# Can a MAC get spies, etc.



## icantcu (Nov 18, 2004)

My girlfriend ... a novice computer user ... has a Mac and thinks that her old boyfriend installed software to spy on her.

He did install Goliath ... but after reading their site through, I think it can only access her web stuff if he set her up as a server ... she has uninstalled it.

But she is still nervous ... he is an IT guy and she thinks he is brilliant.

Is there a way to spy on her? Is there a way to find out what sneaky stuff is/could be installed?

I am not at all familiar with Macs .. used one at work for a year, that's it. I have Googled and googled and not much makes sense to me.

All I could advise is that she change every password.

thanks


----------



## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

I'm not familiar with Macs, either, but just like with Windows, I'm sure that servers can be set up that are invisible to the user, just as they can be put on Windows PC's and not show up in the Task Manager.

http://spyware-adware.webparasites.com/Macintosh-Spyware.html

And the method of finding out would be similar, too. Use a firewall to monitor outgoing connections and scan with an anti-spy agent.

Hopefully, a Mac expert will chime in .


----------



## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

If it is OS X, then yes you can easily install Root Kits or backdoors into it. Kernel level root kits are not always easy to detect. But I am not a MAC expert either.

I know they make Check Root programs for Linux, FreeBSD, etc.... but I am not sure if it has been ported to OS X or not. It might be a good thing to look into.


----------



## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

Ok, even tho' you can't see us , can you at least let us know what OS she has, what Apple it is, etc.?  Does she have any firewalls, antivirus, etc. programs running?

If so desired, can try the following links:
http://www.micromat.com/tt_pro_4/tt_pro_4.html
http://www.maccrazy.net/news.php?ID=241
http://www.pliris-soft.com/products/firewalkx/firewalkx.html
http://home.wanadoo.nl/denheyer/webpaginas/ZebraDocumentation.html
http://www.vitalsecurity.org/
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/spyware.chatwatch.html
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17642
http://www.privoxy.org/

[be sure to read any and all comments/reviews/opinions for more help/discussion/tips/advice for all of the above links... ]

Sorry can't help much, besides provide a few links and moral support. Supposedly, if she has OSX [latest version of the Mac OS], then she should be fairly safe; turn the internal OS firewall on: Sys Prefs, Sharing, and then Firewall. Hope the above links/info don't just confuse the matter worse... there is a lot of info out there, but the good news is that if do at least the internal OS firewall, that should take care of vast majority of the concerns.


----------



## icantcu (Nov 18, 2004)

thank you everyone

I have left a voice mail asking for her os details ... meanwhile, I will brush up via the links you provided and get back here soon.


----------



## akad (Jul 31, 2004)

From experience, it is much harder to spy on a Mac than it is on a Windows machine.

If she uninstalled the software, all should be well.

My advice is: download this software (HoneyPotX). When you launch HoneyPotX, click "listen", and just leave it running all the time. If her ex tries to spy/hack her computer, HoneyPotX will tell her and block her ex automatically. It protects against all hackers.

Edit: One more thing about HoneyPotX - When you start it up, it might say "ERROR! Prefrences file could not be read" or something like that. Just ignore it and click OK.

When you use it, just start it up, click Listen, and press Command-H (just in case, Command is the key inbetween the space bar and the option key, which looks like an apple.) By pressing Command-H, it hides the application, so it's not in your way and stuff (command-h doesn't quit it out, it just hides the window. it'll still be running.)

Hope this helped!

If you need any more help with this, e-mail me at [email protected]


----------



## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

If she's on a G4 or G5, using OSX, make sure the Firewall software preferences is set to on. If she's not using OSX, get Norton Firewall and install it asap. Clean out all cookies, etc., from Explorer (or any browzer) settings. Also, make sure she's got the latest updates from Apple and Microsoft for all software (including Explorer). She can go to the Microsoft main site and do a search for Mactopia (Microsoft's Mac site). 

Also, in OSX, there are a couple of places where preferences are stored, You have to get them from the System preferences file and from the User/Library/Preferences file. I'm still learning about OSX, so I can't tell you for sure what will work.

However, the following is a last resort, but if it was me, I'd do it, and in this order.

1. Backup my data files (do not backup application or preferences files).

2. Reformat the hard disk (clean erase/initialize/format). Again, do not try to save any files. There is a Disk Utility program that comes with the Mac.

3. Reinstall system software (I'm assumming she's using OSX.) Activate the Firewall setting. Download and update system software through the software application update program. (If using earlier systems, get Norton Firewall and AntiVirus software, any updates, and configure them. Be sure to restart the computer after installation of all updates.

4. Reinstall all application software and download/install all updates. The reason for downloading updates is that often security issues and problems are solved with updates--especially with Microsoft products since most people, and therefore hackers, go for them.

5. Copy data files back to the hard disk.

This process can be painful and time consuming, but at least when it's complete, you know you've gotten rid of all hidden files.

Good luck.


----------

