User profile for user: gwendolyn831
gwendolyn831 Author
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I have weird ASL logs - have I been hacked?

Tonight my MacBook Pro 15" laptop running on High Sierra died twice, quite unusual, and both times the screen went black. I checked the memory storage, and I have plenty available. I then checked the ASL log and found the following (below); have I been hacked? Both times that the screen went black, I immediately closed my laptop & rebooted.


Thanks in advance,

Gwendolyn


ASL log:

(after laptop screen failed / went black 2x)

Apple System Log (ASL) Messages:


 Source: /var/log/asl

 Size: 132 KB (131,943 bytes)

 Last Modified: 9/13/22, 8:37 PM

 Recent Contents: ...

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: Progress Updated: currentPhase = "loginwindow Boot", progress = 100.0, adjusted progress = 100.0

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: Done with phase = "loginwindow Boot"

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: Progress Updated: currentPhase = "loginwindow Boot", progress = 100.0, adjusted progress = 100.0

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: IASClearInstallProgress: Clearing Registry

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: IASClearInstallProgress: can't clear start percentage property

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM Installer Progress[85]: IASClearInstallProgress: can't clear stop percentage property

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM systemstats[68]: assertion failed: 17G66: systemstats + 914800 [D1E75C38-62CE-3D77-9ED3-5F6D38EF0676]: 0x40

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM airportd[172]: BUG in libdispatch client: kevent[mach_recv] monitored resource vanished before the source cancel handler was invoked

Sep 13, 2022 at 8:25:38 PM nsurlsessiond[180]: DEPRECATED USE in libdispatch client: Setting timer interval to 0 requests a 1ns timer, did you mean FOREVER (a one-shot timer)?


more of the continued log here:

additional text - ASL log


more of the continued log file here:

additional text - ASL log


more of the continued log file here:

additional text - ASL log



MacBook Pro

Posted on Sep 13, 2022 6:19 PM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 9
72,444 points

Posted on Sep 16, 2022 8:07 AM

The macOS system logs are worthless for troubleshooting system issues these days. Besides containing a bunch of junk, they also tend to contain very cryptic and scary sounding entries, plus many times the logs entries which would have important information have been sanitized so the information is not actually listed.


Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


The USB-C model Apple laptops (especially the 2016-2017 models, but even some up to 2020) are known to have issues with the Display cable which can cause the backlight to fail which looks like a dark screen, but the laptop may otherwise still be running fine. Connect an external display to see if this may be the case. Pressing the Caps Lock key to see if its LED lights up will also tell you whether the laptop is powered on or if it is completely off. Sometimes if you close the lid and slowly open it to less than 45 degrees you may see the display light up again. This can be an intermittent issue at first. If so, then it is most likely a bad display cable and an expensive repair.


It is possible you have an issue with some third party software. Run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.


I know it can be hard to tell whether the laptop has frozen, completely powered down/off, or whether the display is just dark, but knowing which one it is determines what if any you can do yourself before having it examined by Apple or an AASP.


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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
Community+ 2026
User level: Level 9
72,444 points

Sep 16, 2022 8:07 AM in response to gwendolyn831

The macOS system logs are worthless for troubleshooting system issues these days. Besides containing a bunch of junk, they also tend to contain very cryptic and scary sounding entries, plus many times the logs entries which would have important information have been sanitized so the information is not actually listed.


Try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


The USB-C model Apple laptops (especially the 2016-2017 models, but even some up to 2020) are known to have issues with the Display cable which can cause the backlight to fail which looks like a dark screen, but the laptop may otherwise still be running fine. Connect an external display to see if this may be the case. Pressing the Caps Lock key to see if its LED lights up will also tell you whether the laptop is powered on or if it is completely off. Sometimes if you close the lid and slowly open it to less than 45 degrees you may see the display light up again. This can be an intermittent issue at first. If so, then it is most likely a bad display cable and an expensive repair.


It is possible you have an issue with some third party software. Run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.


I know it can be hard to tell whether the laptop has frozen, completely powered down/off, or whether the display is just dark, but knowing which one it is determines what if any you can do yourself before having it examined by Apple or an AASP.


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User profile for user: BDAqua
BDAqua
User level: Level 10
250,853 points

Sep 13, 2022 6:33 PM in response to gwendolyn831

Long shot, could it be CPU heat?


 Have you blown the dust out of the intakes lately?

What temperatures does this App report? Especially the GPU.

This App can be used to speed up the fans, all my iMacs would be dead without it.

Never ever ever drop fan speeds below the speed that the Mac itself is calling for.

MacFansControl…

https://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

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I have weird ASL logs - have I been hacked?

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