she must have gotten infected with a key logger trojan. perhaps she should update her Norton, run some other virus protection other than Norton ( something NOT free). that free crud just isn't worth it.you get what you pay for. She should clean her computer THEN get on and change all her passwords. Myspace photos are there for the taking for a right click, so she shouldnt put anything up there she doesnt want stolen. She should also pay attention to make sure her bank account info or other sensitive info hasn't been used without her permission.

I've never heard of this happening, but it must be scary upsetting. Maybe you can install a better virus protection. I actually had Norton removed because it did nothing when I had a virus, and got Avira put on instead. A separate anti-spyware program is important too.
I really hope everything turns out okay.

That's never happened to me but a long time ago I closed all my social network sites and I don't IM. It's not worth it to me. I run Norton on one computer and AVG on the other. AVG is the better system but Norton does a good job too. Besides the Norton and AVG I run SpywawreBlaster and Spybot, both free programs specifically designed to catch and neutralize spyware/malware. So far so good. Your sister should contact yahoo and I bet they can take care of this.

I admit freely that I used to hack. Get yourself better virus protection and uninstall your Norton as its not worth the money. If you know anything about computers there is a program called Hijack this that will find whatever is in your system that allowed him access and if you go on site there will be detailed directions on how to remove but you must be careful when you do this as you can remove things that should not be removed and totally fuck up your system.

Firewalls supposedly make you feel safe online . . . but every computer and every network system can be hacked. A friend of mine worked for First Union and then Wachovia for over twenty years. He was a systems security analyst or something like that~~his job was to identify vulnerabilities in the network security and potential threats. He was basically a high dollar hacker whose responsibility was to out hack the hackers.

He said you can't just install a firewall and expect it to protect your computer; you have to take the time to customize it to ensure you that you get the best protection. He also said you need to routinely check for updates because a firewall that isn't up to date can't do its job.

He said programs designed specifically to encrypt and protect your passwords especially for logging on to instant messaging, etc. are offer an extra layer of protection.

In my opinion Norton security isn't the best option out there. I always check cnet.com for credible reviews of software because the site really explains which programs work best for what you may need, and best of all, there are some really good programs you can download for free.

I would advise your sister to contact the vendors--myspace, yahoo, etc by telephone if possible and request that they shut down her accounts due to security issues~~contact the bank or whoever and tell them her information has been compromised and she needs a security alert on everything until she can go in and change acct numbers, etc.. Also contact all four major credit agencies and request that they issue a security alert on all her information.

In addition she can also capture screen shots of the messages and print them out just for her records but also to provide to the bank to show her concerns are valid. I hope everything works out.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm still freaked out and I'm going to work on changing our Norton protection to something else. I feel way too vulnerable like this. She still has him on IM she's trying to get our service provider to track his ISP to see if anything can be done. We've called the police again and all they're saying is to print out the screen caps and bring them in tomorrow to file a report-a lot of good that does us right now. She was not smart *in my opinion* and gave in to the flashing demand so now he has a picture of her in her bra. Bad bad bad idea I told her but she's impatient and getting frustrated. He gave back control of her facebook account but now of course he says he won't give her back the rest of her accounts unless she poses completely nude. I told her I'd chuck the laptop out the window if she even considered it. He's now been at this for hours with his just give in IMs.

The vendors (yahoo, myspace, tagged) say there's nothing they can do until tomorrow.

This is just so creepy and awful and we're both really upset now.

That is criminal~~it is extortion which does include harm to reputation along with property and bodily harm. Tell her to save the whole IM conversation and print it out. Get off the computer for now.

