[Techtalk] werid status of msgs, maybe from remote access tech support-- help?

[Malmrose]

Hi Akkana!

Good to see Linuxchix I remember. :-)

I'm pretty sure it's not a multi-locations login issue for the user (unless
2nd location is by someone other than the user).

Also, I am painfully aware that private info on any social media site is a
no-no. I agree with you wholeheartedly on that one. :-)

I wasn't being careless, just between a rock and a hard place. A few
details:

I've been looking for this person for 20+ years, nearly 0 digital
footprint. The only records of this person's life are on paper. Truly
offline. I've looked for this person since the 1990s.

I'm pretty sure this person has only 1 desktop, probably a CRT and an old
tower than will make me nostalgic when I see it.

If there was any other way to communicate with this person, I would!! I
can't do a phone call, foreign language and I have a weird auditory thing
that only occurs with phone calls (my brain flips out and I can't
understand unless the call is clear & in English).

I wrote a few snailmail letters. That worked, but it would take another 10
years of letters back & forth to communicate the content needed (1 month
per letter, x number of chunks of info to communicate, allowing for
miscommunications... ugh).

This person doesn't know how to send a text, let alone install the FB
Messanger app. I'm pretty sure there is only 1 access point (at least 1
access point for the legitimate user).

My best guess is that someone else has access to this person's acct. Trying
to pin down how they do it.

I don't like being vulnerable. Grrr.

--Cathy



On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 9:06 AM, Akkana Peck <akkana at shallowsky.com> wrote:

> Malmrose writes:
> > * I send a message (private message) to a friend on FB.
> >
> > * The message is marked "Seen" within a few minutes, but my friend's
> status
> > is "Active 17 hours ago," or someother <24 number of hours. (This friend
> > lives in a very remote location and checks email only once a day.)
> >
> > My guess is that perhaps someone is accessing my friend's FB account
> > without logging in as the account owner.
> >
> > I can't think of any other scenario in which this could occur.
>
> A lot of people leave their computers on all the time, and probably
> have a browser tab actively logged in to Facebook; or they have a
> Facebook app on their phone or other device that's constantly
> checking. Wouldn't that mark a message as Seen, even if the user
> wasn't actively looking at the app?
>
> > The messages often have sensitive content. If someone is accessing the
> > account remotely, I need to be far more careful! FB is currently my own
> way
>
> Hate to be negative, but personally I'd be leery of entering any
> sensitive content on Facebook, whether it was marked private or not.
> You never know when they might decide to use info from private
> messages in some way, or how good their data security is even if
> they intend to keep the private stuff private. And they'll keep it
> all forever -- you have no way to make sure something is deleted. I
> know it's frustrating when there's a person who communicates only
> through Facebook, and there are trade-offs you might choose to make,
> but do be aware of the risks.
>
>         ...Akkana
>
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-- 
Cathy
510-229-8475 (text preferred)