Nov 21, 2017 If the camera is enabled, you will see a green pilot light glowing on its right. Run the Photo Booth app to see how it looks like. And the microphone is. Checklist to See If Your Webcam Has Been Hacked 1. Is There a Light on Next to the Webcam? The light can vary in color but it should be a tiny little small dot of light peeking out from the webcam. If this light is there, your webcam is on. If you didn’t turn on the webcam and the light is there, you probably just want to restart your computer.
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:
- Go to System Preferences. You can get there by clicking on the apple icon on the left of the top bar. After you clicked on apple icon you will see a drop-down menu where you should click on System Preferences menu item.
- Find Sharing folder and double click. Click on Remote Login checkbox on the left.
- Now you have the option to allow access either for all user or only specific users.
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:
- Go to System Preferences.
- Find Sharing folder and double click. Click on Screen Sharing checkbox on the left.
- Allow access either for all user or only specific users.
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:
- Go to System Preferences.
- Find Sharing folder and double click. Click on Remote Management check box on the left.
- Allow access either for all user or only specific users.
- There will be different Sharing options where you can fine-tune the type of access to allow: observe, change settings, delete, copy and even restart the computer.
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.
If your Mac is being monitored, it will show this image (two rectangles) in the top right-hand corner near your computer time:
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:
- Start Terminal app by either going to Applications and then Utilities folder or clicking Command and Space and typing Terminal in the popup window.
- In the Terminal window type:
On my laptop it listed dev1, nobody, root and daemon.
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
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 spyware
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:
- Uppercase letter (A-Z)
- Lowercase letter (a-z)
- Digit number (0-9)
- Special characters such as ~!@#$%^&*
2.Enable Security Updates by clicking on “Automatically keep my Mac up to date” in Software Update folder in System Preferences.
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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Not a day goes by that we don’t hear about cybersecurity threats – be it data breaches, phishing scams, ransomware, and viruses – but what about protection against someone remotely accessing your webcam?
After all, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former FBI Director James Comey both put tape over their computer’s camera when not in use, so perhaps you should, too.
You don’t need to be a powerful person in the public eye to be concerned. In January, the U.S. government charged an Ohio man for 13 years of cyber theft , alleging he used malware to steal personal data from thousands of people, plus take over cameras and microphones that allowed him to 'to surreptitiously record images and audio.'
If you’re not sure what to do, the following are a few precautions you can take to minimize the odds of this happening.
Unplug or cover up
If you’re using an external webcam – that is, one that plugs into your computer’s USB port – only connect it when you need it. Yes, it can be a pain to remember to plug it in whenever you want to Skype or FaceTime with someone, but at least you’ll know 100% noone is spying if there’s no camera connected.
How To Check If Your Webcam Is Hacked Mac Computer
Some external cameras have a small cover you can close over the webcam lens, so be sure you take advantage of this when you’re not using it. If your webcam doesn’t have this, you can point it to the ceiling until you need it (but that doesn’t mute the microphone) or place a small piece of electrical tape on the front of the webcam. But don’t place it directly over the lens or else it could leave a sticky residue. You can also buy little stickers or covers to place over your laptop’s lens.
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Use anti-malware software, good passwords
If your laptop or desktop has a built-in webcam, be sure to have good computer security software installed (which you should have anyway, of course). A strong security suite includes antivirus, anti-spyware, a firewall, and other tools to keep the bad guys from getting in. It’s critical to keep the security software up to date.
Many webcam hackers use Trojan horse malware to secretly install and run remote desktop software without your knowledge. You may think you’re downloading one thing, when in fact it’s carrying a hidden payload. Don’t click on attachments or any suspicious links in an email, text, or social media message.
Some web browsers also notify you if your webcam is being activated and you may be prompted to agree.
Be sure your wireless network has strong security settings and a good password – not the default one that came with the router — to prevent outsiders from accessing your Wi-Fi network without your consent. Resist using free, unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots in cafés, hotels, and airports.
Another tip is to go to the webcam’s settings/options and enable some kind of notification when it’s being used, such as a small light that turns on near the webcam or a sound alert – if it doesn’t do it already. Most will have a small light illuminate when activated.
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How To Check If Your Webcam Is Hacked Machine
Repair? Beware!
If you need to have your computer repaired, take it to a trustworthy source and then ensure remote access programs aren’t on your laptop or desktop you didn’t install yourself. If you find something, immediately uninstall it and bring it to a trusted source.
On a related note, be cautious about where you solicit remote tech support. Don’t let a technician take control over your computer to help you, unless you fully trust the source.
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Follow Marc on Twitter: @marc_saltzman. E-mail him at www.marcsaltzman.com.