Newbie's email and IM being spied on!

Thanks for the advice...so you think that the phone call to SBC and the fact that he said that there did not appear to be any malicious activity was good enough??

I explained my situation in detail to the guy, and he was a 2wire specialist. Only ports that were open were for a torrent site.

Thanks again

 

Have heard horror stories about torrents too. Do`t get me wrong, I use them but in a very limited manner and only while I am there to monitor. Just against my nature to intentionally leave open ports. Having said that, only time will tell if your problem is solved. Be aware of what you do, where and what you post on the net. Try to at least keep a mental note of correspondence, in particular which PC is used when sending them. If you have the problem again, this is the only way I can think of to narrow it down to the source.

 

Lateral thinking now!

Hi Mike!

Do something for me if you have a moment spare.

Start/Search/All files and folders Type in: .bat (include the dot)

Make sure you search in hidden files too.

Please post back your result.

Thanks.

David

 

Someone mentioned Occam's Razor a bit earlier, but I do not think that the most basic possibility has been mentioned yet. Occam's Razor generally refers to the thought that "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one." So let us list the possibilities you've addressed so far:

• You have come pretty close to confirming that your work network and computer are not the weak points, allowing someone remote access to your computer.
• You have confirmed that your home computer has not been tampered with, allowing outsiders remote access to your home computer.

Here are some more obvious possibilities, which I have not heard discussed previously...

1.) What about direct access to your computer at work when you are away from your desk or off-duty? Is your computer physically locked behind a securable office door that these other people do NOT have access to? Is the desktop daily login password protected?

2.) What about direct access to your home computer when you are at work? Assuming someone had a key to your home, how realistic is it that they could walk into your home and wake-up your computer and simply print-out the e-mails in question to your own printer? If there is no one else in your household, no alarm, and your home computer is not password protected, this seems like the most likely method of entrance...