MSN for MAC hacked?

maranello168

maranello168

maranello168

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Joined
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Hi All,

Something a little odd happened today. I turned on my iMac this evening and then MSN for Mac, and upon loading my contacts I noticed that there was someone on my list that I didn't recognise. I subsequently clicked on this person to see whether I could recognise their email address, of which I didn't.
This unknown user then sent me a simple 'hi', so which I didn't reply.
Now I've set my login so that when I'm logged on, I'm appeared as invisible.

I was left baffled, and duly closed my msn and downloaded a copy of 'protect mac antivirus' of which after scanning my mac produced no known threats.

I'm currently running osx snow leopard with all the latest updates and firewall turned on.

I'm left confused, has my msn been hacked?
 
Im not sure how it would have added itself, but my contact list had a similar person on it.

Now you'll notice they instantly say Hi when you open the window. It's really strange.

To be on the safe side, I'd recommend changing passwords and security questions. It wouldnt hurt
 
It's not necessarily an attack through your Mac than someone hacking Microsoft to gain access to accounts. It's happened to me a few times. Nothing serious has come of it.
 
wannabedamned - thats exactly what happened with this person, they just said hi, and i immediately deleted this person from my list. since your experience, has it happened again?

iSam - i was thinking that because i've kept the mac relatively secure.
 
Unless you limit MSN contacts to only those in your address book - any one can add your msn name and attempt to contact you. No hacking necessary.

This is akin to someone randomly texting you... you are not hacked. Just on a big list of names people are trying to spam.
 
maranello168 said:
I was left baffled, and duly closed my msn and downloaded a copy of 'protect mac antivirus' of which after scanning my mac produced no known threats.
Click to expand...

Because there are no virus's for Mac and the malware that there is doesn't transfer through MSN contacts being added mysteriously. Potentially your account was hacked but that means someone guessed your password, not that you have a virus.
 
unknowndomain said:
Because there are no virus's for Mac and the malware that there is doesn't transfer through MSN contacts being added mysteriously. Potentially your account was hacked but that means someone guessed your password, not that you have a virus.
Click to expand...

And just to get in before anyone jumps on this and says "yes there are, don't be silly" I'd like to remind people that there's a difference between a trojan and a virus :)
 
Its funny in the past year there has been an increasing trend for people to say, my computers not working, etc..., then finish by saying, I think its got a virus or something.

Its frustrating because then often the next thing they tag on is, I thought Mac's weren't supposed to get viruses.

Its super frustraiting because you have to explain what malware is, why its not a virus, that there are no viruses, and then get back to the issue at hand, which is your MSN account may have been hacked but they didn't really do anything, I suspect you added them by accident.

Sometimes windows popup during normal use and your typing and press the enter key just as they open causing them to automatically submit. Did you do this perhaps when someone added you causing it to add them back?
 
I had this, it's something to do with the way groups are set up.

Basically someone on your list has created a group and added you and others to it. When this happened to me, I could see them sign in and talk to them.
 
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