When you know for a fact that something should only appear on your "wall" or "timeline" as they now call it, if and only if you were the one who put it there, wouldn't you almost have a heart attack when you see something you have no recollection of ever putting up there? Does it make it worse if the time that the something you have no recollection of putting up there ended up on your wall or timeline when you were positively sure you had no access to the internet?
The answers are yes, and yes. And that is how I spent my lunch time panicking over the fact that I may have been hacked, thanks to a friend who commented on the link I supposedly liked on my wall. I replied to my friend's comment, and told him I might have been hacked, then I updated my status update with something to do with my fear of being hacked. I changed my password and then went back and deleted the offending link I supposedly 'liked'. What if it was something that would infect your PC once you clicked it? I didn't want any of my friends clicking it and then, saying "Damn, TerraShield gave me a virus and now I have to reformat my PC!" Naturally, when it comes to having to reformat their PC, they will probably use words that are much worse than "damn".
Meanwhile another friend responded to find out what had occurred, and yet another friend e-mailed me and gave some really good advise on how to rescue my system from suspected malwares, spywares and keyloggers. With that in mind, I told myself that by hook or crook, I was going to flush out all the offenders from my laptop tonight.
I spoke to my sister later and told her how I suspected I had been hacked. She started laughing uncontrollably, and pointed out that our mother was the 'hacker'. Firstly, the link that I supposedly 'liked' looks like something my mom would read. Secondly, my mom uses my iPad to surf, and I must have forgotten to log off facebook on that device, and knowing how sensitive the touch screen is (embarrassing memories of accidentally clicking 'add as friend' on strangers comes to mind), it made perfect sense although this didn't occur to me at all - I had completely (and very inconveniently) forgotten about the iPad. I checked with my mom and she confirmed that she was online around 9-ish this morning and yes, she had been reading the article that I had 'liked'. I can't describe how relieved I was hearing that.
And now, we have a new funny story in the family. My mom, the unlikeliest hacker.
And now, we have a new funny story in the family. My mom, the unlikeliest hacker.
Hehe I thought it was going to turn out that you were just drunk or something. I have never been "fraped" as they call it, but my family do it to eachother all the time.
ReplyDeleteHa ha... definitely not drunk. I've never done it to my sister,, though although she always used to forget to log out when she used to use my laptop some time back.
DeleteWe have my mom's Facebook password, so we usually go online and invite people we think she may like (or not)... anyway, it's always hilarious to see her confused face wondering how she became friends with some people.
ReplyDeleteBeing hacked by strangers is not that funny though :(
LOL. You and your siblings sound like a mischievous bunch.
DeleteDefinitely agree that being hacked by a stranger is horrible.
hahahaha surely an unlikely hacker. At least you figured it out.
ReplyDeleteYup. After embarrassing myself first, though. Ha ha.
Deletea sweet story
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, it'll be something to share with future grandchildren - if they ever exist.
DeleteThat's quite a story. Who would've ever thought Moms could be hackers?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not me... she's usually careful about clicking stuff on the internet and I'm usually careful about logging out of facebook. I guess both of us weren't being careful this time around.
DeleteIt must've been one of those moments when you know for a fact that you're either in the twilight zone or there's something fishy going on.
DeleteAmusing tale! I'm guessing if it was indeed a 'hacker' it would have been a lot worse than just 'liking' a link - good thing it was just your mum.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I guess I just wasn't thinking at that time. And yeah, good thing it was just my mom. She was very surprised that such a thing could happen, though.
DeleteYour mom is just like Lisbeth Salander!
ReplyDeleteHaven't read "the girl who" series yet... but you've sure made me intrigued now. :)
Deletemy mom can never hack. she never touches anything electronic and that includes my touch-screen oven !
ReplyDeletehahaha
LOL. Actually, I think the iPad will be pretty good way to introduce the internet to people who are afraid of technology...
DeleteGood that it turned out to be nothing serious. I once logged onto the work email and on the yahoo home page clicked on a couple of articles. I didn't know it was logged into my ex's FB account and they showed up on his wall as article eh'd read!
ReplyDeleteHa ha... an almost similar occurrence. But at least you both realised what happened before your ex could scream 'hacker'?
DeleteHe wouldn't know to guess hacker. My ex is not particularly computer-savvy.
DeleteThat's not really hacking. It's more phishing than anything.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not even that.
Well, when you consider how easy it is to 'touch' (and therefore accidentally click) something on the iPad, it's inevitable. Only that when you receive a comment on a link you're sure you didn't 'like', you tend to panic and immediately assume the worst!
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