need some serious help for a friend (hackers, ninjas, spies especially welcome)
Boys, girls, and everything in between
I'm needing some serious ideas and help for a friend who is in a pretty crap situation at work.
There are certain colleagues at his work place who are essentially bullying him at best and at worse, actually trying to hurt him.
He works for a very very large electronics/it/pc company in Europe and has been there for more than 4 years now. For the last 6 months there is a group of them who have been whispering, just out of earshot, that they want to hurt him, see him suffer, and he says he's heard them talk about killing him.
You're obviously thinking: Go to the police or at the very least talk to HR and your boss.
Bear with me a sec.
The problem is that my friend is sincerely scared now, and he has absolutely no idea why this whole thing started. He claims its because this group of people have it in for him because of religious matters. This group think he is of a certain religion (which he isnt) and they are kinda, not happy about it. He has gone up to a couple of the guys (my friend is quite insecure at times and is just too nice for his own good sometimes) and asked if "everything was alright" and they just brushed him off saying "yeah yeah, no worries, all ok... "..
Whats scary is that this group of people at work are all IT people and my friend claims that they somehow have access to his mail and such. Probably a sniffer. The problem also is that these people are buddies with the IS/Network department, so, asking them to do a search would be tantamount to saying "I think they're on to me', and as I said, my friend is really afraid. He is afraid they will do him physical harm if they suspect he has gone to HR or to anyone. And that seeing they probably know where he lives, he is afraid all the time and also for his future family (hes gonna get married this year).
So, what about the Police and such? They cant do anything unless he makes an official complaint. He says he cant make a mistake because he has no TANGIBLE proof. The same applies with HR. A friend in another company in HR says that unless there is proof, they'll log it somewhere and no action can be taken. He s afraid that if an investigation IS carried out that it will be their IS/Network op buddies who will obviously say "nope, all clear, the guy is bonkers" and in the meantime tell the bullies that he just narked on them... and you can guess the rest.
This is one of my best friends and I unfortunately live in a different country and I'm wracking my brain for ways to help him.
So.. coming to the meat of the subject: I told him that he needs proof, and so thats what Im gonna help him to get.
I suggested 2 things so far: Have a hidden microphone (this is legal in this country) and record the office environment for days, weeks, etc and have everything on record. He says that they make comments almost every day and his "cubicle" isnt very far away, about 15feet.
Secondly, he suspects they have access to his files, mail that he sends, etc. Sniffers are passive and cant be detected unless your a network admin (and I refer you to the previously mentioned problem). At least that I know of.. is there any way?
So, I had an idea that would be PROOF. I essentially said that we set up a website with some advnaced logging software (tracker/webcounter) that will give us the IP of any visitor. He sends an email with a link or with html that will be impossible for anyone not to link (like, "check out MY PERSONAL page about my shagging this chick I did last night.. OR some personal thing.. or anything to do with porn of course"). He sends, we log. If it checks out, it should give us a smoking gun.
What I was wondering from you all is the following:
** Help and ideas with what logging/counter stat software we could use to put on a custom server that will be our "honey pot"
** Help with idea of setting up a microphone as covertly as possible that can record as long as possible
Now then, thats just half the fun.
My friend is still scared of possible reprecussions if all this works out. He has to try and make it seem like it didn't come from him. I told you and I say it again: He is SERIOUSLY scared.
I told him that he should indeed be a bit careful. If they are indeed sniffing the company network, god knows how many OTHER people's data and info may have been compromised. It could be actually a part of something much bigger that involves lots of people.
So... I hope I get some feedback, especially with the wya to find out if someone is indeed reading his mail and stuff.
All help appreciated.. my friend is scared to go to work and is about to have a nervous breakdown.
I'm needing some serious ideas and help for a friend who is in a pretty crap situation at work.
There are certain colleagues at his work place who are essentially bullying him at best and at worse, actually trying to hurt him.
He works for a very very large electronics/it/pc company in Europe and has been there for more than 4 years now. For the last 6 months there is a group of them who have been whispering, just out of earshot, that they want to hurt him, see him suffer, and he says he's heard them talk about killing him.