We had called a friend whose husband hacks and he traced Mister Creepazoid to the next town over evidently this ^%^$!@!!@! is piggybacking on our ISP signal. It's such a mess. Stalkerman has deleted her tagged account completely. We've changed the password on her facebook and attached it to a sockpuppet email. She's gone into shock now. I think she was so freaked out before that she just gave in to the flashing demand and didn't think about any sort of consequence. She forgot about screencaps. He said he's going to post that picture on all her social networking accounts and she was hysterical for a bit. We've filed a complaint with the FBI cyber crimes unit online, tomorrow we'll go down to the police station, not that I think the keystone cops around here will do much. The credit bureaus are on alert and we'll tackle the rest of the social networking vendors in the morning. Really, everyone, thank you for your support and suggestions. It's definitely been a 3 klonopins kind of night. My nerves are shot and wherever this bastard is i hope he rots.

OMG this has happened to me ONCE! I work as an internet webcam model, so it is a given that I do interact with some people who are unpredictable. I will never forget the time this happened to me. I was on a promotional site for webcam models and this same type of scenario happened. The hacker ended up hacking into 100+ models IM lists the same night!!! Same exact scenario. I ended up getting my buddy list back with some smarts and with luck I got my list back.

This seems to happen to alot of women I know in the webcam industry! Because I cannot avoid chatting to people on the internet, I take extra precautions, and your sis should too:

-Never open your webcam, send files or share photos on your messenger with someone you do not know, this gives them easy access to your computer.
-Don't add anyone you do not know to your buddy list
-If you encounter a cyber bully, do what your momma taught you and IGNORE THEM! The cyber bully, like in real life, does anything to get a rise out of you. If ignored, the cyber bully does not get his rocks off and eventually goes away!
-Get an antivirus and run it at least once a week, you can often schedule them to go off on their own!
-Keep two buddy lists, one for backup

Your sisters buddy list is as good as gone unfortunately. I got mine back from my hacker by sheer luck! I would recommend she start over with a new list, but DO NOT do so until she has ran an antivirus, and do a system restore to a date well before the hacker got into her computer.

I would also recommend she run SPYBOT search and destory for spyware and malware (google it). It is free and is not that "free crud" someone mentioned above. Have her remove all malicous files with spybot search and destroy. Unfortunately, since this hacker has access to her computer, she may want to remove ANY intimate details, photos, etc that she would not want a stranger to have access to.

I know alot of us are very reliant on our computers on a day by day basis, and I may seem a little bit paranoid, but due to my line of work I have never left any personal information, pictures, etc on my WORK computer. You should never (wether you work online or not) leave any personal pictures, information, bank account info, etc STORED IN YOUR COMPUTER. THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AT ANY TIME. TO PLAY IT SAFE, DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING ON YOUR COMPUTER OR ANY INFORMATION ON YOUR COMPUTER THAT YOU WOULD NOT GIVE TO A COMPLETE STRANGER OR SOMEONE YOU DO NOT TRUST!!!

When your sister has ran an antivirus, and anti spyware like spybot search and destroy, have her do a system restore, delete any and all personal info, etc, and have her recreate an account, but only AFTER she has done all of the above!

As for her social networks, have her contact the websites. It may be a long process but with time the stolen accounts will be cancelled, if she is persistant.

As for screencaps and him using such HER VIDEOS without her permission, BY LAW he cannot! If you want to place any adult-oriented photos online, wether you own them or not, you need to sign a model release, and provide proof of age as well as sign a 2257 AGE VERIFICATION agreement BY LAW to verify you are over 18 years of age. Without such releases and agreements there is no way this guy can LEGALLY PUT HER VIDEOS ONLINE! Social networking sites will take them down if she contacts them and tells them her video was stolen and placed on their site without permission. On many social networks, adult content is not permitted. Where adult content is permitted, a signed model release and 2257 agreement are required. On free adult websites, where they give the public the opportunity to upload adult oriented pictures and videos online, the uploaders are taking any and all legal responsibility for the uploaded material, and still must have necessary 2257 documents and model releases to LEGALLY submit the videos, pics, etc. If he does not he is committing a federal crime (hacking is also a federal crime)!

Therefore, the hacker cannot LEGALLY post any of her videos online. If she does come across her video, contact the site immediately, and let the website know that the video is stolen, and your sister has never signed a model release, or 2257 agreement. The uploader of the content is not the legal owner! They will take the video down in the blink of an eye!!