Security questions on my Mac computers

[Bob M.]

I have a MacBook Pro (running macOS Big Sur) and an older iMac (running mac OS High Sierra). I'm not a power user and I usually use my computers in the morning while I have my coffee for about a half hour daily.

Recently, when answering my email one morning, on my MacBook Pro, I saw that the terminal program icon was in my doc. I might use this program once or twice a year but I haven't used or opened it in a very long time. I became concerned so I closed the terminal program. Now, normally I leave my computer connected to my router via wifi but after this, I started turning off wifi and sleeping my computer when I'm finished using the MacBook Pro for the day. This MacBook Pro (and my other iMac computer) are not hooked up or plugged into anything else. Besides turning off wi-fi, should I be shutting down my computer after every session? Should I turn off the AC power at my power strip? How does one keep nefarious bad actors from getting into my machine? What's the safest way to go without being over the top with security?

BTW, I don't keep any financial information on any of my computers, just a lot of bad jokes so if someone was to get inside, they wouldn't find anything of value, unless it was Henny Youngman or Bob Hope.

Bob M.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

While having a healthy skepticism is good to protect yourself, you don't want to devolve into levels of paranoia that you seem to be heading toward.

First, your router has a firewall that blocks all external access. Your computers are on an internal network that you can only access on your local network which requires a person to either get onto your WiFi or hard wire to your network.

If you've using a strong WiFi password, then that's not a problem.

You don't say what apps you are using, but there are indeed some apps that will trigger the Terminal to load to run commands for it. Close the program completely and see if they start up again. If they do, take note of what apps you have running and we can help investigate.

Putting your computer to sleep either manually or automatically is the right thing to do when you aren't using it. No need to turn off WiFi or power-down.

 

[MacInWin]

If by "doc" you meant the Dock at the bottom or side of the screen, the Terminal app icon is there by default from Apple. You didn't say it was running, although you said you closed it. Did it have the little dot below the icon to indicate it was running? How did you "close" it? As Ashwin indicates, there is no real threat to the system indicated by what happened and no need to be paranoid about it. As for the rest, as Ashwin says, there is no reason to shut down WiFi or power down.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...How does one keep nefarious bad actors from getting into my machine? ...

I've been a computer consultant for almost 30 years now. I've been in touch with tens of thousands of Macintosh users through various activities of mine. It all that time, out of all of those users, I've yet to hear of a single first hand believable case of a Macintosh user being hacked.

Even in the days when they still held Macintosh hacking competitions (back when Mac security wasn't nearly as good as it is now), even expert hackers weren't able to hack into a Macintosh until they were allowed physical access to the computer itself.

Are you still concerned? Here are the things that you need to do to keep safe using a Mac:

- Set passwords for your Mac and make them strong ones. See:

https://www.useapassphrase.com/

- Make sure to use the latest version of the Mac OS (that your Mac can run) and make sure to install all security updates.
- Know the latest social engineering threats (i.e. phishing attempts and scams).
- Don't update software anywhere but directly from the Web site of the developer, or from the Mac App Store.
- Don't open e-mail file attachments from people you don't know. (Though malicious file attachments are just about always aimed at Windows users and usually are Windows executables that won't run on a Mac anyway.)
- Don't click on links to Web pages in e-mails from people you don't know (however, you can hover your cursor over such a link, and a pop-up will appear telling you where the link will really take you, and you can then decide if it looks safe). Once again, this is more of a Windows thing....it's good to be a Mac user!
- Turn on "Macro Virus Protection" in the Microsoft Office applications (though macro viruses are exceedingly rare these days.) Don't run any macros in an Office document unless you are 100% sure that you know what the macro does and you need to run it.

I hope that this helps.

 

[Bob M.]

I appreciate you advice and your experience. It's good to know someone as experienced as yourself doesn't find Mac computers frequently hacked into. I've read your list and will act accordingly.
Thanks,
Bob M.