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Every day we see news about computers being hacked and how the cybercriminals make money off people clueless about the protection of their assets.
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For someone not very technical, it may sound as if hackers are so powerful, and the only way to hide is to shut down all devices and go off the grid completely.
However, the truth is that there are several simple things one can do to make sure that we are reasonably safe when browsing the internet without affecting our ability to access the information we need.
Whether or not someone can hack into the computer or phone through WiFi depends on a person’s proximity to the WiFi router. If a cybercriminal in the range of access to the WiFi router, they can connect to the local network and perform various attacks, such as Man In The Middle attack.
If the hacker is outside of the WiFi range, then the way they attack will be different.
Let’s consider various scenarios of how the computer can be hacked and ways to protect your devices.
Hacking Computer Through Local WiFi
As you probably guessed, it is much easier to hack the computer, which is in close proximity to the hacker’s device.
For instance, your neighbor can connect to your WiFi and use your internet for free. Or you may connect to the free WiFi in the cafe or hotel, but someone already hacked the network, and now everyone, including you, is a potential target.
Or maybe you are using the office WiFi, and it was also hacked.
And it doesn’t have to be a computer, such as a Mac or PC. Your smartphone, iPhone, or Android, which uses the WiFi can be hacked as well.
Let’s see what hackers can do if they are physically connected to the WiFi you are using.
Man in the middle attack
If you have the internet at home from a cable, DSL, or fiber-optic provider, you have a router. Your computer does not directly connect to the internet; it sends and receives data by directing it through the router.
In layman terms, the process is the following:
When a hacker connects to the local WiFi router, it also finds the MAC address of the router. The hacker changes his computer’s MAC address to be the same as routers one (11:22:33:44:55:66 in the pic below).
Now, all devices on the local network connect to the hacker’s machine, and then the data flows to and from the router. So the hacker becomes a man in the middle (MITM).
Once this happened, the hacker can read all outgoing requests and incoming data using various tools that collect such data.
This means every time you enter a username and password on some web site or enter your credit card number, and it gets saved on the hacker’s machine. Also, every URL you are visiting also gets saved.
There are some limitations, obviously. For instance, if the website uses the HTTPS protocol (S at the end stands for Secure), all traffic is encrypted between your computer and cybercriminals will not be able to crack it (in most cases).
However, if the web site uses HTTP, all data, including the password, is in cleartext.
So, if you want to avoid your data being stolen, always check that web site is using a secure protocol (HTTPS). In the browsers, the secure protocol is usually displayed with a padlock icon next to the URL.
Never enter passwords or financial information on web sites with HTTP!
How the router can be hacked
When it comes to your home WiFi, there are three ways for someone outside to connect to the router:
I am going to skip the first two and instead of focus on the last one. The authentication protocol used in with WiFi router is very important.
If your router is old, it is possible that it’s still using WEP protocol, then you should know that anyone who knows a little bit about hacking can hack the router literally in less than a minute.
So, if you have it enabled on your router, then go ahead and disable as I did.
What you should have is WPA2 with AES encryption. In the pic below, the authentication strength (protection from hacking) increases from top to bottom (WPA is less secure, and WPA2-PSK with AES is the most secure).
Some hackers employ a dictionary attack to crack WPA protocol, but it takes supercomputers to hack it. So as long as you are not a celebrity or a billionaire, nobody will spend so many resources to break into your network.
Usually, you can connect to the home router settings by going to the local IP address, such as http://192.168.0.1/.
How to tell if someone hacked your router
One of the sure routers hacked signs is the existence of an unknown device connected to the local WiFi network.
As I explained above, in order to perform a man in the middle (MITM) attack, the hacker must connect to the WiFI network first. And if he’s connected, you can see him too.
One way to find out the connected devices is through the router settings. Some routers allow us to see all connected devices and kick them out if needed.
Another way is to use a network scanner app. For instance, I found a cool app called Fing. The app is available for almost all platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.
It is free (with ads) and doesn’t even require creating an account in order to use it.
One cool feature they have is scanning for open ports.
For instance, when I scanned my MacBook Pro, I found that remote desktop and screen sharing features were enabled, and anyone could connect to my Mac remotely.
How to protect from a MITM attack
While it is possible to scan and find unknown devices on the home network, this approach will not work with public WiFi networks, such as the one in Starbucks or the hotel.
