Was I really hacked? Am I being watched?

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Level 3

696 points

Was I really hacked? Am I being watched?

I would never do this under normal circumstances, but over the Thanksgiving weekend I signed a contract with an online tech support service because my mom managed to do something crazy to one of my two Macs. This company did a lot of work on both of my Macs and I think they're legit, but there are several things I find a bit fishy and I'm working on terminating that contract. The only relevant fact about this company is that everybody speaks with such a heavy Indian accent that communication is difficult. As I try to sort all of this out, I have a hard time understanding them and vice versa, thus I hope to get some straight answers here.

1) Was I really hacked? As the tech guy was working remotely on my "Mac B" he used Terminal to show me that this computer had been hacked, and then googled to show me something about a Facebook hack. Since it was my mom at the computer when things went crazy, and I know she uses Facebook to some extent (I rarely do),, I just took him at his word and let him proceed trying to fix her gmail problem. At some point I said, "Mac B is on the same network as Mac A. Is it possible that Mac A was hacked also?" He said yes, and we went through the same routine on Mac A (the IMPORTANT one with all my stuff). He used Terminal to show me that Mac A had also been hacked, so I let him work on that one too. In 20+ years on Macs, I've never encountered this issue before, so I'm have trouble discerning fact from fiction. As I'm searching the Apple Discussions and googling, I'm not so sure I really was hacked. I did NOT have firewall turned on. (I've just now turned it on.) Since the Mac asks for my master password each time new software is installed, I've assumed this meant that I was (relatively) safe. How can I know for sure whether or not I was hacked? I would guess that the hacking history he showed me has been cleared, but how can I look for this now and in the future? When I asked the tech guy WHEN the computers had been hacked, he said there was no way of telling? Is this true? I haven't ever seen any suspicious activity on either computer....the only issue I had was that I couldn't get my mom's gmail to display correctly.

2) Is their server slowing down my browser? Part of the contract I signed included protection from hacking in the future by going through their remote servers. It seems to me that, during these past couple of weeks since I signed up for that, my browser is noticably slower. Is that a likely result of everything running through their severs?

3) Do they have access to all my info? I know nothing is private anymore, but is it possible that they have direct access to all my info? As I was talking with a representative today about terminating my contract, he was mentioning a software license as if they had an actual program on my computers or software on their end specific to my computer. Does this mean they have direct access to all my information? How can I know if theyve installed something on my computer or if they have something watching me? I've tried looking through logs, etc., but I really don't know what i'm looking for.

I'm not bashing this company, I just want to discern what's really going on. There's too much I don't know, and I'm not comfortable with this.

Posted on Dec 14, 2012 9:55 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

roam

Level 6

13,631 points

Dec 14, 2012 11:28 PM in response to Bryce Inman

You could always reinstall your Mac OS from your install disks, some trouble, yes, particularly reinstalling 3rd party applications, reset your email, and do all the software updates… but it would guarantee you a clean system and absolutely put to rest any doubts.

Surely a couple of hours spent doing that, would still be a quicker solution than puzzling over uncertainty.

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Answer 2

Limnos

Level 10

411,241 points

Dec 14, 2012 11:52 PM in response to Bryce Inman

The only relevant fact about this company is that everybody speaks with such a heavy Indian accent that communication is difficult.

I get those calls about once a year, saying they have detected spyware and malware on my computer. Got one last week. I asked them if this was from my windows computer and they said yes. I said that was odd because I have a Mac. They hung up. There's no way I would let them anywhere near my computer. I wouldn't tell them anything at all, not even my IP.

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Answer 3

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Dec 15, 2012 10:26 AM in response to Bryce Inman

You were scammed. Do as Roam suggests. You as good as gave burglars the keys to your house.

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Answer 4

Bryce Inman Author

Level 3

696 points

Dec 15, 2012 10:43 AM in response to Bryce Inman

Okay, I'm going to go the reinstall route. This company can easily be found on the interne, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean much. I just read that somebody else had the exact same experience on a Windows machine.

I'll follow up this thread when this is done.

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Answer 5

Dec 15, 2012 10:56 AM in response to Bryce Inman

Why don't you share the name of the company?

At least we will be able to tell you more about them then.

Or we can't find them, we will be able to add them to our hang up immediately lists.

Allan

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Answer 6

Bryce Inman Author

Level 3

696 points

Dec 15, 2012 1:47 PM in response to Allan Eckert

Okay, I'll name names, but it doing so will bend over backwards to be completely fair. I don't know for a fact that anything overtly dishonest or even shady has taken place. I've probably talked with 6-7 people there by now and every one of them is extremely friendly and seems eager to help. During the time I was watching them work on my computers, they were doing exactly the same things I would do if I was troubleshooting... .updating browsers and plugins, etc. If these guys are legit and I had a company, I'd want all of my employees to be exactly like them....kind, helpful, coureous, patient. It's just that, in hindsight, all of those little things seem a little off-center to me.

Addtionally, I just got off the phone with another representative. His english was a little better, so communication was easier. I explained the same scenario as described in the initial thread, explained my concerns and asked that they cease whatever connections they may have to my computer immediately...and refund my money. Like the others I've talked to, it was hard to get him to take "no" for an answer (instead, "We'll fix everything on your computer and make sure you're completely saitisfied"...they're standard response), but when I was firm he was equally as gracious. I'm supposed to hear back from their accounting department in 24 hours to confirm that my money is being refunded. They've always called back when they said they would, so I remain optomistic.

Having made all of those disclaimers, the company is Web Tech Craft, LLC. You can read their terms and conditions here: http://webtechcraft.com/terms-condition.php

Additional new information. This representative told me that they recently made a change. They no longer run Macs through their servers. He said that the protect Macs by setting kernels of some sort. Again, this is something that sends of warning lights in my head. I've heard of kernels before, but that's above my knowledge. Should this be another concern or am I just monsters in all the shadows?

And finally, I found this link from about 10 days ago. It regards a Windows computer and the original issues weren't exactly the same as mine, but it's the same company and everything else sounds eerily familiar.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windowslive/forum/hotmail-email/i-used-a-tech -support-company-merchant-webtech/5bd0bee8-76d5-4630-ba29-b77ad84d5da7?msgId=5a2 c7669-d7eb-443b-945e-4c112496d171

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Answer 7

Jan 19, 2015 6:30 PM in response to Bryce Inman

This company, http://webtechcraft.com/, did the same thing to my Mom tonight, more than 2 years after the original post. How is it that they are still getting away with this. I am going to try to do what I can to report them.

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