How was someone else able to control a library computer?

Perhaps the OP changed her question before I read it, but as it stands now there is no mention of passwords at all - the OP just wants to know how this has been happening.

Can I suggest you now remove your reply so other potential helpers are not dissuaded?

No, gechurch, my reply will stand...the OP is asking how to break the
security at the library's computer system...not "password" specifically,
but system security none the less. If the OP cannot or will not use a
search engine, of which there are several, to find the information then
it is not upon TR members to show them how to crack system security.
The other issue I have, they asked this same basic question twice.
Even ignoring the paranoid delusional aspects of this "question", it
has a smell of the darkside of system cracking. That is something that
the majority of TR members have decided NOT to assist.
Wizard57M
TR Moderator

Wizard if you would like to bring down the whip on suggestions to hack, than go after Slayer. He made a post that says word for word "Since it was originally posted on TR, it should be ok. If the Library has open wireless. Download firesheep for firefox and use it to monitor the network. Then steal your stalkers login credentials and mess with them for a bit." and a comment saying word for word "This whole thread is getting funny. Hack that library computer. Just like that girl in school, everyone has already done it at least once".
Ps: Please remember I am not attempting to engage in a flame war with any one.

As Moderator's, we still do not have the ability to lock a discussion; that is passed on to higher powers. We have to ability to flag and delete a discussion is need be; some discussions are flagged and passed onto others that make the decision on whether or not to lock it down.

Purpleskys
TR Moderator

Slayer I'll have you know that My Alter Ego is [b]All Powerful.[/b] But it relies on opening [b]Air Lock Doors [/b]behind you unexpectedly not deleting or locking threads. :p

Col

So, how can you draw a parallel from your friend surfing porn sites at a
public library and subsequently getting the computer locked down to the
OP's "situation" (which I feel is suspect, possibly delusional) of being
stalked by a former boyfriend or his hired hackers? Is that what you are
saying? Being stalked is the same as surfing porn?
Genius...admin??? Really? I'd have never guessed!! DUH!
Wizard57M
TR Moderator
and tempted to delete this entire thread as it is just too far out in
left field, non-believable.
Yes, I flagged your response, in case you were wondering.

What does this mean when you type, and I quote,
"But this stuff ACTUALLY HAPPENED, and I'd be grateful if you could help me understand HOW. Thanks in advance."
You asked HOW, did you not? You did not ask for help in preventing
stalking, nor for help in dealing with compromised library computers.
You asked for help in knowing HOW the computers were compromised,
and for those questions we have developed the standard response I
gave you, that TR members do not assist in cracking/hacking.
Wizard57M
TR Moderator

Hi Birchswinger,

I'm sorry to hear of your experience and can't begin to understand how upset you must have been.
It is very difficult for anyone to establish how this happened as so much time has passed since the event.
I feel it unfair that Wizard, who by the way is usually incredibly helpful to visitors here, referred to you as delusional and I'm sure his comment was not intended to offend. I'm no psychologist, but reading between the lines of your story these incidents have been keeping you awake at night for a long time. This really isn't right and it is time for you to draw a line under it and move on with life. Perhaps it's time you talked about your feelings by contacting a support group for people who have suffered from stalking. If one doesn't exist near you, your family Doctor may be able to refer you to a councilor who can listen and help you to get over this. You could maybe even be prescribed pills to take the edge off your worries.
There's nothing to be ashamed about when talking to a medical practitioner about this - I seem to recall some stats to suggest that 2/3 people need help at some point in their lifetime.
Don't let this A-hole ex wreck the rest of your life. If it is still worrying you, perhaps it is time to admit that you might have a problem, consider getting some help and begin looking forward to a life without torment.
I hope you don't take offence at my comment and, should you choose to take my advice, please do come back and let us know how you are.

So how would you personally approach dealing with Problem Questions?

The response submitted above was worked out by the TR Peers in an attempt to make a standard response which was neutral.

If you think that the response above was Rude you can contribute the the discussion on the Standard Response here.

www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/103-341154?tag=content;discussion-table

Of course the response that some used to use which involves driving a solid metal rod through a CRT Monitor while being protected by having several points of the body directly connected tot he Metal Rod being driven through a running CRT Monitor which results in Electrocution and death may be your idea of a suitable answer.

TR is supposed to be a place for TR Pros not for end users who come out with silly [i]I forgot my password so you have to tell me how I can break it[/i] demands.

On the whole we don't mind helping people but the reality is that some are just unbelievable and are treated as such by many TR Members. If that is Rude in your Eyes I would suggest that you are not a IT Professional and are a end user who would be better served by going elsewhere where [b]Jaded IT Professionals[/b] are not likely to call what is obviously the ramblings of a Mad-Person are considered as both [b]Common Place and Reasonable.[/b]

The reality is that People do not Cyber Stalk strangers and those who are stalked tend to bring it on themselves by their own actions.

