I suspect my Mac Pro has been hacked remotely. How can I verify this?

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I suspect my Mac Pro has been hacked remotely. How can I verify this?

As of a couple of days ago, my Mac Pro - late 2013 cylinder - has had the incorrect keyboard layout, but the layout was never quite right from the get go. When initializing this keyboard, the correct layout never appeared. I never got a visual representing an extended layout with numeric keys to the right. But as of a couple of days ago the 4 available English keyboard layouts have changed and are all the same and incorrect. QWERTY keys all correct but no shift options with the numbers and the @ key is to the right of P. I have two other Macs which Ive been using the past couple of weeks while this Mac Pro laid idle, turned on with a wired connection to my LAN. I've not downloaded any questionable items nor clicked on links in email etc. The computer has been restarted twice two days ago due to local power outages and the keyboard issue has remained.

My two questions are:

How can I verify if the Mac Pro running Monterey 12.7.5 has been hacked?

How can I get the correct keyboard layout to be an available options?

Side notes - In case it matters:

Ive not explored my OS update options, if any. Mainly due to my last OS update being a nightmare and a half due to an upgrade installed by OTW which derailed the update process requiring flash drives be shipped back and forth - yes drives multiple and upgrade would be in quotes if the correct keyboard layout were avail and this would be in parenthesis as well.
The keyboard Im currently using is a Gaming backlit old school push key style with a USB/Bluetooth dongle plugged into the Mac. Due to the fact Ive consistently experienced keyboard issues with apple keyboards. Either they die prematurely or won't reconnect after installing fresh batteries... its always something. I pref a backlit but the Bluetooth non Apple backlit I purchased doesn't get recognized after comp restart so I cant even enter my passcode to login then attempt to re-pair. Ive a newer Apple rechargeable keyboard paired with my Mac Studio and have had no issues. Other than this layout issue, which I don't think is a result of the keyboard itself, this goofy rainbow lit Gaming keyboard has consistently remained connected, functional and issue free compared to my past Apple keyboards.
In case its not obvious, Im also unable to locate the apostrophe on this whacked keyboard layout.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mac Pro, macOS 12.7

Posted on Oct 16, 2024 2:22 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 16, 2024 7:29 AM in response to dichotomous1

<< How can I verify if the Mac Pro running Monterey 12.7.5 has been hacked? >>

You need to step back and think deeply about that question.

if there were an automated way to definitively decide that your computer had been hacked, that means a definite path to get it hacked. That has already been blocked many times over.

Your Mac uses a separate, crypto-locked system Volume that is not writeable, and if it changes, you are immediately notified. NOTHING can become executable unless you provide your admin password to "make it so."

Your Mac Has not been hacked. There are several reasons for someone to hack it. By far the most common is to steal your credit card or bank account. Another is to add it to a botnet, at which point performance would drop precipitously. Another is so that they could laugh at you. Since no money seems to be missing and no one can see if you are flummoxed to laugh at you, I conclude your problems are caused by computer malfunctions, not hacking.

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