Blocking eavesdroppers, if real

[tuka Katana]

Apparently someone on our sim answered a communication made to someone else in IM.  I suppose it COULD have been copied/pasted to them, but it's unlikely.  The 3rd party themselves said they had a "hud" that allowed eavesdropping but normally didn't have the feature turned on.  Logically, if the IM can pass between 2 people, it could be intercepted as well, and new platform features full of increasingly spagettish code mean potential new loopholes.

So, and likely not the first time asked, is it possible to eavesdrop on IMs and how the heck do you block the ability if so?  I don't care how to do it, I want to know if it can be blocked!

[Rolig Loon]

No, it's not possible to eavesdrop on an IM.  IM communication is on a channel that we do not have access to with any scripting tools.  If someone claims to have such a device, they are pulling your leg.  The only way someone can have a transcript of IM chat that was not directed to them is if one of the people in the conversation cut & pasted it, against TOS.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

Just to clarify on Rolig's excellent answer... "Private IM's" are very secure.

IM's in open chat are easily eavesdropped on by listen devices left on a parcel and/or pushed into the parcel within the range of the two people having the conversation.

The "advertised" Eavesdropping HUDs are simply channel scanners that randomly look for communication messages on the public open channels. Private IM's do not utilize these. BTW - Those Eavesdropping HUDs eat a lot of Region CPU & Memory resources when randomly issuing listen requests to try to see if anything is chatting on the open communication  message channels. These channels are usually used for "script to script" conversations.

[Lindal Kidd]

I concur with KarenMichelle and Rolig.  IMs can not be eavesdropped on.

I have had many people claim otherwise.  I always offer to pay them $100 USD if they can intercept an IM between me and my alt.  (That way I KNOW nobody is sharing logs!)

So far, nobody has claimed the prize.