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42% of Web Users Sneak Onto Others' Online Accounts
An anonymous reader writes "In an online survey, 42 percent of Internet users admitted to logging into other people's email and social networking accounts without their knowledge. The poll doesn't ask if passwords were found, granted, or stolen — which would make for further interesting results. The write-up summarizing the results defines the respondents as part of an "educated tech-readership" and questions the ethics of logging onto someone else's account, and whether those differ depending on the person and relationship."
I knew this chick who got her boyfriend's password by looking over his shoulder. She used it well after their relationship ended, out of some mix of jealousy, spite, and hope that they'd be together again. She would make letters from other girls disappear, know when to make inconvenient calls/appearances, and whatever else it is that a manipulative, batshit insane, ex-girlfriend does. It was pretty funny. Point is, I suspect most breaches of passwords are of this sort of nature rather than really sensitive commercial stuff, so it's all lulz and it's all good.
does bugmenot count?
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Like all surveys that want to portray a 'shocking' result, it all comes down to the wording of the questions. It is very easy to get a respondent to tick yes on a question that asks "do you log in to other people's accounts" by first baiting them with a whole bunch of rubbish like "do you help others with their IT issues" and so on.
Without the actual survey, the results are, in my opinion, just as good as made up.
Dan. -- So what if it's spelt wrong, nobody's perfect
According to YOU . I don't give my passwords out to anyone. I catch anyone using one of my accounts I will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
You may not value your privacy, but it is a little bit arrogant and presumptive to assign the same value to everyone else's privacy.
I actually caught a previous girlfriend cheating once by using a packet sniffer!
I was living with her and things went all wonky (no sex, she started crying all the time, etc.). One day she went to visit her 'friend' who was flying in, he'd only be on a six hour layover and she was going to keep him company. This is no big deal to me, since I would be expected to be able to do the same.
Long story short, I was learning Wireshark at the time, and was already logging all sorts of traffic from common protocols (DHCP, WINS, AIM, etc.) at the gateway just for fun. A week later when I was going over the logs, now with a bit of curiosity since she was acting very -odd- after her return from the airport, I saw that she started an IM session with her best friend as soon as she got back from her visit. The contents included details on some kissing, and a plan to 'stick with this guy until the other guy is heading out again in six months, then leave with him'.
That relationship ended that night.
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Heh. I've never caught anyone cheating on *me* that way, but I did once use the ULOG target of iptables to help a former roommate catch her boyfriend in adult chatrooms on Yahoo. He was impersonating a black man with an 18-inch penis, and fantasizing about simultaneous penetrating pregnant woman and her unborn fetus, with lethal results for the fetus.
I needed to wash my brain out with bleach after that one. Amazingly, she stayed with him two more years.