There has been some advice on here about installing keyloggers.

First, I have to say that I am 100% behind spying on a wayward spouse, and have to endorse with every fiber of my being the practice of doing this to confirm an affair, or renewed contact after d-day.

There is a limit, however, and one has to know that limit.

That limit is a LEGAL one.

For instance, installing a keylogger (or other such spyware) on a computer that belongs to a WS place of employment - and that is not personal property - while tempting, is not legal.

I am saying this because I have, just this week, been victimized by a person who has breached the security of my computer and office for a SECOND time this year. This security breach is in violation of Federal Law, not just a prank, not spying out of gossip, not even looking to see if I am in contact with a former affair partner.

Some jobs involve the security risk that might be extremely fragile for other people - not just the WS. For example, in my area, I have access to literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of social security numbers and vital statistics on people. I can access remote computers within the government that transfer money from one agency to another.

My records affect the lives of people right now, and actually affect them for years - involving their current financial state, future income, medical situations, and other data.

If someone were to breach this security (and they HAVE), they then have this access, and also access to literally millions of others' data as well.


One misplaced keylogger, one hacker that you might not have anticipated who follows you in the back door.

Two days ago, the lives of about 1,000 of the people I work with were affected.

Their data compromised, now stolen.


My computer has been confiscated from my office. The replacement........well.......the portal for Internet also compromised. So the replacement is also worthless.


I have very strong feelings about this - because the people I work with cannot fight against this. They place their trust in the government, in the system, to protect this data.

Remember the limits of the law when you do this - and the computer that you are spying on. There are legal implications to what you do, and if you had placed a keylogger on my computer, you would right now be on your way to federal prison.


Even if you were just my husband seeing if I was having an affair.


Even if you weren't the person who made the hacking attack and stole the data, and these were two completely separate issues. The keylogger would be enough to get that jail door slammed behind you.


Because that is the way the law works, at my job anyway. The feds don't take kindly to having their money looked at.

SB

SB, I am not making the connection here between a spouse placing a keylogger on your work laptop to read your emails/IM's and a hacker who hacks into your computer and steals the information on it. That is not what our betrayed spouses are doing here.

For example, I have had a keylogger on my H's WORK LAPTOP over the years. He also has some highly sensitive information on it. I wouldn't be able to access that via a keylogger - I would never see it. Nor would I want to, because my only interest was his emails and IM's.

Frankly, I would take the risk of going to jail if need be if I had to put a keylogger on my H's laptop in order to protect myself. Some may not take that risk and that is their choice, but I CAN AND WILL take that risk if need be.

I would add that I have never been caught in 10 years and I don't know anyone who HAS been caught.

Do they have any money? I thought it was MY money, actually.

The connection is this:

Were my husband to install a keylogger on my work computer, it would be a breach of state and federal security laws.

I receive emails, and type social security numbers, names, dates of birth, and private information all day on my work computer that is considered extremely private.

The keylogger alone would be a violation that would send him to jail.

Then, as I link over to other computers in the state and federal systems, he would read THOSE passwords as well, which increase the issue.

With the keylogger, if you add the hacker into the mix, the hacker now can also look back in time...via the keylogger...and have access to what I have done. Thus, gain access into some additional sensitive state/federal computers and financial systems for the government.

That keylogger my H might have placed to view my emails is not legal on my computer. He could do serious jail time - federal penitentiary time - for that keylogger on my work computer. There are some jobs that are not like other jobs, and that's why I said that people really need to consider this before they install a keylogger on certain work computers.

After my experience over the last two days, and the confiscation of two computers from my office, I can see how serious this could be.

Give it consideration - that's my message. Consider the computer your WS is working on, and what the consequences might be.

In my situation, right now, had my H installed a keylogger - he would be in jail today. They have, and still are, taking apart the events on my computer one at a time and analyzing things to determine every logon since back in September. Someone had physical access to the computer in order to install a particular thing initially - they already know that. So had my H installed a keylogger they would have come and found him as part of this whole mess.

It might be okay that nobody has been caught yet. In my computer's case, it would have lasted fine...until Wednesday. That's when an additional security breach occurred.

It might be worth it to some people. They just need to be aware of the risk.

SB

Gotcha. Thanks for outlining the risks. So if a person does decide to do it, which I would, they understand the risk.

Exactly.

Some jobs - well - less risk for hacking, really.

For some reason, this year, this is the second time someone has been in my cookies!

The other thing I don't like is that I knew someone had been coming in my office at night, and everyone kind of brushed me off as "paranoid". Now they completely understand that when I say, "Someone has been in my office overnight," they will actually BELIEVE ME.

I get the creeps just knowing this was an INSIDE JOB, too. I have to look at my coworkers' body language and see who the liar is. The bad thing is, we already have one person stealing, and now this. I know who the thief is (pretty sure), but this...I suppose they will track it.

SB

Mel,

Once the Feds have "your" money - it IS their money.

Truth be told - BEFORE you have "your" money, they already have YOUR MONEY!

That is really creepy! At my company we all take our laptops home with us every night. But I see problems with that too. They get stolen out of cars every so often.

I am so sorry this happened to you and hope they find the culprit!

I shall feed him poison cookies.

That's like War of the Worlds, right?



(Was that a really lame joke?)

Just to clarify, you are saying placing a keylogger on government computers is a breach of federal law, right? Not that placing a keylogger on all workplace computers, including for those of us who work in the private sector?