Stalker ?

[Alysandra Ysabel]

I have a problem with someone following me.

I have changed my account and somehow this person knows it. I have no contact with anyone or any place from the other account. This person seems to be somehow tracking me even when I sign in to a friends account from my computer. How is this possible and is it illegal? Can I stop them? I filed an abuse report and I am waiting to hear back from them. I am really concerned about the security of my account and really my entire computer use. Please give me any info you have to resolve this problem. Thanks all !

[Chancellor Bayn]

I'm not offended by you, Unklebob. In fact, I admire your advice style and your reccomendations.

I understand sending a virus makes me look like a bad guy, but consider black hat/white hat hackers, they're usually guys with similar skills but with different morals. Black hats are the bad guys, and white hats are the good guys. Unlike black hats, I can at least say I use my skills for good and take down griefers and stalkers who pester me, or my friends. I don't take any real honor in it, but sometimes it's gotta be done to teach the other guy a lesson.

If they have more than one comp I know it won't stop them for long, but at least it'll make them pause before jumping right back into griefing/stalking/whatever.

I agree, to each their own. How about we agree to disagree?

Now, to get back on thread and not hijack...

Alysandra, if you ever need help to stop a stalker, IM me in-world (even if I'm not online, I'm 90% of the time around my e-mail so I'll get it, and I never have my IMs capped) and I'll see if I can't get my good friend, an estate owner, to give you a little sanctuary on my own rented land and/or his full sim.

Hope you get this guy stopped.

[Naerose Eiren]

Hi Unklebob

Now I feel like I'm stalking you through the blogs, but I'm really interested in this "look at" function.  I had a quick logon today (I also have a boring job with a bit of online freedom - LOL) and all I could see the "look at" thing doing is giving me cross-hairs so i can be more accurate with my selection beam.  Maybe I'm missing something, but any more information hugely appreciated.

[Merlynn Draken]

two more things: when you stream someone's music -- a dj or a club -- they can see your IP address. Be careful whose music you listen to. If you are transferring any prim objects to your new avi-- don't, unless you are positive you bought it and did not receive it as a gift as tracking scripts can be hidden inside,  named "bling' or something innocent.

[Unklebob Hotaling]

meh, feel free to stalk me, all that means is i'm in fine company.

inre further detail about that look-at thing - lmao, damned if i remember.  If I didn't write things down I'd forget to breath. Truth be told I wish nobody knew about this, heaven forbid I get caught pervcamming.  I've posted it as a question though so keep an eye on it  https://blogs.secondlife.com/message/33506#33506

[starhunter Gall]

Sounds like who ever it may be is monitoring your PC and not the Game itself,  a few things to do and try to rectify this problem

1)  delete SL a full uninstall and reinstall it.

2) do a search for trojans and spybots, and key loggers

3) try resetting your IP address.

[Naerose Eiren]

Thanks, Unklebob - I followed the thread and got it happening.   Useful, but also a little irritating with all those crosshairs in my face!  Oh well ... I'll just have to make sure I wear *all* parts of my clothing when i go out so there's nothing interesting to be perved at!

[SimonT Quinnell]

I havn't read throught all the comments yet but the first thing I would do is check what groups you are in.  If you have added your new account to a group your old avi was in then perhaps a persistant person would spot new people joining the groups. I had a friend who that happend to.  She created a new alt but added the alt to some of the same groups and the person who was annoying her deduced that the alt was her.

Scruffy

[Unklebob Hotaling]

lol.

if thats the fix don't make me take back my advice.

[Fal Avedon]

There is no earthly or Second-earthly way I could provide the help that everyone on here has, but I did want to say that I really hope this stalker problem gets resolved. It is far too common, something like this, and it drives me nuts that people would stoop to such a low level.

