1/3 spy on text messages | Hacker News Reader

1/3 spy on text messages

reuters.com

11 pointsgasull23 comments

Update 8/30:

After reading about the tactic in the news, 90% now spy on text messages when their partner is in the shower

60 percent of people simply can't fathom to trust their partner. I am not surprised

For the record, I've never read my girlfriends texts (unless she told me to) and I seriously doubt she's read mine

Don't be that friend that complains to their friends for months on end about how you're girlfriend cheated on you. You could have easily read her text messages and found out months ago.

Good that you don't read her text messages. What if you found out at some point in the future that she was cheating, would you wish you had read her text messages?

Uh no? That's like saying I wish I had not started dating this girl because one day she may cheat on me. I wish I didn't marry because we will divorce in two years, I wish I had came home early that night maybe I would have caught her sleeping with her ex in our bed!

I know, trust is hard to gain but sometimes it just works out. I trust her, and she trusts me. We respect each other and we're both very happy. Of course, I'm sure you've heard that from a lot of people who got cheated on but it's not something I'm going to worry about ;)

Doesn't this say 1/3 spy, and of those, 60% spy while the target is in the shower?

Specifically, it says that of the "slightly more than 500" Virgin Mobile Australia phone customers aged 18-29 polled by a marketing firm, one in three claimed to spy on their SO's text messages, with women "more likely than" men (no numbers here, odd).

Of that 33%, 60% snoop while their SO is in the shower and 41% do with them in the room, which apparently means that there is one Virgin Mobile Australia customer whose (ex-?) significant other really doesn't trust them.

My blackberry times out in 30 seconds or so and requires a password to come back.

I'm sure the wives/girlfriends in the article would be doubly suspicious of you because you obviously having something to hide!

I'd like to think that trust might be a better foundation for a relationship that what you read on someone's texts.

Suspicious because your mobile device, which you'd really only use when out of the house and therefore around strangers, would be protected from those strangers?

I'm actually impressed and not at all suspicious over the fact that every single device my boyfriend owns is as secure as he can manage. He'll willingly let me view all the text messages and emails and whatnot that I want (even for work, as long as I don't tell anyone..), but you know, those pesky strangers and pesky people who might steal your phone or laptop...

2/3 have enough self confidence or respect for their mates? That pretty good. My hope for humaity, it's gone up today.

More like 2/3 don't know what a text message is.

Out of the polled group of "Virgin Mobile Australia phone customers aged 18-29"? I have strong doubts about that.

2/3 don't have partners/friends on who they can spy? Okay, that sounds more like it. ;)

This happened to me recently.

Girlfriend: Hey, why are you calling $(other girl I didn't date about 5 years ago)? I found her number in your recent calls.

Me: Um, we are having lunch today, remember?

Her: Aha!

1-2 days before this:

Me: Hey, do you remember where that brunch place with potato chip nachos is? I'm going out with $(other girl) this weekend, and that place was good.

Her: OMFG, a new facebook activity!

There should be a way to check the # of times a text message has been read, along with timestamps.

Er, no. There should be a way to actually secure one's phone.

Every phone I've used for the last 5 years had a pin number function.

Not every phone does, but even those that do often have so few numbers in the PIN that it's basically window dressing security. Are there phones that have 7-10 digit PINs?

How long are your showers that a person would be able to brute force even a 4-digit pin in the time it took you to come back?

For a one night stand, that's fine, I guess. Or maybe you change your PIN every day? :) Even if you do that, your partner will get lucky once every coupla weeks or so.

Anyway, I'm not advocating keeping secrets from your partner, but for people who depend on keeping secrets on their phone, (at least) most phones today do not have anything other than playtime security.

If your girlfriend is motivated enough that she's willing to bruteforce a 4 digit pin in any length of time, you better be pretty careful.

How difficult would it be to packet sniff a text message? Real-time spying would be where it's at.

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