Forgive me for my ignorance but I've never had a situation like this and while I'd like to think my computer is safe and take great pains to keep it that way, I've experienced something kind of scary.
Is it possible for a website owner to steal a user's password and somehow gain access to their computer or files?
I visit a site designed by a husband for his wife and her friends. He is a major computer freak who works in the industry writing code and other things I can't even begin to understand. Its was just a normal chatting site on a phpBB Group discussion board. Recently, the husband and wife have separated and apparently he has access to her email program and possibly her entire computer (he lives in one state and she in another now). I understand how he could gain access to her computer (keyloggers, passwords being revealed) but there is concern that he may have gained access to other users' email accounts or possibly their computers. For those of us who know little about this stuff and what is possible, we imagine it is probably very easy for someone to do this.
But the sensible side of me tells me this is not an easy thing for him to have been able to do. I run Norton Internet security, have downloads disabled on IE, run several spyware checks each week, have tested my firewall endlessly (have it set pretty secure), and run AV checks three times a week. I am running WINME and on DSL. Every check I run comes clean.
Is it possible for someone to be able to gain access to another's computer simply by them logging on to a website? Is there something I should be looking for on my computer?
This guy has posted on the main page of his site that he has control more than we small brains think and blah blah blah. Of course, I'm certain this is to make the clueless freak out but after listening to everyone whine, it is now making ME paranoid.
got any ideas? sorry for the length of this post....btw, your site was recommended by someone who found great info here. Thanks.