You're obviously thinking: Go to the police or at the very least talk to HR and your boss.
Bear with me a sec.
The problem is that my friend is sincerely scared now, and he has absolutely no idea why this whole thing started. He claims its because this group of people have it in for him because of religious matters. This group think he is of a certain religion (which he isnt) and they are kinda, not happy about it. He has gone up to a couple of the guys (my friend is quite insecure at times and is just too nice for his own good sometimes) and asked if "everything was alright" and they just brushed him off saying "yeah yeah, no worries, all ok... "..
Whats scary is that this group of people at work are all IT people and my friend claims that they somehow have access to his mail and such. Probably a sniffer. The problem also is that these people are buddies with the IS/Network department, so, asking them to do a search would be tantamount to saying "I think they're on to me', and as I said, my friend is really afraid. He is afraid they will do him physical harm if they suspect he has gone to HR or to anyone. And that seeing they probably know where he lives, he is afraid all the time and also for his future family (hes gonna get married this year).
So, what about the Police and such? They cant do anything unless he makes an official complaint. He says he cant make a mistake because he has no TANGIBLE proof. The same applies with HR. A friend in another company in HR says that unless there is proof, they'll log it somewhere and no action can be taken. He s afraid that if an investigation IS carried out that it will be their IS/Network op buddies who will obviously say "nope, all clear, the guy is bonkers" and in the meantime tell the bullies that he just narked on them... and you can guess the rest.
This is one of my best friends and I unfortunately live in a different country and I'm wracking my brain for ways to help him.
So.. coming to the meat of the subject: I told him that he needs proof, and so thats what Im gonna help him to get.
I suggested 2 things so far: Have a hidden microphone (this is legal in this country) and record the office environment for days, weeks, etc and have everything on record. He says that they make comments almost every day and his "cubicle" isnt very far away, about 15feet.
Secondly, he suspects they have access to his files, mail that he sends, etc. Sniffers are passive and cant be detected unless your a network admin (and I refer you to the previously mentioned problem). At least that I know of.. is there any way?
So, I had an idea that would be PROOF. I essentially said that we set up a website with some advnaced logging software (tracker/webcounter) that will give us the IP of any visitor. He sends an email with a link or with html that will be impossible for anyone not to link (like, "check out MY PERSONAL page about my shagging this chick I did last night.. OR some personal thing.. or anything to do with porn of course"). He sends, we log. If it checks out, it should give us a smoking gun.
What I was wondering from you all is the following:
** Help and ideas with what logging/counter stat software we could use to put on a custom server that will be our "honey pot"
** Help with idea of setting up a microphone as covertly as possible that can record as long as possible
Now then, thats just half the fun.
My friend is still scared of possible reprecussions if all this works out. He has to try and make it seem like it didn't come from him. I told you and I say it again: He is SERIOUSLY scared.
I told him that he should indeed be a bit careful. If they are indeed sniffing the company network, god knows how many OTHER people's data and info may have been compromised. It could be actually a part of something much bigger that involves lots of people.
So... I hope I get some feedback, especially with the wya to find out if someone is indeed reading his mail and stuff.
All help appreciated.. my friend is scared to go to work and is about to have a nervous breakdown.
Comments
Otherwise, your friend's only other option is to quit his job, move somewhere else, change his phone number, and essentially disappear.
my inclination is that your friend is exagerating the case. if s/he truly fears for their life, then going to the police/authorities isn't even a thought; furthermore, a job can be dropped just as easy as -not- going to work.
If it were for me (and we were still 40 years ago) I'd get some of my compatriots and get my brooklyn italian american accent and tell 'em to fuggeddaboudit or theys gonna be sleepin' wit da fishes... alas, such noble and wonderful times are bygone.
So, yeah, its not just a group of losers who threaten.. they belong to a possibly bigger 'thing' which could have reprecussions if indeed this is all true.
It DOES strike me as odd that a bunch of IT-types would start possibly getting violent and stuff, but to be honest, these kinda people are unpredicatble at best.
