I've been spied on. How could this have been done? Read details please.?

Question

Okay, I've been spied on by someone. He found out my friend list, who i've been chatting with, what chats I've been having, who I've been webcamming with, whether or not I'm invisible. I thought it was a spy program but I downloaded Yahoo Antispy (with latest updates) and nothing showed up. How could he have done this? What kind of effort and expense did he have to put out to do this?

Answer 1

There are some tools out there that allow you to hack Yahoo! Messenger, so long as you know the user name of the person who is using the program.



Anti-spy and similar programs can't stop it, because the program intercedes itself between your computer and Yahoo! in order to work.



How it works:



1. Jerk starts spy program and guides it to look for you.



2. Spy program polls server to find out if you are on.



3. If you are, spy program intercepts certain communications between Messenger and Yahoo!, to figure out what you are doing.



4. Spy program, via combination of eavesdropping, impersonating you, impersonating the server and / or the Messenger program of the person you are speaking / camming with, etc., allows Jerk to basically see and hear everything you do.



All this is possible because Messenger does not encrypt the data it sends back and forth, and was not written with client-to-server security in mind. Everything you do is sent in the clear, and can be intercepted; from there, it's easy to bypass your settings, etc., if you know how the program works, because everything -- your cam, your friends list, etc. -- are not secure.



Your best bet is to immediately change your chat user name. However, since he has your friends list, Jerk could just start eavesdropping on them, waiting for you to show up, and get your new ID.



The other alternative: What he is doing is illegal, period. It's called wiretapping and it's a federal crime in the US (unless you work for the NSA, but let's not get sidetracked). It's also a crime in England or any other Western nation, and even if it wasn't, it's still illegal in the US.



You should report him to the FBI. You can also contact Scotland Yard.



http://www.ic3.gov/



http://www.online.police.uk/english/default.asp

Answer 2

There are numerous ways that this could have happened.



If you are using a wireless Internet connection, then he could hypothetically be connected to your personal WiFi network, and access information about your computer. He could use that information to steal information and web history about you. Go to "Network Connections" under Control Panel, then right click your wireless network and press "properties". Click the Advanced tab and uncheck the "Allow others to access this connection". Also, up your Windows Firewall settings to very secure.



This man might have what's known as a "keylogger", which records every keystroke you make, so he would know all your passwords. That would explain the IM thing. Download and install Antivir XP from http://www.majorgeeks.com



You can also buy specialized programs for this. Scan and wipe anything suspicious from your system.



This guy could also be doing things the old fashioned way...that is, looking over your shoulder in an Internet Café or something. Make sure you know who's around you.



After checking for keyloggers and such, you need to change all your passwords. Then you need to lodge a formal report with the police department. If you think you're in danger (aka stalkers), then say so.



If you can't find any malware, take it to professionals at computer stores and pay the money to find it. Your saftey is on the line here.



If you do find out who this person is, then lodge a complaint as well with the FBI's Internet Crime Center: http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/



If he's using keyloggers, that is a CRIME. Get help soon.



Best of luck to you,

The Wise One

Answer 3

I see a pattern. From what you are saying it seems this "someone" knew everything what you were doing in Yahoo Messenger? If so then this tells me he probably had access to your Yahoo Messenger log files on that computer. Those log files are stored on your system and usually are in readable text format. The only question is, does this someone have access to your computer directly (meaning, can has he used your computer)? Because if he has the all he had to do was go into your Yahoo Messenger folder and copy the log files and read them to know exactly who you were talking to and what you guys were doing (e.g. webcamming, etc). Another possiblity is he used has a program that is sitting on your computer that captures this log file and sends it to him. And finally the other possiblity is a keylogger. Since you mention a bunch of things about Messenger it sounds to me he just got access to your log files.



** Another possiblity though is he just asked your friend who knew all the details what you were doing OR got access to her log files.

Answer 4

If you use Remote Assistance this could be it. And spies are hackers. Hackers are very smart with computers and can make software that won't show up on Virus filters. There are about 1000 new viruses every day and not all are found. Do you transfer files with your friends? Because your friend could be betraying you or your friend could be a fraud and is actually a hacker. In your files could be viruses as they don't show up as they are only about 1 byte.

Answer 5

Did he use the same computer and have logging message archiving turned on? There are invisible checkers. Those are easy. Yahoo should make invible more effective by not allowing information from theirs servers that some invisible user is online.

Answer 6

It's most likely that he has hacked into your computer and installed a keylogger to record all your key types, by doing this he will have gained access to your usernames and passwords. Greater effort will have been needed to actually hack into your machine though. To remove spyware more efficiently, try downloading Spybot- Search and Destroy, free at www.download.com

Answer 7

If I had been spyed, I must think first "why", and turn this point soon as possible... anyone that could spy this effective way is toooooooooo powerfull.

Better to be running away, think which activity do you realize that could be dangerous to someone powerfull.

Yours from Uruguay/south America

Answer 8

I agree with one of the other answers - Get the Spybot Search & Destroy. I have it and besides being a free and updateable download - it works great. The next thing that you'll have to do is go and change ALL of your passwords. Sorry, but it has to be done. Before he changes them and locks you out of your links. Sorry to hear that this happened to you my friend.

Answer 9

He could have figured out your password. You should change it frequently and not use common words.

There are also free sites and programs which, as long as you're visible to at least one friend, will tell someone if you're hiding from them by going into Stealth Mode (a common one is at http://www.block-checker.com/ )

try also using another spy-ware scanner like Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ )

When all fails, report him for abuse to Yahoo or to which ever service you're using.



Hope that helps.

Answer 10

Do you have firewall running in your system? If not then I would suggest keep running a firewall on your system at all the time when you are on internet. Hope this helps

Answer 11

He has stolen your password. First change it. THEN, agree to meet him at a public park in order to hook him up with an under aged girlfriend/daughter. (Illegal.) Or, fake that you are under age yourself and want to meet him. Call the police and arrange for them to nab him when you go to meet him.

Answer 12

Try "housecall.trend micro.com to check for spy ware, etc. it's also free.

Answer 13

you might be being watched by a camera or even a bug.



move your computer station , dont keep paper notes.

Answer 14

Maybe he found out your password.