the fact that it isn't as fast as it used to be when I first got it, I haven't really noticed anything weird. The only thing that pops into my mind right now is that twice, I went into Hotmail and found a bunch of these postmaster delivery failure messages in my inbox, and I had not attempted to send any of those messages. I clicked on one just to see what it was, but DID NOT open the attachment. Did I put my computer at risk by opening the message (not the attachment though)?

In case this information helps, I never downloaded any of the porn. I never signed into any website or gave up my password as far as I can remember. YP is like Youtube...so I've only ever clicked on videos to watch, and from what I remember, I was never bounced to any random site while I was on yp.

I'm just looking for answers that might ease my stress..I've just been extremely worried with the idea that someone could have remotely accessed my computer to steal my files and whatnot. What are the odds that this could've happened, and are there any symptoms/signs that I should be looking out for?
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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RavingMac

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You might try repairing Disk Permissions and looking at your HD free space regarding your slow down in performance.

One comment on your other issue, I have seen there are resources available (quick internet search) as far as accountability groups and self help. May want to look into them.
HTH
Razormac
 
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I doubt you've been hacked. Clear your browser cache. :)
 
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Thank you to everybody for your quick responses.

I realize I might just be extremely paranoid, but regardless, I'm just worried that somebody at some point has hacked into my computer. That's my concern. I'm not sure what the symptoms might be, so I guess that's what I'm really asking about. Is it blatantly obvious if you've been hacked or have a virus? Or are these guys so brilliant you won't be able to tell? I just have this fear that somebody has access to my computer right now somehow, because I've been hacked previously as a result of going on dangerous sites, aka porn sites.

The only suspicious things I've noticed is the postmaster delivery failure messages in my Hotmail inbox twice..not sure if that has anything to do with being hacked. In addition, I checked this morning to see if my Firewall was on, and it was OFF. I'm worried that this might mean I've been hacked...or is the Firewall something that is not automatically on? Sorry, these might be really stupid questions, I realize..I'm just worried and I have no knowledge about hacking and computer stuff in general.

Thank you for reading.
 

vansmith

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Why are you even concerned about this? You say that you don't see any symptoms of any intrusion or wrongdoing so why are you being paranoid? Unfounded fear is entirely unproductive and accomplishes nothing beyond making you feel stressed. With the best intentions, I say the following: take a step back and relax.

Delivery failures on emails happen commonly. Look at the body of the message and who it was being sent to. Better yet, take a look through your sent box. If you see a bunch of messages that you didn't send, it's possible that your Hotmail account may have been hacked but not your Mac (and this could very well be the case if you have a weak password).

As for the firewall, it's likely that your router has a firewall (check your router settings). If it makes you feel comfortable, put on the software one built into OS X.
 
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vansmith,
I'm just concerned b/c I don't know anything about computers, and I'm not sure what symptoms there might be. I just want to know if these symptoms would be blatantly obvious, or very subtle. If they're subtle, then I guess there's no way of knowing? If it's obvious, then I can safely conclude that my computer is fine, seeing as I haven't noticed anything other than the hotmail issue. Just to clarify - the Firewall being off is normal? I always just assumed it was on by default, or that I had turned it on when I first bought my laptop...I can't remember though. But thanks for your reply and advice..I definitely need to stop being paranoid about this. It's been eating away at me for a week.
 

vansmith

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Many of us probably don't know what the symptoms are since it can happen a million different ways. So, I repeat what I said: stop worrying, move on and be smart when you use your computer. Turn on the firewall and get on with your day. Stop indulging your need for erotic content online if it's a source of consternation - don't make your concerns worse. Enjoy the use of your computer instead of seeing it as a source of anxiety.

A lot of people don't know anything about computers but you seem to understand that you need to be smart while recognizing what "smart" is (staying away from your "indulgence" for instance).
 
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Thanks.
Yes, I realize it is a huge problem..it's like I can't get on with my day if I haven't been on those sites. I've managed to stay away for the past few days, only because I've been so paranoid worrying about this.
Thanks for all the help, everybody. Will take all the advice you've given me.
 
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Well, I just did a ClamXav scan, and it found about 5 items with Heuristics.Phishing as the infection name. I don't know how to open it so that I can read the full name, but that's all I can see. These are all .emlx

Then there are 2 items with the infection name suspect.w32.adl....(can't read the rest). These are .exe.

What are these and should I be concerned that they've been on my computer?
 
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The .exe files are for Windows. There is not a Mac virus in the wild that will affect your computer, so there's no concern about those files sitting there. Don't send them to anyone with Windows. Just delete them.
 

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