Personally i would have deleted the entire thread but that's just me as I would expect to see many of the Regulars here have fun with the OP and feed their Paranoid Delusions. When you ask stupid unbelievable questions of Professionals you have to expect to be treated accordingly and if you don't expect to get called out for what you have posted on a [b]Public Forum[/b] you need much more help from Mental Health Professionals which simply can not be provided here nor should it be expected.

Remember the carry ons in things like Days of Our Lives is [b]Make Believe[/b] not [b]Real Life.[/b]

Col

@OH Smeg

Wow! Condesending much! These forums are a place to help people. If you want to use them to treat people like crap and call them names because they aren't "professional" enough for your elitist attitude then I'd suggest that you're the type of person we don't want here. Honestly, where do you get off?

"So how would you personally approach dealing with Problem Questions?"

Your question assumes that this is in fact a problem question. I'm all for not helping people hack here but that simply is not the case here. Anyone that interprets "can anyone help me understand how a stalker was doing this?" as "Please tell me the specific steps I need to take to hack into a computer system, even though I haven't even mentioned which OS the system is running" has problems if you ask me.

This whole thread is getting funny.

Hack that library computer.
Just like that girl in school, everyone has already done it at least once.

OK then [b]Me Bad[/b] as I posted the wrong link. The correct one is here

http://www.techrepublic .com/forum/discussions/102-248696-2392005
[i]remember to remove the space from between the [b]techrepublic[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a working link.[/i]

Feel free to contribute to that discussion and I can tell you that there will be no complaints about resurrecting a Zombie Thread from anyone here who moderates the site so go ahead and jump right in.

Unfortunately your Reading Comprehension is a Fail and you need to brush up on that one. I draw your attention to

[i]Wow! Condesending much! These forums are a place to help people. If you want to use them to treat people like crap and call them names because they aren't "professional" enough for your elitist attitude then I'd suggest that you're the type of person we don't want here. Honestly, where do you get off?[/i]

Care to post back with that is what i said or in any way implied as my personal belief? What I said actually was

[i]The response submitted above was worked out by the TR Peers in an attempt to make a standard response which was neutral.

If you think that the response above was Rude you can contribute the the discussion on the Standard Response here.[/i]

That in no way implies that is what I would have said it does most certainly say however it could happen and has happened in the past by some others who I did not mention.

I'm more than willing to engage in a conversation along these lines but you have to sit back dispassionately and read what was written not what you want to believe was written. ;)

If you really believe that there are no Jaded IT pros here may I ask what it is you are smoking and can I have some? I very well remember a discussion way back when a guy from South Africa made a post for workers to move to South Africa and the responses that got. About 6 months latter a company called Conical was started and while I can not prove that is the same person asking for staff to work there there has also not been any other new business started in the time frame so I believe that it's safe to add 2 + 2 and believe that the answer is 4.

You have to remember that [b]Nice[/b] is not normal on the Net and many people are downright [b]NASTY[/b] believing that they are safe from being discovered for who that they actually are.

What I did say above was that I honestly expected far worse that was given and if people where so upset that the should contribute to the Discussion that was had here to give a standard response that doesn't raise any hackles.

So I'll say it again feel free to participate in the discussion at the above link. :0

Col

I've got no issue with the standard response when applied correctly. But you'd have to be either genuinely idiotic (which clearly you are not), or deliberatly attempting to misdirect if you thought it was the standard response that I found rude, while ignoring your statements like:
* "obviously the ramblings of a Mad-Person"
* "Paranoid Delusions"
* "When you ask stupid unbelievable questions"
* "The reality is that People do not Cyber Stalk strangers and those who are stalked tend to bring it on themselves by their own actions"

Those things are all unfounded, uncalled for, and incredibly rude and condescending.

I'm sure there are plenty of jaded IT pro's here. So what? That means that no-one is allowed to come and ask questions here, because it might upset people that are already jaded?? Now who's dillusional. Perhaps you're one of those jaded IT professionals that don't like answering stupid questions. That's absolutely fine - don't answer! But being jaded is no reason to go around demeaning people you know nothing about. If you want to be unneccessarily rude to people you don't know in forums go join Slashdot or Youtube because you're right, this here is a place for professionals.

Well then I suppose you should read my post above as a question to the person who posted and not the the Original Poster which it was never intended for.

After all it was a reply to Cybergirl who specifically posted

[i]0
Votes +
- .I'll think twice in the future...
...before asking any questions on TR as a result of this thread. I agree the response by wizard57m-cnet is rude and insulting, not only to birchswinger, but to other TR responders as well.[/i]

The above was in no way aimed at the OP and I can not see how it could be interpreted that way either. but as you prefer to limit your responses to the following lets have a look see shall we?