Best of luck. :]

[Unklebob Hotaling]

The chat on this "Stalker Alert!" thread was pretty interesting and motivational, if you're interested... a hearty thumbs-down and 'lets take the power back' by realizing a/ how weak it is and b/ that right there gives us the advantage:

https://blogs.secondlife.com/message/30882#30882

[Morgan Underwood]

My 2L$ opinion: I concur with the Alt Trap Strategy. Make a completely new alt- you don't even have to invest anything int it (More than enough 0L$ items on XStreet and in-world to get you not-so-noobish if you just can't stand it). Log in to that account ONLY for a while (and only on the standard SL viewer) and see if the alleged stalker shows up. Don't initiate contact at all, just make sure you have your chat logs anabled and be ready to take some screenshots (save to disk if you wish instead of spending the 10L$). Just watch and wait and see what they do. If the person initiates voice contact and harasses you, you can also do all sorts of things like audio and/or video capture to build your evidence. Needless to say, don't tell a soul- not even your best friend or your dog- about your brand-new Alt Trap account. And don't join ANY groups. AT ALL.

However, the main thing at this point is determining: A) Do you *really* have a stalker, and B) If so, *how* are they tracking you. Once you have your alt on the ground, don't accept anything from anybody- not even a notecard- and just go about your business. If stalker still shows up, you know it's a deeper issue and your computer is probably hacked, in which case you've definitely got a real-world case on your hands.

[Eternus Soulstar]

with the emerald viewer, you can see who the crosshairs belong to, it labels them, and you can disable your own being seen.  tho that also means if someone is camming you using Emerald and has theirs disabled yuo wont know it.

[Eternus Soulstar]

no dont transfer anything from any existing alt, make one and keep it pristine, if he has access to any existing login he can come to the sl web and look at transaction histories

[Nadine Zeid]

I've got a question for the OP - do you live in the same place as you always have with your old and new accounts?  Also, does your friend use your place as a landing point or as home?

The reason I ask is that my friend and I found out that a place we had previously lived in had some kind of a device buried below and so deep that even the sim owner couldn't find it - the device was placed as a griefing object that caused 100% failing to TP - even from inside the house to outside the house.  We checked every object inside the house and found nothing.  A friend of mine happens to know scripters and asked them to take a look and they found the object - it took them a while to find it tho as it was buried so deep under the sim.

Also, my main thought is that your stalker/harrasser has somehow hacked into your PC and has planted, as someone else suggested, a keylogger.

In addition to the other scans others have mentioned, use Trend Micro Online Scan to see if there's anything it finds.  I started out using their online free scans for my laptop and Trend would find things that all other anti-virus scans could not find.  When I bought my PC, I specifically chose Trend Micro - it has more layers deep it scans and protects than other anti-virus applications.

Good luck in resuming your Second Life - it's a major PITA when having to deal with stalkers/harassers.  I know, I have dealt with them to the point of it almost destroying my sanity - it involved myself and a very dear friend of mine - on another site as well as SL.  They even planted a virus on my friend's PC and had that friend not taken immediate action, it would have fried his PC as well as mine as we are in contact with each other at least 3 or 4 times a day every day by various means.  It boiled down to a female who was PO'd that he wanted nothing to do with her but remained my special someone on the other site and my SL partner.  Some people are just spiteful and hateful to others and get their enjoys by harassing/stalking others just for $hits and giggles.

Also, if you do join groups, hide them in your profile.  That way the stalkers/harassers don't know of any new groups you might join.  Of course, there are probably other ways to find out what groups people are in, but it takes more time and perserverence to find those ways.

[Corann Korobase]

Alysandra,

     I have a friend who has had the same problem, also with them being immediatly located by a different account, different IP address, going so far as using a "friends" account, they made their sim Private, even closed their sim and opened a new one.  No matter what was done the stalker seemed to find them.... and several times my friend was located within a 15 minute time span. This person was even stalked into their real life, Yahoo, MSN, and managed to aquire personal informaton. This has gotten to be a real bad situation. I have managed to get them to look at filing a stalker harassment. They know the exact name of the person and have reported this problem to Linden Labs and was told unless it was a Premium account no actions would be taken.

    I have been told by not less than 5 persons that have had troubles, they have gotten a similar responce from Linden Labs about problems with stalking, even when the "report guidelines" as stipulated by Linden Labs is exactly followed. I find it rather interesting that upon doing internet searches that other countries are taking actions not only within Second Life to protect their citizens but also against Linden Labs. Anyone can search the internet and find this information.

