Check for unauthorized remote access to my Macbook

Do a spotlight search for “activity monitor” and look for unknown IP addresses or arbitrary changes to the pressure on your RAM.

Go into settings and make sure your firewall settings are active.

If you have an app that monitors your network, check to see if they’re are unknown devices connected.

Those are the basics that I can teach you in a few minutes. but if you lose access to your device or if you know you are definitely hacked, then go into lock down mode in system settings and bring your computer to someone you know who can help you.

Just make sure you use a number here to contact Apple directly:

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

It was questioned because we have seen too many people who have googled Apple Support and the link led them to a scammer.

What makes you think your Mac was accessed remotely?

• Did you install Teamviewer or other sharing app?
• Did you enable any Sharing in Settings (aka Preferences)?
• Something else?

Who is the "he" you referred to in "I don't recall a few other checks he had me perform"? A scammer?

What "support" are you planning to call?

CarMelo Cherubin wrote:

Forgive for me, Martin, giving the impression that I was experiencing a potential intrusion. My VPN gave me an unfamiliar notification that "Another device on my network was attempting to access my Wi-fi." To the best of my findings, it was an issue between My Verizon Router (in Bridge mode) and my Netgear router (connected to the Verizon rforouter).

That threw me off, so I came here to ask what I should check in case of a potential issue. The "he" was an Apple Support rep that I was dealing with a few days ago while trying to figure out what kept waking up my Mac in the middle of the night.

I don't know your setup but it's very possible that a mere overnight refresh (aka re-lease) of your Mac's DHCP IP address could set off the message and wake your Mac.

It's also not clear to me how you have the 2 routers set up. Normally I would expect the Verizon router to be the main router and DHCP server, with any supplementary router (the Netgear in your case) being set up in Bridge mode. Note that when in Bridge mode it's important to make sure that the Bridge router is not handing out its own IP addresses; DHCP services in the Bridge router should be turned off. If not, all kinds of network confusion can occur.

CarMelo Cherubin wrote:

As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, I'm almost certain that it is the issue because when my devices are scanning for WiFi, BOTH router names appear in the available network list.

If both routers show up when your devices scan for WiFi it means that WiFi is enabled in both routers. This is generally not a good idea although there are cases where it may be useful. Careful planning of router locations & network setups are necessary if using both for WiFi.

In general, assuming you are on FiOS, if your Verizon router is the one connected to your ONT then it should not be in Bridge mode so it can provide DHCP services (IP addresses) for your internal LAN including WiFi.

Assuming your Netgear router is connected to one of the wired LAN ports on your Verizon router, the Netgear router should be the one in Bridge mode (so it doesn't hand out conflicting or duplicate IP addresses to devices on your LAN).

What is the reason you are using 2 routers in your network?

You can extend your WiFi network by using 2 routers but it's not an ideal setup; even under the best of circumstances the handoff from one router to the other as you roam the house would not be seamless; and there could be channel conflict, which would reduce throughput. I'll add that 6GHz is not necessarily faster than 5GHz or even 2.4Ghz ... and its range is even less than 5GHz.

If your Verizon router is giving you sufficient coverage I'd say let sleeping dogs lie.