View Full Version : Have you heard of this?
I got this message from a member at the writer's site. Has anyone heard of this happening?
***
I am writing to a few of the women on this site to let you know that I obtained a stalker/s somewhere, either here or on ***. These guys have taken over my computer basically with spyware. They have managed to reverse my audio so they can actually listen to what is going on in my house.
I have obtained some advice and this is certainly possible. I know they are doing this as a number of stories on *** have had information in them which could only have come from my conversations. As I live over here I am not too disconcerted as anyone who wants to know about my boring life, must be beyond boring and it isn't hurting me.
Anyway I just thought I would warn people by posting a non-fiction story about the subject. Could you and ***** keep it to the top of the list for a few days with some comments. I have asked a forensic psychiatrist and he says they aren't dangerous, just silly, so that is something.
cgrabe
10-29-2004, 8:50 AM
At the worst, it's probably just something like NetBus, Back Oriface, etc., etc. There are a variety of programs that will allow you to do pretty much anything to a computer that you could do if you sat down in front of it. That includes monitoring and sending text, starting or closing programs, browsing the file system and registry, taking screen shots, listening on the mic, and capturing images from a webcam if present. It's just a matter of tricking her into running a small program that doesn't appear to do anything. They're all pretty easily defeated by antivirus though. She shouldn't have much trouble with it if she springs $30 for decent antivirus software and keeps it updated. A full system scan is in order.
I'll pass that along to her. But the thing that I question, is it possible to turn a speaker into a microphone?
Lila
happychem
10-29-2004, 9:16 AM
Not that I'm aware of. A speaker uses electrical impulses to run an electromagnet. The electromagnet slides another magnet back an forth to create sound waves. I'm not too sure on the inner workings of a microphone, I suspect that it has some form of diaphragm that compresses with sound and generates a change in current, complete guess.
In any case, the two are mutually exclusive. In more practicality, if it were doable, speaker-mics would be common instead of having to get both.
dwayne
10-29-2004, 9:17 AM
According to the IT personnel here in my office, it is entirely NOT possible to turn a speaker into a microphone... Ditto cgrabe, get some good anti-spyware software - spy-bot and ad aware are the best freebies.
Ayrianth
10-29-2004, 4:31 PM
The speaker cannot be turned into a mic BUT if she has a mic plugged into her PC, someone who has hacked her PC can turn it on.
Spyware by nature does not allow someone to take control of your PC. It's purpose is to collect data about your web habits and tidbits of info about your computer itself. This information is then sent to a third party usually for marketing purposes. This is not saying that all spyware is harmless as it can be bundled with a virus. Even if the spyware is virus free, it will often use CPU cycles, thus 'slowing down' your PC.
A virus on the other hand is designed to either modify files on your PC or to open a 'back door' to allow a hacker in at a later time. A virus is obviously much more dangerous than spyware.
Anyone on the internet today without anti-virus software installed is simply asking for trouble. If you want real security, purchase a router (external hardware) from a place like Best Buy and use it. It's as easy to hook up as your mouse or keyboard. :)
gonefishin
10-29-2004, 7:19 PM
Well I know a mic can be used as a speaker. Ive tried it myself and it works. not BOSE quality sound but you can hear music coming out. mabey I will try and let you know. My theory is, if it does work, it would need a high decible sould to get a reading.
Ayrianth
10-29-2004, 8:04 PM
Well I know a mic can be used as a speaker. Ive tried it myself and it works. not BOSE quality sound but you can hear music coming out. mabey I will try and let you know. My theory is, if it does work, it would need a high decible sould to get a reading.
A speaker, plugged into a speaker port cannot be used as a mic.
125gJoe
10-29-2004, 9:56 PM
....... But the thing that I question, is it possible to turn a speaker into a microphone?
LilaNot possible through a PC.
That person should be worried about the "baby monitor" that transmits on FM frequency, rather than the computer.... ;)
cgrabe
10-29-2004, 11:44 PM
That person should be worried about the "baby monitor" that transmits on FM frequency, rather than the computer.... ;)
Yeah, the neighbors have one of those :D Someone around here still has one of those old cordless phones that run somewhere around ~40MHz...I forget the exact frequency. They're pretty boring though.