    Here it is I start looking for stalking problems trying to find help for my friend and I find too much posting of persons having issues with not finding solutions. Then to come across this post which describes my friends problem, someone posted about their "stalker" poping in on them after changing accounts and taking all precautions to prevent this, and it was even replyed "it could be someone at linden labs.. but I doubted this"...  From all the postings I have been going through, everything I have been reading, and this post not to be excluded, at this time I am not so sure Linden Labs does not have a stalker in their midst.

   What I find alarming is that every matter found when says that Linden Labs has been contacted... it is posted that they refused comment. How can it be that other countries are going to extent to protect their citizens against stalkers... Oh yes there are several places that "suggest" legal action be taken, or to follow the LL complaint guidelines and file a report. Why are other countries going to such extreams yet here is the U.S. we appear to be  ignored..... Can anyone explain this?

    I also have another item for contemplation... Everything there is, Second Life, Second Life Help, SL Services, Forums, Forum Help, even Linden Labs.com has no direct contact information. Oh yes there are plenty of links to Forums, Online Help, Account Help, Asking Questions including immediate help for "Premium Accounts".... every type of help that can be accounted for...with the exception of harasment and stalking. I would think with all the posting, all the searchable items on the internet, that by now Linden Labs would have set up something specifically for this... other than the "reporting guidelines"............. or did I miss something???

[Sandra Frascati]

Seems like a good way to test whether it is an SL problem or a compromised computer is to log in on someone else's computer, if that's possible.

[Nadine Zeid]

@Corann - There is so little a person can do about anything relating to Second Life problems unless having a premium account.  This is totally wrong.  Just because people don't want to or can't pay monthly fees does not mean that their problems should be swept under the rug - but that is exactly what SL/LL does.  Those of us who do not have premium accounts have to rely on the goodness of other community members as well as taking matters into our own hands when necessary in order to solve problems.

This is becoming the way of many online sites - no way to contact customer service directly, only premium/VIP/etc. accounts get any kind of action on complaints/help tickets, and so on.  I'm seeing this happening on another site and it's disgusting that these companies will not do anything for their customers (some people might consider getting those premium/VIP/etc. accounts until they see that they are the only privileged ones getting any kind of customer service help).

I would also suggest that the OP try to log in from a totally different computer in a totally different area of town so that it's not the possibility of a shared/rotated IP address that would end up being the same as she already has.  Then see if the person can track.  If they can't, then the OP's computer has been compromised.

If none of the suggestions of using anti-virus applications to scan the computer works, if there is a nearby Best Buy, take the PC in to the Geek Squad and have them run their scan - they use a professional scan that can find anything and everything and they can fix the problems/delete/remove the virus/hack codes/keylogger/whatever.

[Cyzicus Xue]

Quote "This is becoming the way of many online sites - no way to contact customer service directly, only premium/VIP/etc. accounts get any kind of action on complaints/help tickets, and so on.  I'm seeing this happening on another site and it's disgusting that these companies will not do anything for their customers"

Maybe I have a different definition of customer, but arent customers people who are paying for something?  Perhaps youre confusing "company" with non-profit volunteer organization.  Perhaps you should try finding a 3D virtual world run by a non-profit organization.

[Unklebob Hotaling]

"Maybe I have a different definition of customer, but arent customers people who are paying for something?  Perhaps youre confusing "company" with non-profit volunteer organization.  Perhaps you should try finding a 3D virtual world run by a non-profit organization"

I'm Basic, yet I pay over $50 a week in my own tiers, in tips, in purchases etc... a portion of which ends up in the Lindens pocket.  I don't have premium as in my humple opinion what I get in return doesn't differ much from Basic but to suggest LL doesn't get a slice of my pie so as a result I'm not deserving of some consideration isn't quite right.  Is there some Shangri-La on SL that I don't know about where Premium account holders don't encounter these same problems?  If thats the case sign me up.

My view might be rather simplistic but if a woman is being Stalked, should she have to pay to receive help?   I'd hope thats not the message LL or anyone else is sending.

