Virus/Keylogger?

The Game Master who dealt with my query told me this was only possible if my computer had been infected with some kind of key logger or virus.

False. It could happen if the game server itself was hacked, or if you chose a weak password and someone guessed it.

When sold the Imac I was told by the woman who dealt with me it was not possible for Imacs to get viruses or key loggers...

There are no known Mac viruses. Malware of other kinds does exist, but you don't have it.

I was so worried about potential risks to the expensive Imac that I actually asked her outright if I should buy an antivirus for it to keep it safe and she told me that wasn't necessary.

True.

All I am after is an antivirus that is going to detect, remove and prevent ALL forms of adware, spyware, malware, whatever, from my Imac. What ones do people suggest?

No such thing exists. If you have installed the latest security update, and if you only download files using Safari, Mail, or iChat, then you have all the useful malware protection there is. It still isn't absolute, and it never will be. However, that doesn't really matter, because your problem has nothing to do with malware. You were misinformed by a server administrator who wants to shift blame from himself to you.

My other question is is this even a genuine offer from Apple, or is this also untrue?

It's true. You can make an appointment at the "Genius Bar" of an Apple Store for help with pretty much any Mac problem. There's no charge for the service. They aren't really geniuses, but they can often help with common problems.

If you would break up your post into paragraphs, people may read it.

If its possible for my Imac to get malware what programmes would you suggest to safeguard against these, just to on top of whatever protection the Imac already has?

The best safeguard is the program between your ears. The malware going around now works by tricking people into installing it. It doesn't install itself. If you're web browsing and suddenly you see a popup telling you that you have "viruses" and need to install anti-virus software from that same popup, it's a scam. In fact, any website that tells you that you must install software from that same site is a scam. That simple recognition will protect you better than any software you can install now, or ever. Relying too much on software as a substitute for thinking only increases the danger.

If its true theres no malware on here why is it when I change my passwords my emails account is still being hacked into?

I don't know why your email account is being hacked, but it's not because of malware. Have you changed the password?

Are you saying your email has been hacked, or your online game account? And which game are you talking about? And lastly, how do you know your account has been "hacked"?

I can't rule out the possibility that someone is spying on you. There are many ways that could be done, including the use of a keylogger. But that could only be done as an inside job. It's not malware in the usual sense of a malicious program distributed anonymously over the Internet, and no anti-virus software would detect it.

A keylogger doesn't have to be software, by the way. It could just as well be a hardware device.

Open the Sharing preference pane in System Preferences. Are any services enabled that you didn't know about? Are the settings different from what you thought they were?

If you have good reason to think that your computer has been tampered with, the only thing to do is to back up all your data, then erase the hard drive, reinstall the OS from original media, reinstall your third-party software from known-good copies, and then restore your documents and settings.

First, email is not private unless encrypted. If a password is sent to you in clear-text email, then it's blown before you ever get it, even if your email account hasn't been hacked.

That said, it does sound like someone is getting into your email account, even after you change the password. The first thing you should is take this up with the mail service provider. It should be able to tell whether there's been any unauthorized access to your account, and from where.

If you have no backups, then you have much more to worry about than a hacked gaming account. Shut down the computer NOW and don't start it again until you're ready to set up a backup solution. For that you'll need an external hard drive and cable. When you have them, enable Time Machine and select the external drive as your backup device.

Mac 101: Time Machine

Frankly it makes no sense to be talking about fantasy stuff like "viruses" when you don't have basic computer literacy down. The very first thing any computer user should learn is to make backups.

Before you go wiping your hard drive, let's try and prove that you're really being attacked. If someone's getting into your account and resetting your game's password, I don't see why they wouldn't just go ahead and change the email address associated with the game as well (and change your email password to lock you out). Since it doesn't seem that either of these have happened, I'm not convinced someone is spying on you.

The next thing is to see if there really is anything on your Mac sending your keystrokes out. Try installing a tool called "Little Snitch" - it's a network monitor that tells you when any software tries to connect to the outside world, so if there is something monitoring your inputs and sending them externally, then Little Snitch will tell you and you'll be given the option to block it.

Do you have access to your email from anywhere other than your Mac? A mobile phone, another computer? If someone was accessing your account, and going to the length of deleting emails, I would think they'd properly delete them rather than just leave them in the trash. Emails can be marked as read accidentally, especially if you access your email from different programs, a web client, a phone, some service that checks your email for you, Outlook's "preview pane"... Are emails being sent from your account?

