Saturday, February 7, 2009

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

There is a neighbor who we have befriended and who we allow quite regularly to use our computer in order for her to communicate with her family, pay her bills, etc. She is alone and a long way from home. I always have her use the office desktop, which I rarely use anymore since getting my laptop, and give her privacy when she comes over.


Well, apparently each day she comes over (which some days is many times a day) she scrolls through all my sites that I had bookmarked. She checks all blogs I have ever read, many of the ones marked favorite on that computer aren't even the current ones I read. She has also apparently been able to access quite a few personal accounts because I had clicked "remember password" on many of them. She accessed a work-related website and read drafts of articles I was working on. So, basically she has been snooping for MONTHS. I "caught" her doing it this morning and asked what she was doing. She had no shame in admitting that she was "checking out what I was into." Okay.....apparently, she would scroll from site to site repeatedly after she finished checking her email and paying her bills to "see if anything interesting popped up." Seriously? I could care less that she searched through blogs or other Internet sites that I read or have read in the past. After all, they are on a public forum. I do take issue with the fact that she opened personal folders that store professional correspondence. I take further umbrage with the fact that she doesn't view this an invasion of privacy or an abuse of privilege.


So, I am thinking that my days of being so generous are over. I did tell her that I wasn't comfortable with her using our computer if she was going to look through our files and that I would have to think about whether or not my husband and I were comfortable with her coming over for computer time anymore. She honestly didn't seem to think what she had been doing was a problem. So, what do you think? What should I do? What would you do?

7 comments:

Joanne said...

I've recently seen cheap, around $300, uber-basic laptops for sale, brand new, good for internet use. Time for her to get out her credit card.

Moxymama said...

THat is too funny. THat is exactly what my husband said. In fact, he cut out ads and dropped them off at her house tonight.

Nancy said...

OMG -- her days of using my computer would be over immediately, end of story!

Moxymama said...

Yeah, my husband was pretty upset. I guess he also didn't realize how frequently I was allowing her to come over. Needless to say, he put an end to her "visits" yesterday.

Emerald said...

My sister in has recently bought several of the $300 laptops for her family. She says they work well. Time for neighbor to get one.

Johnson and Johnson said...

ha! SHe showed you some appreciation didn't she!? Time for nosey neighbor to get her own laptop and her own life!

Moxymama said...

J and J....well said. I think I'll go back to not talking to my neighbors anymore. I guess my attempt at neighborliness backfired.