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Some days I could just cry.
I get a LOT of questions submitted to Ask Leo either in the form of comments on specific articles, or as questions submitted using the ask-a-question form. Many more questions every day than I could ever hope to answer. But I do read them all.
And reading them all is getting really depressing.
I estimate that somewhere between a quarter and a half of all questions asked are attempts to deceive, steal, hack or hide from the repercussions of questionable activity.
Not a day goes by that I don't get a ton of "please recover my password" requests. Some may be legit I suppose, but many are blatant or poorly-disguised attempts to get me to supply a password into someone else's account.
Not a day goes by that I don't get stories of accounts actually being hacked, and vicious email or IM's being sent to everyone in the hacked account's address book.
Not a day goes by that I don't get a request from someone attempting to recover an instant messaging conversation. Sometimes it's their own, but more often than not they're quite up front about wanting to hack into a girlfriend's, boyfriend's or spouse's IM history because they suspect that they're being cheated on.
I've spoken about IP tracing before as well. Another all-to-frequent request is a variation of "can I track down this person by their IP address", or its counterpart, "can I be traced by my IP address". In either case, you know there's something going on.
And the one that still causes my jaw to drop every time I get it is the repeated request for software activation codes. Apparently some folks think that activating software illegally is there for the asking, and I'll dole it out.
Some are blatant, some are poorly veiled attempts to deceive me, and others look very, very legitimate. Some are adults but many are kids with more time than honesty.
But so many are just so ... wrong. And no, I don't answer them.
There are just so many people trying to do so much that's unethical, I sometimes despair for internet, and even humanity, for what it all represents.
Some days I could just cry.
I'd love to hear what you think. Visit askleo.info, and enter 9825 in the go to article number box. Leave a comment, I still read them all.
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Article C2557 - February 14, 2006 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
March 10, 2009 3:01 PM
I need to crack a web site called ask-Leo and was wondering if you could help me? I intend to steal his Latte money (although I wouldn't drink that kind of thing).
Leo, I for one appreciate an honest man/woman. People like you are very high on my "trusted" list. Thank you.
I cried when Dick Nixon was exposed as a liar. Up 'til then I had always accepted that my President would not lie to me. Adulthood is a b**ch.
I'm suspicious enough not to open that email that says I won $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
However, I am concerned that you aren't getting enough legit q's, so: How do I deceive, steal, hack or hide from the repercussions of questionable activity?
March 19, 2009 11:25 PM
I know exactly what you mean because I have the knowledge but do not have a degree i am considered the Hacker to everyone I know and they ask stupid things like that to me too.I was even ask why I am legally attending a college now after 20 years, so brother you are not alone.It does not even seem to matter that I am bonded for a local security firm I constantly get the 'well can't you get this or that for free for me' or 'get into this or that account'.
I have thought if they would put as much time and energy into learning how to do what I do then they would have a better appreciation maybe but I guess that is why we know what we do SELF DISCIPLINE and MORALS.That is a good thing because the constant nagging creates stress as defined by the Marine Corp.... The overwhelming urge to choke the snot out of a soul and your brain says no while your muscle fibers slowly try to override !
So my heart goes out to you.
May 25, 2009 4:21 PM
When we speak about Ethics, we are referring to right conduct. But whose conduct? By whose standards? Yesterday an "X-rated" movie is a "PG-Rated" movie today. Once, I was called "Sir" or "Mr". Today I am called "Bro" or "dude". I hear phrases such as, "Hay man, he is really 'bad'." But today's interpretation is quite the opposite, believing that bad represents good and good, bad. All of these examples find us imperceptibly changing---the world's acceptance of its behavior has no plumb bob of righteousness. The standard of excellence, the standard of what is right in the heart has always been changing. We believe what our itching ears want to hear, and if a little bit of light gets on us, we slink down into the chair for fear that it might expose the darkness of our hearts. We polish up our shoes in the hope that no one knows where we've been. We candy-coat our lives with lies and false pretenses and deceit we are unaware of. We nod our heads and continue reading the morning paper, sticking our forks into our plates, and wiping our faces satisfied that everything is wonderful. But little do we know that we are next to open graves, oblivious. Right conduct is only a concept, and we have lost an awareness of what responsibility and accountability are---that we are indeed our brother's keeper who watches out for one another. We have lost sight of a standard of what is right and wrong, and turn our heads as if one never existed. And our own history that we are making each day finds us unable to mock what we have done, for we are reaping what we sow.
What ethics? It is a word without meaning to most, choosing to veil the world mirror so that it does not have to torment over what it has done to itself. We would do well to cry, and hope that we are heard.
June 13, 2009 9:13 AM
It does seem that morals and ethics are losing ground, but the internet has made it easy for people to make comments anonymously, saying things that they would never say to a person's face (they might get punched in the mouth; no one likes pain!) There are always people who are cons, manipulative, sleazy, criminals, drunks, addicts, abusive, jealous of your success, etc. Avoid them!
June 17, 2009 7:29 AM
With all respect to Dave, if you believe that humans have evolved over millions of years,and if after all that time man hasn't suddenly become "good," then surely a few more eons won't make it so.