I am renting a room, I get the internet thru thier computer by ethernet, can they see my email, and letters I type in?
2006-12-21 07:31:07 · 6 answers · asked by jackienoor 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
They can only see what is sent through the network.
If your keystrokes aren't being logged and sent out then that is safe. Unless you have a virus that does this, you don't need to worry about things you type.
Your emails, however, are definitely going out to the network where the traffic could possibly be intercepted. If you use web-based email and connect through a secure connection, then they may receive the traffic, but they won't be able to read it (secure connections are usually indicated with padlock icon in the corner of your web browser). If you use an email client like Mozilla Thunderbird, you can set it up so the connection to your ISP is also encrypted to protect you.
You could also go so far as to encrypt your email but that is not only unnecessary to keep your roommates out, but it requires other people to use similar encryption tools which can be a hassle.
P.S. the third answer down is completely wrong. Ethernet can definitely be picked up by others in most cases.
2006-12-21 07:32:32 · answer #1 · answered by scruffy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Simply, yes
there are numerous programs out there for this purpose from key loggers to full-blown screen captures.
You can go someway to protect yourself with a decent firewall and make sure your PC is password protected on an NTFS file system.
If the person you are sharing with is competent and untrustworthy, they will find a way.
2006-12-21 07:45:56 · answer #2 · answered by reefieuk 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well there are softwares that can be used to sniff emails and messenger chats if you and your room mates are on same network.. i personally have done this and have been a victim to this too... my suggesstion will be to use firewall softwares to prevent any illegal traffic of data...
most of the companies implement this technique to detect if their employees chat during office hours...so this is a known issue, also one more thing you can be careful is letting others use your computer in your absence, because they can install a spy software which can detect your key board entries and store into a text format...
2006-12-21 07:51:42 · answer #3 · answered by psycho 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all whats a ethernet? And no they can not!
2006-12-21 08:07:03 · answer #4 · answered by Ash 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
possibly, all they'd need is a packet sniffer an a whole lot of free time. Don't worry about it unless you are rooming with a computer geek.
2006-12-21 07:33:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, they can't see ANYTHING you do, they can only access files in a shared folder.
2006-12-21 07:34:08 · answer #6 · answered by watchher01 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