Can a Monitor cause a virus to your computer?

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Level 1

4 points

Can a Monitor cause a virus to your computer?

I'm switching between a Mac Mini and a Macbook Pro. I recently bought a used monitor for the Mini and the 2nd time I used it, three hard drives stopped working but two are working fine now. It's a long shot but can a monitor cause a virus? I am able to pull stuff off the HD but can't use that one otherwise. I'm going to reformat it and use it as a backup. The hard drives are all less than a year old and one is only one month old. All Seagate. I want to use the Mac Mini again but I don't want problems with the hard drives. I'm using VGA to Thunderbolt.

Hope this makes sense :-)

Researching somebody wrote this:

"It is possible, but difficult to achieve. It has only been demonstrated in lab conditions, and has not ever been spotted in the wild."

Mac mini, macOS 10.12

Posted on May 4, 2019 5:25 PM

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Answer 1

Rudegar

Level 10

180,228 points

May 5, 2019 2:22 AM in response to bravedave

no, a monitor is output only so it does not provide data back to devices it connects to

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Answer 2

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,520 points

May 5, 2019 1:48 PM in response to bravedave

There's only one item in a monitor's hardware (or the built-in panel of a laptop) that contains a file that goes from the monitor to the computer. Its default profile.

Anytime you connect a new monitor, that profile (burned into the monitor's firmware) gets copied to the /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays folder.

That's it. To achieve something else would require a lot of detailed and difficult work to put something else into this same predetermined location so it would be read by the OS when connected.

No one would bother to do this unless they knew the monitor was going to a particular person whose computer has data on it they want access to.

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Answer 3

Lanny

Level 6

13,225 points

May 5, 2019 1:45 PM in response to Rudegar

Input actually, a monitor puts nothing out. It processes video signals outputted from your Mac.

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Answer 4

bravedave Author

Level 1

4 points

May 5, 2019 4:37 PM in response to bravedave

Thanks for the reply's. I hooked up my hard drives to the Mac Mini and the newest Seagate (one month) wouldn't let me write on it but it's fine with the MacBook Pro. I edit with the Mini and FCP7 (10 hurts my head trying to figure it out) so not sure what to do about that situation. It's a 2012 model. Never had a problem with the Mini and all these problems started with the new (used) monitor from China. :-)

I got a used Dell 18" and it's sturdy and heavy as **** for around $40.00 through "Lazada" Asia's Amazon. Looks as good as my brand new LG and it's built way better.

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Can a Monitor cause a virus to your computer?

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