computer hacked?

[Canick]

HELP!

I think my computer is in the "process of being hacked". All my usual email sites (hotmail, yahoo, gmail) are now giving me a warning "Safari can't verify the identity of the website", whereas I used to log in without issue.
the strange thing is all my other bookmarks go directly to the sites without these warning, except my banking tabs, and my email accounts!

i am using a mac and safari. i tried it in firefox with the same result. the address of the sites are different than what i remember. for example I used to log in to hotmail as "login.live", but now its bl135.login.live etc.

ANYONE have suggestions? I have the option to "continue" after getting the "we cant certify the identity of this site and you might be connecting to a site that is pretending to be this site", but i don't want to take the risk.

be happy to pay for someone to come look at my computer or any suggestions welcome!
Thanks
n

 

[citygirl]

Are you using a secure network? Have you downloaded any executable files?

 

[Canick]

hi city girl,
thanks for asking. i am using a secure network and have not downloaded anything strange. this occurred overnight while the computer was on, but not in use. as i said, all other bookmarks and sites work without this "certificate warning", including ones that I also have to sign into (facebook etc). It's just my email and banks... this is what has made me a bit nervous.
n

 

[French jurist]

I'm not a computer geek myself but know them quite well :

- bl135.login.live --> this seems normal (the "bl135" part is the hotmail server used for your mail).
- Macs are less the victims of viruses than PCs (by far)

Do you have a firewall installed ? Do you use a router (is it password protected with a solid key/encryption ?), did you scan your PC with an antivirus ?

There are quite a few MAC specialists on the forum.

 

[Canick]

Im still certain I am being hacked, especially my email addresses. it began again over the last few days and sadly i'm certain of who it is, but can't do anything about it.

I am looking for someone who is hacker/privacy issues savvy, whom i can PAY to come and secure my computer and emails. i'm not sure i have done even the basics to protect myself, except change my password again. I am not computer savvy at all and need help.
please PM if you are interested (and qualified) and i can give you more details,
thanks
n

 

[FerLiu]

Hey there Canick, try rechecking the automatic date box in your MAC.

If it doesn't help, check out this webpage for solutions: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2537287?start=15&tstart=0

I don't think that you're being hacked. The worst situation would be a malware or a trojan, which I highly doubt so if you haven't downloaded anything.

Good luck with that

 

[Canick]

Hey there Canick, try rechecking the automatic date box in your MAC.

If it doesn't help, check out this webpage for solutions: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2537287?start=15&tstart=0

I don't think that you're being hacked. The worst situation would be a malware or a trojan, which I highly doubt so if you haven't downloaded anything.

Good luck with that

@FerLiu. thanks for the reply. this is a situation where someone is specifically targeting me and trying to gain entry to my data. I know who it is (as i mentioned), but can't do anything to protect myself.

 

[jp]

Yeah, make sure you have the correct time and date. If your clock is set wrong, the security certificates each website issues will show up as invalid

 

[davonz]

I am not a mac person... but i do know network security etc...

bl135.login.live.com (as is bl135.login.live) doesnt exist - if i type it in my web browers server not found error comes up - for me http://bl142w.blu142.mail.live.com does exist... so it could be that someone/thing has modified your host file, which can point to a fake website to harvest passwords etc when you type in bl135.login.live.com or whatever it is, then redirect you to the real website..

You dont need to download anything to get a trojan or malware, just visit a website that is infected and it will install it for you without you knowing if your web browser security settings are weak..

And dont believe what they say about mac's not getting infected with viruses etc.. because they have become more popular the number of infections have been increasing, and apple is far worse than MS at fixing problems or admitting there is a problem..

If you backup your data and reinstall OSX with a format it will clean out anything..

 

[FerLiu]

I am not a mac person... but i do know network security etc...

bl135.login.live.com (as is bl135.login.live) doesnt exist - if i type it in my web browers server not found error comes up - for me http://bl142w.blu142.mail.live.com does exist... so it could be that someone/thing has modified your host file, which can point to a fake website to harvest passwords etc when you type in bl135.login.live.com or whatever it is, then redirect you to the real website..

You dont need to download anything to get a trojan or malware, just visit a website that is infected and it will install it for you without you knowing if your web browser security settings are weak..

And dont believe what they say about mac's not getting infected with viruses etc.. because they have become more popular the number of infections have been increasing, and apple is far worse than MS at fixing problems or admitting there is a problem..

If you backup your data and reinstall OSX with a format it will clean out anything..

Well, thing is that OP didn't visit any webpage, according to the description provided, it started to mess up by itself after leaving the computer for a while...