Can he hack my mac from a forum?

[Stedek97]

I'm on a forum and someone told me they're in the middle of hacking my computer. I have a mac.
Is there even any way they could hack my computer based on the information forums provide? My IP isn't public (only admins can see it, which he is not)
If so.. How can I prevent it?

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Make sure your Mac is protected with a password and for extra protection use FileVault.

I have no idea what information the forum you belong to has regarding you. Your IP address can be found easily not only from your forum info. If that troubles you, then we advise you to use a VPN.

 

[Slydude]

@Stedek97 Welcome to the forum. You probably would have gotten an answer sooner but for some reason the forum software put your post into moderation. No one sees it there until one of our Admins/moderators comes along and thinks to check that area.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Not a chance. That kind of crap only happens on TV.

 

[pm-r]

Enable the Firewall option in your System Preferences pane of Security & Privacy maybe.

You may already have firewall turned on in your router.

And I would agree with Ashwin.

That sounds like some creep is trying to scare you with his FUD!!! And it doesn't sound like a forum I would want to be part off thanks.

And personally, unless you have something vital to hide, I sure wouldn't use FileVault. It's usually overkill and can lead to other problems.






- Patrick
======

 

[Kenney]

Report this fool to the Forum administers. Change your login password and Don't log in to the Forum again until you hear from the Admins.

KenK

 

[Rod]

In my opinion a VPN is by far the best way to protect your identity and data online. I use Express VPN which is now available on the app store. Yes the yearly subscription is a little expensive but given that you can have three devices on the same subscription it's money well spent for peace of mind. I might add their 24/7 live chat support line is excellent. I have my wife's laptop, my iPhone and my MBP all on Express.

 

[IWT]

+1 for a VPN and +1 for ExpressVPN.

Private Internet Access (PIA) is also excellent.

Personal opinion based on usage of both.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

I have both Tunnel Bear and NordVPN on my systems. Both work very well.

 

[pm-r]

Report this fool to the Forum administers.

Sounds like an excellent idea!!!






- Patrick
======

 

[Jonzjob]

I'm not sure if this is one the same theme? But I have just had a message on my Firefox page on this, the Mac-forums, to tell me that a boat load of accounts were compromised in 2016 and to check the Firefox monitor --- Dismiss or Check Firefox monitor.

Has anyone seen this before? It's on my Flickr account, link below.

https://flic.kr/p/PpcZaH

 

[MacInWin]

John, that's old news. The site was apparently breached in 2016, under the previous ownership, and either they didn't note it or just chose not to let us know. There is more about this in this thread:

https://www.mac-forums.com/news-and-community-announcements/348052-site-breached.html

 

[Jonzjob]

Ta for the info Jake. I am always wary of anything like that and was surprised to see the 2 year old date.

Do you think that it's worth going down the VPN route?

 

[ferrarr]

Do you think that it's worth going down the VPN route?

On a portable device, where you connect through "other" Wi-Fi networks yes, you should be using a VPN.

 

[MacInWin]

I agree with Bob on that, John. And these days, there may also be a case for using a VPN if you use WiFi in your home and have neighbors close enough that you can see their routers in your WiFi, or if you are near a road where someone could park a car and do some "sniffing" into your WiFi. A good VPN should not slow down your browsing/downloading/streaming very much and is a good investment.

Now, if you live out in the country, with no neighbors nearby, then you don't need VPN at home, but still should have it setup and ready to go on any portable device that you might take to a public place to use.

 

[Jonzjob]

Ta again folks. As a complete thicky !! How easy/difficult is it to set up a VPN? As I have said numerous times, if I can hit it then I can normally fix it, but software of most kinds just confuses me to ****!

Just looking at the WIFI around me I can see 3 other sources all with a good signal.

 

[MacInWin]

it's pretty easy. I have two, actually, and both are just point and click to connect. NordVPN is the newest one I've added, as it is higher speed and gets good reviews. I paid for the service as I have read some horrific reviews of the so-called "free" VPNs. It seems to be working really well, but I want to travel a bit more with it before I drop the second VPN I had in place before trying NordVPN. The second VPN is Tunnel Bear, which is the simpler one, again click and connect, but it also can be set for "automatic" connections any time I am NOT in my home network so I don't have to remember to use it. I'll probably drop TunnelBear in a few months after I've gotten more experience with NordVPN. You don't really need two.

To make it work, you sign up for the service (you can do monthly if you just want to experiment, but it's cheaper if you sign up for a longer term), install the software, click the country to which you want to connect and it's done. You do have some indications that it is connected on the top bar, so you know what the status is. TunnelBear can be configured to connect automatically if not in the home (trusted) network, which is handy. NordVPN doesn't have that feature that I can find, so I have to remember to use it when moving about, particularly on my iDevices.

https://nordvpn.com/?utm_expid=.flvu5xa0TfmDCLn-DcHS_w.0&utm_referrer=
https://www.tunnelbear.com

 

[IWT]

@John

The hardest part about setting up a VPN, is choosing the one you want.

My "rules" are:

Avoid free VPNs
Google the "Best VPNs for Mac" and you will see that the top 5 or 6 appear again and again.
Choose your VPN, making sure that it is available for both iOS and macOS - nearly always as a bundle, ie the two are included in the price.

Payment is usually monthly or yearly (I choose the latter).

I don't think that there is a great difference in any of the constantly rated top 5 or 6 for the ordinary user.

But some folks are interested, or concerned, in which country or jurisdiction the VPN is registered. They might be worried that their browsing history might be forcibly disclosed by legal enforcement of the Government.

I use two VPNs. Private Internet Access (PIA) which I purchased as a two-year deal from our Forums under the previous owners. This is a USA registered product.

I also use ExpressVPN. This is registered in the British Virgin Islands where there are no privacy laws that can force the company to disclose any data.

After payment, download and installation is very straightforward. An icon is usually found in the top menu bar, from which you can Connect to - the fastest; a "Smart Location" determined by the VPN, or you can choose from a long list of countries and cities depending on your requirements.

The whole thing's a breeze really.

Ian

 

[LedgerStein]

it's pretty easy. I have two, actually, and both are just point and click to connect. NordVPN is the newest one I've added, as it is higher speed and gets good reviews. I paid for the service as I have read some horrific reviews of the so-called "free" VPNs. It seems to be working really well, but I want to travel a bit more with it before I drop the second VPN I had in place before trying NordVPN. The second VPN is Tunnel Bear, which is the simpler one, again click and connect, but it also can be set for "automatic" connections any time I am NOT in my home network so I don't have to remember to use it. I'll probably drop TunnelBear in a few months after I've gotten more experience with NordVPN. You don't really need two.

To make it work, you sign up for the service (you can do monthly if you just want to experiment, but it's cheaper if you sign up for a longer term), install the software, click the country to which you want to connect and it's done. You do have some indications that it is connected on the top bar, so you know what the status is. TunnelBear can be configured to connect automatically if not in the home (trusted) network, which is handy. NordVPN doesn't have that feature that I can find, so I have to remember to use it when moving about, particularly on my iDevices.

https://nordvpn.com/?utm_expid=.flvu5xa0TfmDCLn-DcHS_w.0&utm_referrer=
https://www.tunnelbear.com

I feel you. Was deciding between TB and NordVPN over half a year ago. I'm happy I went with NordVPN. Been using it daily and to be honest, I love it. Clean UI, good speed and most importantly I never had any problems while watching US Netflix content on the road. I'm recommending Nord to everyone who wants a VPN service that just does the job.

 

[Rod]

+1 for ExpressVPN