How do I check my Macbook for malware?
September 19, 2020 6:52 AM Subscribe
I think someone tried to change my Hotmail account password last night. Hotmail keeps sending me in circles when I look for activity. One thing they do say is to run a scan for malware. I have no idea how to do that, and searching is bringing up lots of advertising. I have a 2017 Macbook pro.
I got an email from Hotmail last night on my gmail account sending me a code because someone tried to change my password. I had to change the password to get into my account this morning. Hotmail gave me an option to update my security info. However, when I did that, it locked me out of the security settings on my account, so I can't look for activity on the account. I undid it, but it still has me locked out of checking for activity. So that's not working. Their list for what to do about someone hacking the account includes running a scan for malware on my Mac.
But I seriously don't even know how to begin looking for software on the Mac that will run a check for malware. I tried searching malware using "Help" on the Mac, and didn't find anything useful for running a scan. I checked applications and utilities, and nothing screams "security" to me. I know there has to be something because I've been blocked from looking at work stuff online because of supposed security risks. Please remember that I am profoundly stupid about this stuff, and most instructions I read start about three steps in from what I need someone to explain to me. So can someone please give me basic, basic instructions on what I can do? Or a website with basic instructions?
Thanks.
I got an email from Hotmail last night on my gmail account sending me a code because someone tried to change my password. I had to change the password to get into my account this morning. Hotmail gave me an option to update my security info. However, when I did that, it locked me out of the security settings on my account, so I can't look for activity on the account. I undid it, but it still has me locked out of checking for activity. So that's not working. Their list for what to do about someone hacking the account includes running a scan for malware on my Mac.
But I seriously don't even know how to begin looking for software on the Mac that will run a check for malware. I tried searching malware using "Help" on the Mac, and didn't find anything useful for running a scan. I checked applications and utilities, and nothing screams "security" to me. I know there has to be something because I've been blocked from looking at work stuff online because of supposed security risks. Please remember that I am profoundly stupid about this stuff, and most instructions I read start about three steps in from what I need someone to explain to me. So can someone please give me basic, basic instructions on what I can do? Or a website with basic instructions?
Thanks.
I've had good a good experience with "Clean My Mac," which does other routine computer upkeep tasks as well.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 7:46 AM on September 19, 2020
posted by Narrative Priorities at 7:46 AM on September 19, 2020
Best answer: Download and run MalwareBytes. It will offer you a premium upgrade, but you do not have to accept it.
Clean My Mac and other related programs try to do too much, in my opinion. MalwareBytes is simple and effective.
posted by blob at 7:54 AM on September 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
Clean My Mac and other related programs try to do too much, in my opinion. MalwareBytes is simple and effective.
posted by blob at 7:54 AM on September 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
2nding Malwarebytes. It is free and the two-week Premium trial is free, no need to input a credit card number, and after the Premium trial is ended, it just has some semi-annoying pop-ups that ask you if you want to subscribe, however the basic Malwarebytes will still run fine.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:00 AM on September 19, 2020
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:00 AM on September 19, 2020
Best answer: Okay, you have several issues here.
* someone has tried (or succeeded) accessing your hotmail account.
* Your work blocks you from looking at certain material (presumably from your home laptop)
* You are worried about malware.
* You have multiple devices which concern you.
You'll need to contact Hotmail support if you are locked out of your account. Hotmail's recommendation that you run a malware scanner is a generic suggestion, presumably because in the Windows world there are many bad ways to leak information.
The work issue dependes upon how your company sets up access permissions. It has nothing to do with any other isssues. This is an administrative decision by whoever runs your company's network.
Malware exists on the Mac, but Malwarebytes will eliminate it.
The iPad and iPhone are fine. It's exceedingly difficult to infect these devices. You can download Malwarebytes from the App Store, but I did not find it very useful on iOS devices.
I think your main issue is the attempt or success at messing up your Hotmail account. Contact Hotmail for help resolving that issue.
Good luck.
posted by blob at 8:04 AM on September 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
* someone has tried (or succeeded) accessing your hotmail account.
* Your work blocks you from looking at certain material (presumably from your home laptop)
* You are worried about malware.
