I recently purchased a refurbished MacBook Pro off of eBay, the seller had a fair amount of reviews and 100% positive feedback, the computer works very well, maybe I'm paranoid but should I be concerned about malware or anything else malignant? should I take it somewhere to have it checked out or should/can I wipe the computer myself?
MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.6)
Well, you said you bought it refurbished - so, the licensing agreement stipulates that the seller must remove any OS or app downloads from the app store because they are tied to his Apple ID and the license is not transferable. So, he is supposed to use internet recovery, wipe the drive, and reinstall the original OS. If that is not done, you will have a problem trying to update apps or reinstall the OS as it will ask you for the seller's Apple ID. If the seller did not do it, it is best to do this yourself - follow the instructions here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
Very few ebay sellers actually do what they are supposed to do.
Well, you said you bought it refurbished - so, the licensing agreement stipulates that the seller must remove any OS or app downloads from the app store because they are tied to his Apple ID and the license is not transferable. So, he is supposed to use internet recovery, wipe the drive, and reinstall the original OS. If that is not done, you will have a problem trying to update apps or reinstall the OS as it will ask you for the seller's Apple ID. If the seller did not do it, it is best to do this yourself - follow the instructions here:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
Very few ebay sellers actually do what they are supposed to do.
If it was properly refurbished it would have been returned to factory condition, in my view. Ask the seller why this was not the case, especially in view of Babowa's mention of the legitimacy of updates (which would also relate to upgrades). An Apple refurbishment is as good a buy as you can get ... an Ebay dealer's refurbishment, I'm not so sure.
It might be a good idea to wipe it using internet recovery and reinstall the original OS, not necessarily because of malware, etc. but for two other reasons: first I'd always want to start with a clean slate and, unless the seller wiped the drive and reinstalled the original OS, you may experience problems at some point trying to update apps or reinstall the OS because the license is tied to the Apple ID used to obtain it and is not transferable. I recently checked ebay looking for an MBP and found that almost everyone is selling their Macs violating the licensing agreement because they're selling it with the latest OS.
It is currently running the latest OS Sierra. You're telling me that I should wipe it and re download it using my Apple ID? Or did I misunderstand? How do I go about this? This is my first personal mac
You are being unnecessarily paranoid.
I bought a refurbished Mac, should I be concerned about malware?
