Mac Forums
HIGH RISKData breach — July 2016
In July 2016, the self-proclaimed "Ultimate Source For Your Mac" website Mac Forums suffered a data breach. The vBulletin-based system exposed over 326k usernames, email and IP addresses, dates of birth and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. The data was later discovered being traded on a popular hacking forum. Mac Forums did not respond when contacted about the incident via their contact us form.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the Mac Forums data breach?
In July 2016, the self-proclaimed "Ultimate Source For Your Mac" website Mac Forums suffered a data breach. The vBulletin-based system exposed over 326k usernames, email and IP addresses, dates of birth and passwords stored as salted MD5 hashes. The data was later discovered being traded on a popular hacking forum. Mac Forums did not respond when contacted about the incident via their contact us form.
The exposed data included 5 types of personal information. Because passwords were exposed, users who reused their password on other sites are at particular risk. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Mac Forums hacked?
Yes. Mac Forums was breached in July 2016. The breach exposed 326,714 records including dates of birth, email addresses, ip addresses. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the Mac Forums breach so dangerous?
The Mac Forums breach exposed 326,714 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of dates of birth, email addresses, ip addresses makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your Mac Forums password against hundreds of other websites. If you reused your password anywhere, those accounts are now at risk. Read more about what happens to your data after a breach.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the Mac Forums breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
IP addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the Mac Forums breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Mac Forums breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2016 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your Mac Forums password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the Mac Forums breach
Approximately 326,714 user records were exposed in the Mac Forums breach in July 2016.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Mac Forums password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full Mac Forums dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Mac Forums password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the Mac Forums breach?
The Mac Forums data breach affected approximately 326,714 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with Mac Forums or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the Mac Forums breach
Change your Mac Forums password immediately
Go to Mac Forums and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Mac Forums and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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