You would never know if the public network was compromised. In this case, the only way to protect your privacy is to use a VPN (a virtual private network).
When connected to VPN, your computer or phone creates a secure encrypted channel with the VPN server. After the connection is established, all requests go to the VPN server. The server makes all requests on your behalf and returns the results back to you.
From outside, it looks like the computer is sending some garbage to and back to the same computer. Even if the hacker collecting the information, he won’t be able to tell whether you’re connecting to Google.com or MacMyths.com.
When choosing a VPN software, follow these best practices:
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Personally, I am using NordVPN: it’s the fastest on the market and very inexpensive. It is available for multiple platforms: macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.
If you use my NordVPN affiliate link you get a pretty steep discount for three-year plan for up to 6 devices.
Hacking Computer Remotely
We discussed ways to hack the computers and phones through local WiFi, but I know the question that most people ask is whether hackers can connect to the home network when they are on the other end of the world (or more than a hundred yards or meters away).
Fortunately, the answer is no, someone cannot get into your home network, even if they know the password if they are outside of the range (more than 300 feet).
Also, in most cases, hackers cannot get into your computer is off (link).
However, there are other ways to get into your system remotely. Do you remember a story of Bezos’s personal data being leaked?
In his case, he received a message on WhatsApp with malware attachment. When the malware was installed on his phone, it started sending the personal data to the server abroad.
Similarly, we are all at the risk of having malware installed on our computers and smartphones. Some malware open access to the device, so the hackers can access it remotely.
Or, the malware could be a keylogger, and in this case, even having HTTPS or a VPN will not help. A keylogger will record the keys pressed on the keyboard, and if it happens to be a credit card number, then the hacker will have it.
So, how to protect the devices from malware? You need to install an antivirus program.
There is a common myth that Macs cannot have viruses, but this is not true. I was able to inject my Mac with more than 100 malware samples when testing various antimalware solution.
You can check the results of my test and recommended antiviruses in my post: Best Malware Detection App for Mac.
Every time my friends and family ask me for a recommended antivirus, I go with Norton 360. It comes with the biggest bang for the buck and provides antimalware and other security features on all platforms. And it also has its own VPN!
Conclusion
We reviewed multiple ways how someone can hack into your phone or computer through WiFi. I also listed ways to prevent this from happening, which I wanted to reiterate.
If you worry about online security, consider investing in the following tools:
Be very cautious when connecting to public WiFi. I’d say if you don’t have VPN installed on a laptop or smartphone don’t use public WiFi, or at least avoid making purchases with a credit card or entering passwords.
If you are interested in the topic of security, there is a great course available on Udemy about ethical hacking. The instructor teaches how to hack computers ethically and most importantly what can you do to prevent from being targeted:
Learn Network Hacking From Scratch (WiFi & Wired)
Also, check my other post: Rust mac hack 2017.
Photo credit: ©canva.com/cyano66
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This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made on our website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure.
You turn on your MacBook and feel that something is wrong: some files have disappeared, or new files were added. You wonder if someone has been watching your computer.
So, how to tell if someone is remotely accessing your MacBook? You need to check your logs, verify that no new users were created, make sure that remote login, screen sharing and remote management are disabled, and no spyware is running on your computer.
First things first. If you suspect that someone is controlling your laptop and if there is a chance that they watching you thru the webcam immediately apply a cover on laptop’s webcam. You can find my favorite webcam covers here.
What is remote access and how is it configured on MacBooks?
There are three ways to access MacOS remotely: allow remote logins from another computer, enable Screen Sharing or allow access by using Remote Desktop. Both ways are legitimate, but if you don’t remember doing any of them you need to know how to turn on and off those possibilities.
Remote login to MacOS
Computers that run MacOS as an operating system can log in to your Mac using Secure Shell (SSH). Steps to enable remote login are the following:
Once Remote Login is enabled then users with access can use SSH to log in and browse your computer’s contents.
Access to Mac screen using Screen Sharing
If you need help from IT to make changes on your MacBook or maybe you are collaborating on a project and want to share your screen you can enable Screen Sharing. Steps to enable as follows:
Now on another Mac (from which you want to access to your Mac) start Screen Sharing app. You can start it by clicking Command and Space buttons. In a popup form type Sharing and hit Enter. Type your computer name. In my case, I had to type in “dev-pros-MacBook-Pro.local”.