Do you use Gmail? If so, it will tell you where and when your account has been accessed, so you'll be able to see if someone else is logging in.

Have you tried changing your password on your email account, and then logging in without typing the password? for example, use the onscreen keyboard, or copy and paste the password (e.g. use an on-screen password generator to create a new password). Have you tried changing your game settings to use a different email address? Are you using the same password for email and game (you shouldn't be).

Have you tried setting up a separate user account on your Mac, and logging in as the new user? Again, if there is some software it may only be installed under the one user account.

My Mac has also been easy prey for hackers in the small city where I live. I have gone so far as to erase the disk and start over to get rid of any malware yet they (coworkers) are still 'privy' to everything I type or do on my personal, at home Intel iMac. This includes specific details I would never discuss with anyone. I am the only person with physical access to this iMac. I bought it new, directly from the Apple distribution center.

My wireless modem is secured in every way possible, but my phone calls over the phone wires were also being listened in on.... I say "were" because I finally cancelled my phone service because of this breach of privacy. My connection to the Internet is via DSL.

I do not open attachments in emails from people i don't know or don't trust. 99% of the people I email are trusted friends and family, mostly out of state.

I had satellite service for a year. That stopped the eavesdropping on my computer. But because the service was very unreliable and expensive, I went back to the phone line. The eavesdropping started up again almost immediately and remains to this day.

So there you have it. Macs are vulnerable.

You have no proof, that is just conjecture, and if you diont mind me saying, a little paranoid. A secure wipe would remove the keylogger if you had one, which I very much doubt tbh. You cannot say "there you go Macs are vulnerable" with no proof. Someone would have to put something on your Mac from within your home or used a device. That simple and unless you have material of great value on your machine why would they even do that? This is almost fantasy.

So it is anecdotal... but I know what has happened and for the supervisor and his little circle of friends to know minute details of my at-home computer activity is proof enough for me. They really loved to rub the details of my emails, etc, in my face. Not that it was anything terrible, they just enjoyed seeing me squirm.

No reply necessary.

23david23, whilst no-one would dispute that Macs (as with all computers) are vulnerable, I doubt that what you've experienced is due to your Mac being compromised. In fact, you've pretty much proven it yourself - if, as you say, you erased the disc and started over, then anything that was on your machine would have been removed. The only way it would have returned is if you put it there. That would, of course, mean that the fault lay with you, and not your Mac.

Another reason why I doubt your Mac is the problem is that you say your telephone calls were being monitored. Whilst you could have an app that used a Mac's microphone to monitor sound near the Mac, it would not pick up both sides of a phone conversation and it would not pick up anything (clearly) from another room. The fact that you went so far as to cancel your phone service suggests that it was more than just your side of the calls that was being monitored. Plus all you'd need to do to stop your Mac listening would be to disable the microphone - that would have been the first thing you tried and since it clearly had no effect, it's not the computer.

Instead, I would suggest that you check your apartment for miniature video/audio devices - quite possibly someone has planted a few of them around your home and is picking up the signals remotely. Such devices are very easy and cheap to buy these days.

Also, it'd be fairly easy for your co-workers to access your email account from another computer other than yours - just because they know what's in your inbox doesn't mean your Mac has been compromised.

But if you are as careful with installing software as you claim, and have indeed wiped and started from scratch, then there is no way you could have anything on your Mac which would allow your co-workers to spy on you.

I like to hear you say these things... but how, when I went home and typed stuff in TextEdit, could they then confront me with it the next day? I typed stuff that would be sure to get a response (insulting words about one of the staff people.... 100% made up). Next work day I got all kinds of reaction, one guy tried blocking me from entering the building (I finally made it in) including the spouse of the staff person coming into the plant and making derogatory remarks in front of me, about me and I had never met that person before in my life.

How can these things happen? And why, during the year that I had satellite Internet, was I not bothered by anyone at all, no matter what I typed or what website I visited. It only started up again after I went back to the phone line - DSL. Before the satellite service I had dial-up.

It's all a little too weird.... I can see that they are probably doing something else altogether, but i have had the police and a phone company tech to my house to check for devices... nothing showed up. It's all somehow through my computer and the phone line.

It's been going on for 8 years and I am 100% stumped.