Beware of E-Mail Misfits, Especially Your Friends

"Attempts to circumvent accounting systems, to use the computer accounts of others...will be treated as forms of attempted theft."

--Harvard's Handbook for Students

Attempted theft? Bah. Such a crime is worth the risk when there's valuable information to be gained from hacking into a friend/lover/enemy's e-mail account.

Despite Harvard's intolerance for students breaking into other people's UNIX accounts, violations of this policy are rampant.

For example, one Harvard student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, discovered that her boyfriend had received highly personal e-mail from his ex-girlfriend. So, of course, she took it upon herself to read the mail in question.

Using his password that he had entrusted her with, the student broke into her boyfriend's account and read all of the corresponding e-mail with his ex. She says that her boyfriend still does not know that she looked at his mail.

Entrusting a friend, or even a loved one, with an e-mail password is obviously not the best of ideas. Yet some do it anyway.

"People tell friends their passwords for convenience sake," says self-styled e-mail expert Issac J. Lidsky '99. "If you're away or something, you ask a friend to check your e-mail."

A cautionary tale comes from one first-year, who also wished to remain anonymous. She says that an ex-friend once told her and another person his password.

When their friendship with the other person dissolved, they began to send each other e-mail using the third party's account. Lucky for him they didn't decide to send e-mail from him to others!

Outside Harvard, the password issue persists as well.

A friend of Mary W.D. Nicklin '00, who attends Cornell, says her ex-boyfriend wrote malicious e-mail messages to others on her account after their break-up.

"My friend was mortified," says Nicklin. "She had a lot of explaining to do."

But even those who don't share their passwords with others are often up for danger.

Emily N. Tabak '00 tells the story of a Harvard friend who wrote all that he disliked about his roommate in an e-mail message.

"The next morning, the roommate picked an enormous fight," says Tabak. "He definitely read the e-mail."

Tabak said the student hypothesized that he had left his e-mail account open, and thus, his roommate was able to read it.

Leaving an e-mail account open can be a fairly frequent occurrence in dorms and fast-paced environments like Loker Commons.

"I'm sure I've left my e-mail account opened in the Science Center," says Micaela K. Root '00. "I guess anyone could have read it."

Accidentally leaving an account opened is just one of the ways in which curious eyes read private e-mail. But it once again invites the danger of having people falsify mail.

One member of the class of '97 had a bit of explaining to do after leaving his e-mail account open.

His roommate saw the open account and e-mailed his girlfriend of three years expressing his homosexuality.

Not surprisingly, his girlfriend was rather disturbed until she discovered the e-mail was a prank of the roommate.

So for those who wish to avoid long explanations to their significant others, remember one thing; despite the University's threat to punish those who break into other's accounts, it is best to listen to the advice of the omnipotent FAS when logging in--"Never give your password to ANYONE."

And of course, heed the lesser known advice of never leaving your e-mail account open in a public place.

Whether it is due to humorous or malicious intent, failed friendship or failed love, an open account or a known password, it is important to remember that e-mail is not as private as it may appear.