how to check for unauthorized processes?

[coredump]

hey everyone,

I'm wondering how I can check if any 'unauthorized' (i.e., logging, spyware, adware, etc.) processes are running on my Mac (OS X 10.4.6)? I'm fairly familiar with Unix, and know that a simple 'ps -A' will dump a bunch of procs to the screen ... but not sure which ones are supposed to be there, and which ones aren't...

Thanks in advance for the help!

-cd

 

[Heb1228]

You can open up Activity Monitor and select "All Processes" in the drop down menu. But you don't have to worry because there is no spyware for Mac OS X.

 

[coredump]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm guess I'm not too concerned about the spy/adware; mostly, just logger-type software. I've been having problems with my passwords lately, and I'm worried (maybe just paranoid), that a program on my computer may be monitoring keystrokes, data, etc.

I'm not typically this worried (esp., having recently switched from those wretched other boxes ), but I'm curious to know how I can figure out if a "suspicious" (i.e., has no business running) process is running on my system?
All the procs I saw in AM seem fine ... but I'm not sure of it.

Again, thanks!

-cd

 

[Heb1228]

Activity Monitor will do the trick. You also may want to disable admin privileges on your user account. That makes it more difficult for anyone else to make any changes unless they know your password. That way they can't modify your Applications folder or system prefs without actually typing in a password.