Need help from a techie...I think someone has hacked into our computer

[KimR]

I can't figure out what is going on here. I periodically check my 11-year old DDs email (she knows I do this) for porn or anything else 'inappropriate'. I never found anything other than a few questionable links to 'joke' sites, but that's it. Then one day last week I went in and found over 250 porn messages. I immediately deleted them and informed her that she was not to go into her email until further notice. My guess is that she had signed up at various sites such as 'quiz your friends', joke sites, etc. and her addy had gotten out that way.

I decided to find some sort of email filter or set up another account for her. We've been busy and I hadn't had time to do anything about it. Then today I signed on under her name and found her IM buddy list was totally different, with categories such as "my ho's" and "potheads". And no, she hasn't found new 'buddies'. This was obviously the buddy list of a young guy, early teens or late twenties. Does anyone have any idea how this could have happened? Could someone have hacked into our computer (we have a cable modem)? I can't imagine someone would have hacked into it for the sole purpose of changing her buddy list, but what I'm thinking is that maybe that just inadvertently happened when someone was trying to do who-knows-what with our computer.

Kim

 

[SoonerKate]

It sounds to me like someone (a "friend", maybe?) got her AOL password somehow. All of that stuff can be changed just through signing on, without being on your computer.

 

[Gaspode]

Hiya,

A couple of things that might have happened....

* Certain sites can automatically add 'favourites' to your list and even programs to your start menu without you knowing it. Perhaps one could add to a buddy list?

* Sometimes when I am on AIM and MSN I get 'messages' inviting me to places or to chat from people I have never heard of (btw I think this is shocking, AIM and MSN shouldn't allow this, should only be from your buddy list but anyways I digress..) Perhaps your DD could have accidentally accepted invitations to add people to her list?

* DBF said that even an email which you may open (as you probably are well aware a lot of SPAM has innocent looking subjects to entice you into opening) can then alter the txt file (if this is how AIM works, we are not sure) which holds your buddies and categories

Not sure if any of these are the cause or whatever but perhaps the best thing to do is to set up parental controls or get some of the 'Cyber Nanny' software to stop this in the future?

Hope we helped!
Gaspode

 

[Gaspode]

Oops! Double Post

 

[MaryJ]

Do you have anti virus software and a firewall running? It's possible that your computer could have been hit by a trojan horse virus. A trojan horse will send passwords back to the origin so that someone could hack in and use your DD's screen name. This happened to our DD several years ago. Someone got her password and used her AOL screename to send out a bunch (over 1000!) porn emails. AOL does not allow such large bulk emails and shut down her account. We had to create a new screen name for her so that she could use AOL again. I would suggest running a virus scan to check for a trojan. We have a cable modem with a firewall and I get many pop ups warning me that someone is trying to access my system.

 

[KimR]

Well, I figured out what happened. I showed the list to my DD and she recognized it as her cousin's. Apparently he was over at the house and had logged on to his account from our computer. I He's only 14....after looking at some of the profiles, I thought it was the list of a boy in the 18 - 22 age bracket (I got mixed up in the original post - I meant late teens, early twenties). YIKES! I think I know more about my nephew now than I wanted to . They grow up way too fast.

Kim