A new window will pop up with the shared screen of another computer. Now you can control the screen.
Remote Desktop with Remote Management
Finally, it is possible to login to a computer with MacOS by enabling Remote Desktop. Steps to enable as follows:
Now you can access this Mac from Apple Remote Desktop – it’s an application you can buy from Apple Store and at the time of writing it’s cost was $79.99.
How To Know If My Mac Computer Is Hacked
If your Mac is being monitored, it will show this image (two rectangles) in the top right-hand corner near your computer time:
Mac How To Know If Computer Is Hacked On Facebook
When that symbol appears, you will be able to tell if you are being monitored. You can also disconnect the viewer by clicking on Disconnect option:
You can also click on “Open Sharing Preferences…” which will open Sharing folder in System Preferences.
Since the question you had was if someone remotely accessing your computer then the chances are that you don’t need any of sharing capabilities mentioned above.
In this case, check all options on Sharing folder under System Preferences to make sure that nobody is allowed to access it and turn off (uncheck) all options.
Verify if new users were created
As we’ve seen already remote login or sharing options require assigning access roles to the local users. If your system was hacked it is very likely that the hacker has added a new user to access it. To find out all users in MacOS perform the following steps:
On my laptop it listed dev1, nobody, root and daemon.
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If you see the accounts, you do not recognize then they probably have been created by a hacker.
In order to find when the user account was used to log in last time type the following command into the Terminal:
last
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For each account, MacOS will list the times and dates of logins. If the login to any of the accounts happened at an abnormal time, it is possible that a hacker used a legitimate account to log in.
Check the logs
It may be useful to check the system logs for any possible access issues.
In order to find a system log, click on Go option in the top menu or simultaneously click Shift, Command and G. In the “Go to Folder” popup type: /var/log and hit Enter.
Now find system.log file and scan for word sharing. For instance, I found following screen sharing log entries:
These were log entries when someone logged in to my system remotely:
Check for spywareHow To Know If You've Been Hacked
If you are still suspecting that spyware is running on your machine you can use a third party application like Little Snitch which monitors applications, preventing or permitting them to connect to attached networks through advanced rules. Setting up the rules for Little Snitch, however, could be complicated.
One of the common spyware applications is a keystroke logger or keylogger. Keyloggers used to be apps that record the letters you type on the keyboard, but they significantly in last years. Suffice to day that keyloggers can take screenshots every 30 seconds or even track your chat activity, including the messages sent to you.
I believe that keyloggers are much greater security threat because they are easier to install and the powerful features they offer. Check my article about keyloggers here: How to know if my Mac has a keylogger
Security Best Practices
1.Change passwords regularly
One thing you should immediately if you are suspecting that someone is logging to your system is to change your password. And the password should be complex enough so that other people wouldn’t be able to guess it. This means avoiding using things like birthdate, first or last name or relatives, house or apartment number, etc. As a rule of thumb the password must be long enough (8 – 32 characters) and include at least 3 of the following character types:
2.Enable Security Updates by clicking on “Automatically keep my Mac up to date” in Software Update folder in System Preferences.
Nov 26, 2010 This hack will only work if you have the ip of someone on your network. It will not work if the ip of the person you want to “hack” is not on your network. If you can only access your targets shared folder put a batch file in their shared folder with the command C=C if. Jun 17, 2011 I know that I can just add a password to the wireless or add a Mac address filter in my router. But I want to teach those guys a lesson. I have the information regarding their Mac address and IP address that they are connected to. So, is there any way that I can hack into their computers to, you know, access their files or something else? Oct 15, 2019 36 -How To Hack Android Phone on Same Wifi Network With Kali Telegram Channel: Subscribe to this channel if you enjoy fun and educatio. May 22, 2017 Hack any android mobile, iPhone, windows PC or any router that is on same wifi network with hacking apps of android to hack each and every gadgets on same wifi system to get each and every records passwords by man in middle attack for beginners. Begin here to take in basic hacking by hacking from android cell phone.
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3. Install Antivirus. I received a lot of emails where people described suspicious activity on their Macs. I found that in about 60-70% cases, the culprit was malwareand not someone breaking into the computer. It’s a myth that Macs don’t get viruses. If you need proof check the next article I wrote after testing 12 antivirus programs after injecting 117 malware samples on my Mac:
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