Yes, he even told me he tried to be a volonteer of an outplacement plan that was happening, but that HR didnt want to get rid of him. He wont just quit and not get a severence. Its not as easy to get a job in Europe as it is in the USA... and hes getting married this summer.. and already has a mortgage to pay, etc.
Sooooo....
any suggestions about good server stat software? Will a simple "adblock" be able to thwart proper IP tracing? Ideas?
Originally posted by ZO
the prob is that he's afraid that even if they get caught or whatever, there will be repercussions. Not today, not tomorrow.. but sometime, they'll come back and haunt him. Yeah, OF course that'd be incredibly stupid because they would immediately be the suspects, but this group of 'bullies' is part of an ethnic minority which is not really known for being terribly nice with people that cross them. I'm generally a pretty go-get'em guy who believes in the system will protect me, etc.. but with these kind of people.. well, hell, I'd also think twice. And with racial things as they are right now in Europe, well, this'd just be another statistic. This is a truly close friend and I won't suggest for him to take any course of action that can possibly hurt him or his family or anyone else.
If it were for me (and we were still 40 years ago) I'd get some of my compatriots and get my brooklyn italian american accent and tell 'em to fuggeddaboudit or theys gonna be sleepin' wit da fishes... alas, such noble and wonderful times are bygone.
So, yeah, its not just a group of losers who threaten.. they belong to a possibly bigger 'thing' which could have reprecussions if indeed this is all true.
It DOES strike me as odd that a bunch of IT-types would start possibly getting violent and stuff, but to be honest, these kinda people are unpredicatble at best.
Yes, he even told me he tried to be a volonteer of an outplacement plan that was happening, but that HR didnt want to get rid of him. He wont just quit and not get a severence. Its not as easy to get a job in Europe as it is in the USA... and hes getting married this summer.. and already has a mortgage to pay, etc.
Sooooo....
any suggestions about good server stat software? Will a simple "adblock" be able to thwart proper IP tracing? Ideas?
If the Threat are all IT guys, will they be able to detect if you add any unusual software to your friend's computer?
Talk to these guys, why don't you?
V/R,
Aries 1B
2 - If they still bug him, just get some muscle and work them over really good. As a general rule, the French dudes are not near as scary looking as those freaks in NYC, Atlanta, and your local ghetto.
3 - I would have hoped that the French society would be better than religoius persecution but that is the funny thing about the French. They are arrogant in the sense they believe they are better than the rest of the world but yet have far worse problems in some areas of life than the rest of the world. While I do want to move to Paris, I have to say that they are a prejudice society.
Anyone who has stayed in a hotel there will know what I mean. If you live there, you have to admit that they tend to hire more people with nice traditional French names than those without one.
Good luck and get that guy a different job.
1. Tell the authorities, at least to document it. If something happens to your friend then at least there is some sort of record. If that's too sissy then go to 2 or 3.
2. Fight fire with fire. For about $100.00 US you can hire some shady character to tail some of these guys from your job and scare the shit out of them if you know what I mean. Maybe when they have something to personally worry about they'll stop thinking about being dickheads towards others.
3. have a lady friend call their wives and say that she's been having an affair with their husband. Make it detailed and these guys will have more to worry about than your buddy.
Originally posted by Outsider
This site http://www.blackout.org/ has a bunch of tools for doing sort of things your asking about.
1. Tell the authorities, at least to document it. If something happens to your friend then at least there is some sort of record. If that's too sissy then go to 2 or 3.
2. Fight fire with fire. For about $100.00 US you can hire some shady character to tail some of these guys from your job and scare the shit out of them if you know what I mean. Maybe when they have something to personally worry about they'll stop thinking about being dickheads towards others.
3. have a lady friend call their wives and say that she's been having an affair with their husband. Make it detailed and these guys will have more to worry about than your buddy.
#3 gets my vote...
Mine is the win.
Originally posted by Placebo
How about tell the authorities and then hire a shady guy to scare the shit out of them, and then call their wives to say that he's been having a homosexual affair with their husbands?
