samawhama

Q: my desktop picture changed automatically this morning when I turned on my computer. I'm not on a network and nobody should have access to my computer settings besides myself. Should I be concerned? Why did the picture change on its own?

my desktop picture changed automatically this morning when I turned on my computer. I'm not on a network and nobody should have access to my computer settings besides myself. Should I be concerned? Why did the picture change on its own?

macBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 4:55 PM

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Q: my desktop picture changed automatically this morning when I turned on my computer. I'm not on a network and nobody should have ac ... more

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  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 4:58 PM in response to samawhama
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 4:58 PM in response to samawhama

    Check the settings… System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver. Make sure "Change Picture" is unchecked.

  • by samawhama,

    samawhama samawhama Sep 14, 2016 6:12 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 6:12 PM in response to dialabrain

    Thanks for answering. Change picture is and was unchecked. Any other ideas about why my picture changed on its own? Should I be concerned that someone is accessing my computer remotely?

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 6:16 PM in response to samawhama
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 6:16 PM in response to samawhama

    I would try toggling it on then off. As far as why it changed I don't know. You could try creating a new user and see if it does the same thing although you would have to wait awhile on the user.

     

    I doubt anyone would want to control a computer just to change the wallpaper.

  • by samawhama,

    samawhama samawhama Sep 14, 2016 7:08 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 7:08 PM in response to dialabrain

    Of course nobody would change the wallpaper for its own sake. I was just thinking perhaps someone was testing out their remote connection to my computer by doing something innocuous first. I don't know the mo of hackers and how they operate, so am just speculating. Or procrastinating...it's such a fine line.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 7:16 PM in response to samawhama
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 7:16 PM in response to samawhama

    I know. I was just attempting to inject some humor. At any rate, if it was a hacker which has about a .00000001% chance, they would have to be a very poor one to leave an obvious sign like changing the wallpaper without changing it back.

     

    What I can say is see if it happens again. It could be a corrupted plist file but no one seems to know which one it would be in El Capitan. OSX is very complicated and sometimes just restarting can straighten out a problem.

     

    If it happens again, post back.

  • by mariefromnewengland,

    mariefromnewengland mariefromnewengland Sep 15, 2016 11:09 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 11:09 AM in response to dialabrain

    My desktop picture changed "by itself"  a while back.  I discovered I had changed the name of my photos file to "my photos".  When I changed the file name back, and selected my desk top picture, all has been well.