You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

If I clicked on a link from someone that was hacked, how do I make sure nothing is phishing in my computer?

is there a scanning program from Apple that will check my macbook Air?


Posted on Sep 16, 2020 12:26 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 17, 2020 11:52 AM

You have good reasons to be concerned, the threats - especially from phishing - are real and constant.


In addition to the info already posted, I’d suggest also taking this opportunity to review ALL of your AppleID settings at https://appleid.apple.com/ making sure that all is “as it should be.”


While there, you might seriously consider enabling 2-Factor Authentication (if you’ve not already done so).


https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 17, 2020 11:52 AM in response to JuneAH

You have good reasons to be concerned, the threats - especially from phishing - are real and constant.


In addition to the info already posted, I’d suggest also taking this opportunity to review ALL of your AppleID settings at https://appleid.apple.com/ making sure that all is “as it should be.”


While there, you might seriously consider enabling 2-Factor Authentication (if you’ve not already done so).


https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915

Sep 16, 2020 4:19 PM in response to JuneAH

No.


I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but there is simply no means of determining with absolute certainty that someone has not already gained access to your Mac, including the ability to log into it remotely and use it as though he or she were you sitting right in front of it as you are now.


That's the bad news. The good news is that ability cannot be gained by simply clicking a link, any link, anywhere... email, text message... etc. Clicking a link can't do that. Please read and re-read that sentence again as often as necessary because it is absolutely, positively accurate.


What can be accomplished is deceiving you into granting someone remote access to your Mac, which requires your Admin credentials followed by installing something that again solicits Admin credentials for installing such a thing. Once that's done all bets are off. However, please understand that requires deliberate and overt action from someone who already has Administrator credentials on that Mac: you, or whoever else uses it in the same way you already do.


Now ask yourself: Did that happen? Only you can know the answer. But to answer your question directly, it is only logically and technologically possible to determine the existence of some remote access software or other nefarious interference. Proving the converse—the total and complete absence of such hypothetical interference—is not logically possible.

Sep 17, 2020 11:17 AM in response to John Galt

well, I cleared my cache and ran "Antivirus One" that was highly rated on the App store. It found 4 .exe files that were known problems. It wanted me to buy a subscription to delete them, but I just searched for the files in finder and put them in the trash, then deleted the trash. Doesn't seem to be affecting anything and when I ran Antivirus One again they were no issues.

Sep 17, 2020 11:37 AM in response to JuneAH

Typically macs dont get infected since they cant run windows based programs, which most infectious links and websites are designed for.


But there are some nefarious search protectors and cleaning type apps out there that can introduce potentially unwanted programs (pups)


Visit https://www.malwarebytes.org and download the free version of their scanner and run it to check if you have any pups installed.

If I clicked on a link from someone that was hacked, how do I make sure nothing is phishing in my computer?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.