Antivirus / possible hack / random error help

Tech Support
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My Dad asked me for some advice today and I didn’t have a good answer.

Background: He was traveling and used hotel wifi this weekend. When he got home his MacBook Pro was really hot and when he opened it there were 10-15 copies of the same document he had been working on trying to save including one that had a word changed. He got worried about hackers and a possible key logger on his computer. I think it was probably some error that kept the computer on and the changes were due to the keyboard still working while closed in his bag but looking for suggestions of antivirus software, particularly ones that look for key loggers, and/or possible ideas of what could have happened. Bonus points if I can install, check his computer, then uninstall easily. The part that bugs me on the possible hack side is the word changed. Thanks in advance!

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The best free one that I can think of is MalwareBytes.

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You can run MalwareAntibytes but this reminded me of a client I had years ago with a similar story. In her case, her Mighty Mouse (remember those?) wasn’t off. It’s wake her laptop up in her bag and fire all sorts of things. My guess is the laptop didn’t go to sleep, or woke up, and chaos ensued. It’s way way more likely than a bad actor. Almost every single piece of malware for macOS is “adware” that changes things like your browser search engine to show you more ads online.

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+1 for malwarebytes, I also run Sophos home, but that’s more so I don’t send on any windows virusses in email attachments to windows people by accident.

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Recently my mom had some problem with her Mac and used ClamXav which detected some malware. I recommended 2 free apps that are better and faster. Both apps shut off some automatic protection after a few days of free trial, which has not been a problem for me - I just run the apps once a month (or longer)…

(1)

Avast Security for Mac - free version

General info: https://www.avast.com/free-mac-security
Download free version: http://bit.ly/2BRiA7C

Review #1: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/avast-free-antivirus-mac,review-2342.html
Review #2: https://www.macworld.com/article/3265734/software-security/avast-security-pro-for-mac-review.html

The free version doesn’t protect against ransomware, nor does it do real-time scanning. (Pro version is $60/year[!] and up for add-ons - NOT recommended)

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Malwarebytes

General info: https://www.malwarebytes.com/
Download: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac-download/

Review #1: https://9to5mac.com/2018/02/28/malwarebytes-best-antivirus-malware-app-for-mac/
Review #2: https://www.criticthoughts.com/security/malwarebytes-anti-malware-review/

The Get Trial button is featured prominently on the Malwarebytes website, and when you click on it, you’ll be led directly to a download page. The page will try to upsell you to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium, which is a full-fledged antivirus program that costs at least $40/year. IGNORE THAT and click on the Download button at the bottom of the screen.

The main Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free user interface — the Dashboard — displays a series of horizontal bars, each of which delivers a different type of information. In the top bar are tabs indicating the main features: Dashboard, Scan, Settings and History. At the end of this bar are two links urging users to create Malwarebytes user accounts and upgrade to the Premium version.

(IGNORE THEIR SALES PITCH)

Unlike the premium version, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware does not let users schedule scans, so you’ll have to manually open the program and click the Scan button each time you want to check for malware.

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Wow! Thanks for all the info and taking the time to send all that. I’ll try this out tomorrow!