Are there any recommended products for detecting/removing spyware for MacBook and iPhones?
MacBook Pro 15″
Before you go off installing a bunch of utterly worthless and potentially harmful junk that may have been recommended in this particular thread and elsewhere on this site, please describe what exactly what you would like to accomplish. Avoid The XY Problem.
Start by defining "spyware" so that we can all be on the same page.
Approximately 10 years ago, our family switched almost all of our electronics to the Apple platform. During that time I never had a reason to question security. However, over the weekend I had a couple of instances that have me questioning if my/our hardware has been somehow compromised. The first was a phone call from my credit card company claiming they were tracking suspected fraudulent activity on our account. Within the first minute or so it was obviously a phishing attempt. I played along to see how much of my actual info they had. It was all data that could have been part of one of the many data breaches ... except my banking login name. They were phishing for the password. They didn't understand that the two-factor text message explains that the company will never call and ask you for the code! I'm assuming they had my login name/ID and possibly password because they somehow got to the two-factor code request. That said, there maybe be some other way to get to that point that I don't know/understand. What I am sure of is that my user name and password for that account are not and have never been written down or stored .
The second incident was the next the next day when someone was able to jump into an on going family group text. They responded to one of my comments almost immediately. Who ever it was presented with the ID and picture of my wife. However she was sitting right beside me and her phone was in another room with no one else in our house.
These two things on successive days have me wondering if our hardware/icloud accounts have somehow been compromised. I have no idea how someone could have my financial login info as I only access it from our home wifi (possibly sometype of keystroke tracker on my MacBook) and how someone could present with someone else ID. I'm asking to understand if there is more I can/should be doing for our online security and if there is an apple endorsed product that could be run on our system(s) to determine if we've been compromised. If compromised clean all systems/platforms.
Thanks. I agree with your suspicion that your Apple / iCloud Account appears to have been compromised. Apple provides the following guidance: If you think your Apple ID has been compromised - Apple Support.
Surreptitious installation of some kind of nefarious software on your Mac is a possibility, but providing absolute assurance of the absence of such things is logically impossible. Google for instance logs every keystroke you make on a browser or while using any of its products. Most people don't consider it "spyware" even though it is an accurate description of what it does. That was the reason for my question.
Start with the Apple Support document above and satisfy yourself your Apple IDs are secure. That's primary. It contains links explaining additional actions that should be taken to keep your confidential information secure. If you remain distrustful of your Mac though, the only way to provide absolute assurance of the absence of anything malicious is to erase the Mac. It's probably premature to justify that action, but it remains an option if you remain concerned.
Spyware tool/app for MacBook and iPhone