[Cyzicus Xue]

I only mentioned the paying customer since you mentioned multiple online sites only helping paying customers.  Yes, I think the lab should boot stalkers if they are violating the TOS, but I also think paying customers should get better customer service than the free account holders.  If you are paying rent (what free account holders refer to as tier), perhaps you can complain to the estate owner to put in a support ticket for you since he/she is paying the Lab.

 

Also if you have a big piece of land, theres a good chance you are paying more in rent than you would as a paying member.  Once you figure in the stipend on an annual membership, it only costs about $1.50/month to be a premium member.  But I understand some people prefer estate land over mainland.  I would prefer estate land too if terrain editing were available, but for now I like the lower tier cost of premium membership.

 

I have a 4608 sqm of mainland.  My total payments to the Lab(tier fee and annual membership) minus stipend comes out to about 1623L$/wk.  If you also deduct the 600L$/wk I get from the 2 tenants I rent skyboxes to on my land that drops it to 1023L$/wk for 854 prims (1054 minus the 100 each for my tenants).

[kissy Hellershanks]

Well you might wanna consider lookin at the people in real life that are close to you then....Cause I mean you change avs and they still find out? If you got a man or bf or juss someone in real life might have access to stuff especially if you share a computer....its sad but true...

[Unklebob Hotaling]

"I only mentioned the paying customer since you mentioned multiple online sites only helping paying customers."

lmao!  did I?  there's a sign i talk to much, not even remembering what i've said before.  Glad you didn't take anything said personally; granted I'm opinionated but obviously I'm far from always being right and I love a good 'give and take' discussion.  I was also fresh from visiting that Commerce 'pay to play' thread which drives me nuts and biased my reply.

You are SO bang-on right in suggesting premium account should get better service, I was premium but I didn't see much of a difference in the Support I received as premium; the 'free 512 land' and 300L stipend just don't do anything for me.  I'll even go as far to suggest I think we already have lots of ways and means to deal with stalkers and such inworld.

As for tiers I found a solution, my boss offered me use of a cardboard box in the staff parkinglot behind the club complete with fresh newspaper blankets and curtains, so I'm good.  I just pray a new person doesn't end up wearing my box and that readers don't misinterpret what I just said, if I even remember it 5minutes from now.

[Rylie Pexie]

Without getting to much into your personal business, Im curious, does this guy say anything or is he just sort of lurking around silently? Me, I like the brooding poet type but if he was constantly talking I can see how that would be annoying. Im kidding of course, but in all seriousness, if he is saying crazy things to you, then you of course should keep a detailed chat log you may well need it, and if you were to mute him he would be just a harmless grey blob following you around... Admittedly sort of like a creepy shadow. Oh! and there is all of those SL police people..I dont really know what they do but maybe they could show up and bump him around or something?

[Nadine Zeid]

Excuse me - anyone who pays anything in the way of rent, tiers, purchasing Lindens, uploading textures, and so on do contribute to the bottom line of LL.  Premium should not automatically give better "customer service."  Yes, it's customer service - anytime a business is in business, the service it provides in dealing with problems associated with things like billing, products, defective items, safety, security, and so on is called "customer service."  Even people who work for a non-profit charity in real life provide "customer service" when answering their clients' questions, trying to help their clients in any way, providing information, and so on.  Sorry, but I'm from the era that expects customer service with a smile - not something that is to be paid extra for - and not something that is performed as if the person is doing the customer a big favor.

Back On Topic:  Stalkers should be dealt with by LL if the person being stalked has tried everything they can from their end!  It should not matter whether or not they are a premium account holder.  Second Life and other sites are dropping the ball if they do not protect residents/customers/account holders/whatever else you want to call their "customers."

[Lilie Foxtrot]

Belive it or not my friend had to leave SL due to stalkers there is a way to find a person by useing i think its a UUID if im not wrong its like your computers number no matter what everyone has that code no matter if you use 3 or more AVs and there are ways in sl to get a uuid huds and what not can do it its a hard thing to do BUT what i had to do for him was find the GIRLS doing it and i let them have a thing or 2 and that got it to stop still they found out his acc was not all the way gone then they came back so now he cant come back but because we have kids together in sl he wont close the acc so hunny all i ahve to tell you is find out who is doing it IM them and muting works too  try that i wish you well at it they can be hard to get off your back