[i]* "obviously the ramblings of a Mad-Person"
* "Paranoid Delusions"
* "When you ask stupid unbelievable questions"
* "The reality is that People do not Cyber Stalk strangers and those who are stalked tend to bring it on themselves by their own actions"[/i]

obviously the ramblings of a Mad-Person" was used this way

[b]If that is Rude in your Eyes I would suggest that you are not a IT Professional and are a end user who would be better served by going elsewhere where Jaded IT Professionals are not likely to call what is obviously the ramblings of a Mad-Person are considered as both Common Place and Reasonable.[/b]

So just how is that in any way directly directed at the OP here? I was suggesting that the person in question may not be a Thick Skinned IT professional who is constantly blamed for what doesn't work in the eyes of the people who want it to. It was not intended to in any way relate to the OP here but was aimed as a general question on [b]Questionable Content[/b] that does get posted on this Forum.

It is up to the people appointed as Moderators to remove posts like that and if anything it makes them more Jaded than they already where. Personally I deliberately refrained from posting a answer to the OP here because I felt the post was way too open and left too much room for abuse.

as for

[i]The reality is that People do not Cyber Stalk strangers and those who are stalked tend to bring it on themselves by their own actions"[/i]

Sorry but that is exactly what the AU Federal Police say and to all intents and purposes is correct. There are very few people who get stalked who do not know the person stalking them and of those who are stalked and do not know who the person is they mostly happen to be Celebrities who get No Hoper Losers fasting onto them as a means to improve their perceived shortcomings.

That to is in no way directed as the OP here and was posted in Response to a direct comment claiming that it was rude to say something.

Well unfortunately the fact of life is that most people who hide behind an Alases on the Net are more than Rude they are Downright Objectionable.

But to make you feel better if you like I can delete the entire thread as it's now gone beyond the bizarre.

[b]So would you like me to delete it?[/b]

Col

I don't know why but there is a line return after each word on a new line.
Making it very hard to read.

This is a sentence
This
is a sentence

Like that. Is it just me?

Isn't finding stuff by way of search engines fun...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_PkqW44mhU

Slayer you need to remember never to Google Google or you'll break the Internet.

[b]That's Very Important to Remember.[/b] :D

Col

Don't worry, we are embarrassed that you are a member.

:-) just kidding.

Thank you so much, Becca Alice, for coming to my defense here -- and to the defense of any non-geek who comes to this community seeking help/answers.Without a doubt many of the responders to my original post were nothing but kind, and tried in different (appropriate) ways to help me out, and for that I'm really grateful to all of you who did that here. As to the others, I hope that they'll give my question/my position some more consideration and conclude that they were hasty in being dismissive, or hostile, or whatever shoe fits some of the less friendly posts in this thread. I guess one of the things that I'd urge them to think about is that your basic smart geek-type is far less vulnerable to being messed with in the kind of ultra weird (albeit reality-based) scenario that I described above. They tend to have the smarts, the skills, the monetary and tech resources, etc. that would make messing with them a bad idea.

I'd also like to add that even if it appears very strongly that a newcomer to a place like TR is suffering from a terrible mental disease that has stripped them of sound judgment and perception --- if it appears overwhelmingly that that is the case, and certainly it may be at times --- well, that person would be someone in a state of immense suffering, and through no fault of their own. That would be a person living in what I picture as truly a sort of hell on earth, and someone who desperately needs to be shown some human kindness. And while I can appreciate the need to not have discussions dominated by someone who seems unable to perceive and interpret reality as well as most of us can, I think that it's a good idea to keep in mind the old Hippocratic idea of "First, do no harm" when responding to the concerns of people seeking guidance or help. Thanks again to all of you who have been so kind. I really do appreciate it.

It's like any other public forum. You have to filter it yourself, take the information you want, ignore the stuff you don't want.

I think of it this way.
If someone says a rude joke, even if not to you. Do you (A) yell at them for offending you or (B) ignore it and get on with your day.

Here is a blog post about someone that chose option (A).
https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/off-color-remarks-at-conference-result-in-two-developers-getting-fired/4872?tag=mantle_skin;content

well put Slayer_ ....thank you :) Most of us don't mean to come across as rude; we're just a little too blunt at times or it's been one of those days. No excuse, I know...

PurpleSkys
TR Moderator

Dang I just read that this happened 7 years ago.
Sorry, my advice was worthless.

Did you ever figure out who did it?

When you hit save in TR. It often doesn't refresh the page. But it does save.

But I do think you should check that computer for remote control software like VNC. It is usually in the taskbar by the clock. But you can use task manager to check what services are running.
You can also edit the windows firewall to block those things.
It's hard to explain how for every version of windows.
http://support.microsoft .com/kb/843090