Mine is the win.
and then kill their pets
WickeD!
But seriously... I feel bad for your friend. Really, it's incumbent on the society around your friend to show to these bullies their attitudes are wrong/misguided, whatever. Your friend is going to have to stand up for his rights/himself. (That might mean going to management, the police, or kicking them in the balls.)
i only mention it on the off chance that your friend might really benefit from getting an evaluation. its an illness that can be treated and the earlier , the better.
please dont take it as an insult, just a possibility that should be considered in addition to the possibility that something might actually be happening. will be curious to see how it all pans out. good luck
This people are doing moral harassment : there is law agaisnt that.
They expect him to scare him, in order he stay silent. If your friend speak, this people are in deep troubles.
The lawyer is the best thing he can do.
I'd love to be able to have him do all of them
Although, I'm guessing the lawyer thing is a good step...
He's in his early 30s, but age has nothing to do with it. He's just a guy that minds his own business and I think is having a really tough time with this because he's happy minding his own business normally just so he can avoid such things.
I can't imagine a more bully situation.
Anyway, my friend jumped the gun with the idea of sending a mail about a "fun" site with a visitor stats counter and being as nervous (or whatever) he made it blatantly obvious that he was trying to get them to visit the site.. The text was something like "check out this cool site"
I could've killed him.. *sigh*...
I really REALLY like the idea of getting these SOBs home numbers and having some chick call to say they were having an affair.. mmmm... niiiiice... muahahaha.
I just wanna make sure that these fvck heads don't easily realize that my friend is behind it.
Originally posted by macfly
i hate to even suggest it but because its a real possibility i have to ask. someone earlier asked how old your friend is. in this case its actually important. i am a psychiatrist and stories like this always perk my ears. while this might in fact be happening, the story soundsA LOT like very typical delusions seen in developing schizophrenia. if your friend is in the late teens to early 20s that is the typical time that the illness starts. often it can show with stories just like this. in fact, i saw a young person just 2 weeks ago that believed coworkers were conspiring against them and signalling this with a particular gesture that is (in reality) something pretty normal , like a handshake.
i only mention it on the off chance that your friend might really benefit from getting an evaluation. its an illness that can be treated and the earlier , the better.
please dont take it as an insult, just a possibility that should be considered in addition to the possibility that something might actually be happening. will be curious to see how it all pans out. good luck
No insult taken, he even talked about seeing a psychologist because its been going on for so long that he's not sure he can take much more of it. But.. he sees it as a weakness to see a shrink (no offense). I know he looks up to me so I told him I've seen a shrink once or twice and there's nothing wrong with it.
Now that you mention what you said, I have to wonder if its because of possible schizo developing or because he just needs someone to talk to. Ugh, this doesnt look good.
Macfly, if you can be so kind to contact me privately if possible if you dont want to continue here.. I'd like to look into this more just in case and understand how I can approach him about it.
In Europe, going to a shrink is still looked upon as a weakness as I said before, and he's quite the shy and susceptible type of person. ..
thanks
I just tried sending an HTML email with the Stat Counter cose embedded into it.
However, it doesnt work. I sent to a couple friends and yet, it doesnt send anything back to the stat counter site.
Is there any way to do this? Am I doing something wrong?
I went to the static webpage that I made and it worked.. when I copy and pasted it into Outlook, I see the source, and it's in there.
My friends read the mail in Outlook, Hotmail, and Gmail.
Any ideas? Im using www.statcounter.com
Originally posted by fahlman
I have a relative who suffers from schizophrenia and this sounds similar to the paranoid delusions he had. He was pretty sure the guy that lived down the street who drove the van with his plumbing company logo on the side was really an informant for the police. At the time my relative was friends with another young kid who sold pot to the other local kids. He was convinced the van was loaded with audio and video surveillance equipment. Your friend should seek help.
Even without schitzophrenia the guy's friend could be just worrying too much. The rest of the office might think of the guy's friend as "that shy guy that thinks we're out to kill him, let's keep playing the joke".