Wake on network access (commonly known as Wake on Lan, WOL) enables your Mac to automatically start after a special prepared network package was sent to your Mac. While this is very comfortable for remote management or awaking network attached storage, from a security perspective this should be disabled.
Imagine your Mac is in sleep mode over night. An attacker starts your Mac and has the whole night time to attack your Mac before you are able to realize it. If you put your Mac in sleep mode or turn it off, you should be sure it does so.
How to fix it
macOS 10.11 – 14
- Go to “System Preferences” > “Energy Saver”
- Deselect “Wake for Ethernet network access” (Ethernet or network or Wi-Fi)
