IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [macos]

macOS (formerly Mac OS X and OS X) is a series of Unix-based graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc.

macOS (formerly named Mac OS X and OS X) runs exclusively on Macintosh computers and has been preloaded on all Macs since 2002.

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Why is "fhepfcelehfcepfffacacacacacacabn" a top DNS query from my devices?

I recently set up NextDNS on my personal devices to further reduce the amount of tracking and ads I'm exposed to. The service comes with built-in analytics that shows a brief overview of your network activity. Most of the top hits are…
Etheryte
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Can "cat-ing" a file be a potential security risk?

I often use cat on the console to view the contents of files, and every now and then I accidentally cat a binary file which basically produces gibberish and system beeps. However today I've encountered a situation where the output from the cat…
Ivan Kovacevic
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Mac OS X terminal prompt displaying foreign hostname (or: What is Stacey's iPhone doing in my Terminal?)

I opened my Terminal today and saw this: StaceysiPhone6s:~ jcz$ Who is Stacey? Why is she in my Terminal? What happened? What should I be worried about? How do I fix it?
Jeff
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Should the sole user of a *nix system have two accounts?

Should the sole user of a *nix (particularly Linux and MacOS) have two accounts, one with sudo privileges and one without? Years ago I read that on your personal computer you should do your daily tasks as an unprivileged user and switch to a…
Ender Wiggin
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What can an attacker do with Bluetooth and how should it be mitigated?

What are the security risks of Bluetooth and what technologies and best practices should be used to protect my device? What can an attacker do once a malicious device is paired with mine? Specifically Is it a good idea to remove & re-pair my…
makerofthings7
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Should I get an antivirus for my Mac?

There are some people saying that people should use an antivirus software on Mac. And there are thousands of people claiming that Macs don't get viruses (under this term I mean spyware / malware as well), some even say that it's just a trick from…
gen
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Am I at risk if I let someone charge their Android phone from my MacBook through a micro USB cable?

Someone connected their Android phone to my MacBook and it made me think if this has put my MacBook at risk. It was for 3 seconds and I was in control of the MacBook the whole time.
Emanuil Rusev
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Isn't OS X's Single-User Mode a bad idea?

Recently, I had a Mac which fried its video logic board. Luckily, Apple had concluded that this was a design flaw and was fixing the affected models for free (see more here). However, I did not find this page for a while, and during that time had to…
Toastrackenigma
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How secure is "Secure Keyboard Entry" in Mac OS X's Terminal?

I've been using Terminal under Mac OS X for years but somehow missed to spot this feature: I'm now wondering how does this actually work, and is it 100% safe? If it isn't, what technique could be used to still get the keystrokes?
Ivan Kovacevic
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Why is Firewire a bigger threat than USB?

This question notes that a person briefly connected an Android device to an Apple computer via USB, and one comment indicates that it would "quite possibly" be a risk: In theory, yes, in practice, probably not. If it had been a Firewire device,…
Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
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Are ordinary OS X desktops at risk from bash "shellshock" bug (CVE-2014-6271)?

I've recently heard via Twitter about CVE-2014-6271. Are ordinary OS X desktops, that aren't acting as a web server, at risks of receiving attacks that could exploit this vulnerability?
Andrew Grimm
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Is it insecure to send a password in a `curl` command?

Here’s an example request we can make to the GitHub API: curl 'https://api.github.com/authorizations' --user "USERNAME" This will prompt for the account password, to continue: Enter host password for user 'USERNAME': If we don’t want to get the…
user137369
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How is it possible for user's password to be changed after storage was encrypted? (on OS X, Android)

There are built-in functionalities to encrypt a storage on OS X (FileVault) and Android. On OS X: to enable encryption current user must have a password protected account. After enabling the encryption, recovery key is generated (something like…
user164892
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How secure is FileVault 2 while the computer is in sleep mode?

How secure is Apples disk encryption FileVault 2 when someone has physical or network access while the computer in sleep mode or is running a screen saver? Are there ways to circumvent FileVault 2 when the computer is not turned off?
chiborg
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How can a non-admin program cover your entire screen with a window?

This year, since many students are online, College Board (the company that administers AP Exams in the US, along with the SAT) recently released its Digital Testing App. Once installed, and going through a setup, it allows you to go through a test…
StarDust
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