Comments for Can someone I'm IM'ing with see my machine or hard disk?

Comment from Jennifer on 2010-01-16

2010-01-16T13:11:39Z

Someone is reading my IM's while they are logged off and are telling me everything I am saying to someone else. They are doing this with my emails as well. What do I do to fix the problem.

Make sure your machine is spyware free, make sure there's no monitoring software (parental or otherwise) installed, make sure your internet connection is secure (particularly if you're using wireless), and make sure your account is secure and that only you have access.

16-Jan-2010

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Comment from Gabe on 2009-12-22

2009-12-22T20:48:53Z

An important side note...I fell for this one...it's quite possible to be spammed through IM's...please read on.

I'm an IT guy and my friend is also an IT guy. While chatting about something technical in Google Talk, we were sending each other links. We also routinely make fun of very bad English (aka "Engrish"). This particular day, in the midst of our tech chat, I get a message through Google Talk from him, it's written in very bad "Engrish" and it has a link. Thinking my friend is just being goofy, I clicked the link and it took me to a very strange web page. I looked around on that page and then replied in Google Talk to my friend, "What is this?" At that point, he was completely confused how that message was sent to me because he DID NOT SEND IT. This is a close friend and I trust he was just as confused as I was. Our conversation was somehow hijacked and this simple spam message and link were inserted into it. I got off lucky because it did not ask me to "log in". If it had been a Google-style login, I very possibly would have tried logging in because again, it was a perceived good link from a trusted friend. He and I both reported this too Google on a message board along with many others...so apparently I'm not the only victim of this sort of thing.

Scary. Every link in IM needs to be viewed with skepticism.

23-Dec-2009

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Comment from Kathy C on 2009-12-22

2009-12-22T18:21:14Z

Since he mentions this is an "old flame", isn't it more likely that at one time he accessed his IM account on her computer and it saved his password? My current boyfriend told me once that he had used his ex's pc and when the pop-up window came up to remember the password, he accidentally clicked yes. I suggest this guy change his password and see if the strange conversations stop.

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Comment from Mark B on 2009-12-22

2009-12-22T17:23:49Z

Given the following comment -- "I wonder at her occasional conversations if indeed she could be snooping such as in My Pictures folders" -- could he perhaps be set up to share pictures with the other person? (see also http://help.live.com/help.aspx?mkt=en-us&project=WL_Messengerv9&querytype=keyword&query=nogol)

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Comment from Ken B on 2009-12-18

2009-12-18T21:16:30Z

Mark:

However, most viruses I've received were from trusted friends whose email program had been hijacked by a trojan.

We recently had a client call us for exactly that reason. She kept getting complaints from her friends, wondering why she was sending all these porn e-mails. It turned out her computer was infected with a program that harvested her address book and spammed to it. (Fortunately, it appears that it didn't forward the address book back to the "real" spammer, as cleaning her system stopped the e-mails.)

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Comment from Mark on 2009-12-18

2009-12-18T11:43:20Z

I agree with everything you said. A word to the wise is sufficient but most people need a longer explanation. You said
never accept a file transfer that you don't expect, or don't completely trust. There are viruses that routinely propagate by using file transfers to trick you into downloading something that's not at all what it would seem.
That is 100% correct but some people might not understand what that means and feel safe in running an attachment sent by a trusted friend. However, most viruses I've received were from trusted friends whose email program had been hijacked by a trojan. I actually ran the first one thinking it was a program sent by a friend. So I would take the warning one step further. Don't run any email attachments unless the sender specifically contacted you and told you they were sending this progam, otherwise it might be sent from their computer without their knowledge.

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A comment on: Can someone I'm IM'ing with see my machine or hard disk?

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Comment from Andy on 2009-12-17

2009-12-18T01:53:21Z

Thanks Leo! Now that is what I call a solid answer. Thank you! The IP does not concern me as I am not worried at all about anyone knowing the area I live in as myspace displays that anyway. This indeed answered my question quite thoroughly/

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A comment on: Can someone I'm IM'ing with see my machine or hard disk?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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