* You have multiple devices which concern you.
You'll need to contact Hotmail support if you are locked out of your account. Hotmail's recommendation that you run a malware scanner is a generic suggestion, presumably because in the Windows world there are many bad ways to leak information.
The work issue dependes upon how your company sets up access permissions. It has nothing to do with any other isssues. This is an administrative decision by whoever runs your company's network.
Malware exists on the Mac, but Malwarebytes will eliminate it.
The iPad and iPhone are fine. It's exceedingly difficult to infect these devices. You can download Malwarebytes from the App Store, but I did not find it very useful on iOS devices.
I think your main issue is the attempt or success at messing up your Hotmail account. Contact Hotmail for help resolving that issue.
Good luck.
posted by blob at 8:04 AM on September 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Other good advice up top, but two things no one has mentioned yet:
1) Are you sure the password reset attempt was legit? Spammers sometimes send fake password reset notices to get you to panic and click the links in their email. By entering your password on their fake webpage you are giving them your password at that point when they didn't have it previously. Mouse over (hover) the links in the email to make sure they actually go to the domain they claim to go to (hotmail.com/outlook.com, etc) It's a good practice that when you do password/account changes, you manually enter the domain at the top rather than relying on URLs in emails.
2) Do you reuse your password everywhere? If you use the same password at other sites (like a shopping website, reddit, whatever) and it's compromised elsewhere by a database hack, hackers will run try to log in to your email address with that same email address/password. That means you may not have malware on your computer, just your password/email address is out in the wild. Have I Been Pwnded? (slang for owned) emails you when it finds your account info in the wild. A password manager that allows you to use unique passwords for each account is a good practice too.
posted by bluecore at 8:19 AM on September 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
1) Are you sure the password reset attempt was legit? Spammers sometimes send fake password reset notices to get you to panic and click the links in their email. By entering your password on their fake webpage you are giving them your password at that point when they didn't have it previously. Mouse over (hover) the links in the email to make sure they actually go to the domain they claim to go to (hotmail.com/outlook.com, etc) It's a good practice that when you do password/account changes, you manually enter the domain at the top rather than relying on URLs in emails.
2) Do you reuse your password everywhere? If you use the same password at other sites (like a shopping website, reddit, whatever) and it's compromised elsewhere by a database hack, hackers will run try to log in to your email address with that same email address/password. That means you may not have malware on your computer, just your password/email address is out in the wild. Have I Been Pwnded? (slang for owned) emails you when it finds your account info in the wild. A password manager that allows you to use unique passwords for each account is a good practice too.
posted by bluecore at 8:19 AM on September 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I ran Malwarbytes, and it didn't detect anything.
Hotmail has been extremely unhelpful. I can view my email, but I'm locked out of looking at anything related to security because I followed their advice and made a change to my security settings. I chatted with a customer service rep. She suggested I turn on two-factor authentication, and hotmail says I can't do that for 30 days either. I keep my hotmail account as a separate account for everything related to bill paying and shopping and use gmail for personal email, but I'm pretty irritated at hotmail right now and wondering if I should set up a new gmail account.
I am sure the password reset was legit because I was unable to get to my hotmail account without changing my password this morning. So I think someone changed my password, but I can't access the information on my account to figure out what they did. I use different passwords for everything, so that's not an issue.
posted by FencingGal at 12:15 PM on September 19, 2020
Hotmail has been extremely unhelpful. I can view my email, but I'm locked out of looking at anything related to security because I followed their advice and made a change to my security settings. I chatted with a customer service rep. She suggested I turn on two-factor authentication, and hotmail says I can't do that for 30 days either. I keep my hotmail account as a separate account for everything related to bill paying and shopping and use gmail for personal email, but I'm pretty irritated at hotmail right now and wondering if I should set up a new gmail account.
I am sure the password reset was legit because I was unable to get to my hotmail account without changing my password this morning. So I think someone changed my password, but I can't access the information on my account to figure out what they did. I use different passwords for everything, so that's not an issue.
posted by FencingGal at 12:15 PM on September 19, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by FencingGal at 7:04 AM on September 19, 2020