remote control hack

Question

Level 1

8 points

remote control hack

I foolishly gave permission for Jennifer (who identified herself as an apple employee) to control my mac remotely so she could help me get it going after it was blocked. Only found out after the fact that she wanted $$ to clean it up and unblock...it was actually a hack job from machelpsystemsupport.com

How do I relieve my anxiety that she now has control of everything, including passwords, etc. on my computer? I ran anti-malware, changed important passwords but am wondering if she still has control even after I disconnected from her??

Any help would be most appreciated.

Linda

iMac (20-inch Early 2009), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Oct 30, 2015 11:13 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 30, 2015 11:18 AM in response to spangster

The only way to be 100% certain is to restore your Mac using a backup that predates the access by the criminals. Please note that any such popup message asking you to call a number, will ALWAYS be a scam.

Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages

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Answer 2

spangster Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 30, 2015 12:12 PM in response to stedman1

Thank you. I use Google Chrome as my browser but did the best I could with your suggestions for Safari. What is the best/easiest way to back up the computer? I've never had to do this and am not sure how to do it safely.

Thank you in advance.

Linda

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,399 points

Oct 30, 2015 12:17 PM in response to spangster

You also need to notify your bank that you're information may have been compromised and change ALL of your passwords.

You need to disconnect that machine from the Internet right now.

Since you don't already have a backup that pre-dates being compromised, You need to get yourself an external hard drive. Time Machine is the easiest (though not the fastest) way to back up the machine. You will then have to erase the hard drive and re-install OS X from scratch, then restore the data only (do NOT restore any applications) from the backup.

If you are unsure, I suggest you make an appointment at the genius bar of your local Apple Store. They can help.

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Answer 4

Oct 30, 2015 12:27 PM in response to spangster

In addition to the advice from KiltedTim above, please note that a complete backup (preferably 2) is always required.

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