i need help..

[Lympho]

hey guys not to long ago my itunes account was hacked....i m using a Macbook.....and like today i got an email from my university saying telling me my password this only happens if i request it in the forgot password section which i didnt.

is there any free program or any easy way to just clean/protect my machine other then a wipe.....

oh and i dont know if this is relevant but i also used to download applications from school on my iphone meaning i used to type in my username/password there....could that have been the reason i got hacked ? the insecurity of their wireless network or is it more likely a problem closer to home ?

thx advance for your input i really apreciate it.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Your Mac isn't infected. Anyone who knows your e-mail address could try to recover your password; however, they won't be able to because they don't have access to your e-mail account. Simply ignore the password reset request and you should be fine. As for your iPhone at school, it shouldn't be a problem unless someone has direct access to it. You don't let people use your iPhone, right? :)

[redvamp128]

I agree with +Anaron though what I would do is sign into those accounts and change the password to a "Strong" password. Make it at least 10 characters and 5 numbers. Just make sure to remember them and also change your email account password as well. And for a good measure change the password on your laptop as well to be on the safe side unless that is with you all the time and never leaves your side.

[Lympho]

no no one uses my phone :p but i was very worried due to the fact that i completely lost control of my itunes account....and got stolen about 390 $ of my credit card....i issued a fraud statement and notified apple....i should be reimbursed however i never did get my account back i was forced to create a new one.....i followed your advice and i changed my passwords of almost everything that had one....i am still troubled at how it was that my itunes account got hacked....what was the cause of it... a malware or simply bad luck, the hacker having cracked my password ( which was relatively simple ).

btw thx alot for the help i really appreciate it :)

[redvamp128]

Most common reasons that peoples accounts are compromised is not really a Hack. but usually a simple password that was wrote down somewhere. That is why in general things like pets names, less than 5 letter passwords, birthdays, nicknames are generally not recommended. I would suggest anything "tied" to a credit card should have at minimal 8 letters and 5 numbers and not all together. example P2A2S32w34o543r43D would take a while to "hack" Not saying it is impossible mind you just difficult and someone would just give up instead of for example-- they know you have a pet named Fluffy and like a fool you have pictures with Fluffy's name on them.. So they would try username and fluffy and they are in.

[Lympho]

well something else came up...turns out my gmail and new itunes account got compromised luckyly i have been able to change my password and apply a computer generated one for both.....i have no idea how this is happening but i am now very worried..... i m gonna call apple support think cuz this isnt normal.... i really need desperate help :(

[TGT]

Are you using your computer on an unsecured wireless connection (or a connection in which many others have easy access to [wired or wireless])? It's possible that someone could be sniffing the traffic and culling your credentials from that.

If this is the case, ensure that you login to Gmail via https to force a secure ssl conection.

[redvamp128]

I am not an apple fan, but this time I can say that It is probably not your laptop being "hacked". But could be the network that is compromised. Could be though you would need to talk with your IT department that maintains the network it could possibly be a keylogger or network reroute that is to blame. And I second trying the https (possibly some of those sites have a secured layer.

[Lympho]

i am allways using my wireless home internet.....which is at a WPA/WPA2 setting with a random generated password...the wireless router i am using is the Mac airport express ( came free with my laptop ) the specifcs of my internet is that my provider doesnt give me direst wireless internet. they only prvide DSL...i simply hooked it up to my airport express and created the WPA connection.

thx alot for all the help guys i m really appreciating it.

[Subject Delta]

I'd recommend you take a look in your router's logs and see if any computers you don't recognise have been connecting to your network, also periodically look into your router to check out all of the mac (that's media access control addresses from the network cards) addresses to make sure one you don't recognise isn't connected. Wireless security is horrendously easy to hack, even with WPA turned on.

Also, I would recommend notifying the police, if someone has been hacking your wireless, narrowing down the list of suspects shouldn't be too difficult as even the best wireless routers have a range of 400-500 feet or so. Wireless hacking can actually carry a prison sentence.