It can be difficult, if not impossible.
Ultimately, you don’t.
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Someone's Reading my email?
It’s almost impossible to know whether your email has been read and marked unread before you get to it. The only true solution is to prevent that access in the first place with good account and computer security. Encrypting your sensitive content is another approach.
Online services
This scenario you might be thinking of is this:
- Someone somehow gains access to your online email account.
- They sign in as you and read your email.
- Before they exit, they mark the messages they’ve read as unread.
- They do not change your password or otherwise hack your account.
There’s really no way to tell if this has happened.
Some email services, like Gmail and Outlook.com, have account access histories that might tell you that your account had been signed in to, and from where, but it will not tell you what was done during the access.
You can prevent this scenario by maintaining proper account security, including two-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized account access.
Desktop (and mobile) email programs
The equivalent scenario on a computer or mobile device is this:
- Someone gains access to your computer or phone.
- They open your email program and read your email.
- Before they exit, they mark the messages they’ve read as unread.
- They do not change your account password or otherwise hack your account or computer.
Once again, there’s really no reliable way to tell that this has happened. Like online account access history, you may be able to find information in the event log about when your computer was being accessed, but that’s not guaranteed, is extremely complex, and won’t tell you what was actually happening during the access.
The only scenario that could possibly help is to pre-emptively install a keystroke logger or other type of monitoring software on your own machine. You would then be able to review the logs to see what may have been happening.
You can prevent this scenario by keeping your PC secure — either physically, by locking it up, or by making sure you always sign out of Windows and require a password to get back in.
The email system
This is the scenario most people don’t think about. It’s short.
- Someone at your email provider, or at the email provider of your correspondents, reads your email while it’s stored on their servers.
“Someone”, in this case, could be a rogue employee of the service with sufficient access, or it could be law enforcement showing up with a court order.
There’s no way to prevent this. The good news is that unless you’re involved in activities your government might not approve of, it’s exceptionally rare.
Do this
Aside from keeping your online accounts and your computer secure, this is generally not something I would worry about. Of course, if you are a high-value target, you may feel otherwise.
The only proper solutions are:
- Use a communications medium that is more secure than email.
- Encrypt your email so that no one else can access it.
You know, it’s OK if someone else reads this in your email, but it’s really for you: subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.
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thanks for your servece and i will remember my life this
I have microsoft outlook email at my school. I think someone is reading my email. Can the server or administrators see which computer is accessing my account or if someone is doing it online by the exchange? Thanks.
Maybe. It depends on exactly how they’re configured, and if they’re willing to take the time.
I have a client(CFO, CEO) who is having issues with information being passed to outside people.
They need to determine if the admin person is passing out the information. We know how to stop it but must determine and confirm whow the problem is.
Is there software that can not be detected on the desktop that can determine id e-mail has been opened and passed on?
Frank
There are things such as keyloggers that may help. But realize that any software installed can be detected … it’s just a matter of how difficult it is to detect. Anyway, this site has pointers to packages – mostly aimed at parents, but the concept is the same: http://www.safetysurf.com/
I think someone is in my email at my school account. Is there any way I can get them to monitor it and tell me exactally who it could be?
Depends on your school. All I can say is “maybe”. You’ll have to ask them.
I think someone is using spyware to look into my email. I tried one of those free spy ware scanners and it said that it found 4. It said that I had 2 Alexa adware and 2 CWS. Does that free scanning stuff really work? And if so how do I get rid of it and what exactly is the difference between the two.
Yes, the free stuff does work :-). The Alexa things probably no biggie, but CWS, also known as Cool Web Search, is a big annoying page hijacker in Internet Explorer. The good news is that neither have nything to do with email.
This article has more: http://ask-leo.com/spyware_how_do_i_remove_and_avoid_spyware.html
i have an msn email account as well as a juno account. if someone is trying to guess my password and get into my email without me knowing is there any way msn will know and notify me? I have purposely entered the incorrect password several times to see what happens and it just tells me i have made too many attempts with the wrong password and that my email is temporarily unavailable. is there any way of finding out if someone is trying to get into it and then finding out who it is?
In general, no. If you have a serious problem, contacting your ISP may help, but they generally will not do it even then.
is there any way i can find out how many times a day i (in my case i or anyone else) get into my Yahoo! mail account?? I’m pretty sure someone is but lack proof (and it’s not from my computer).
Not that I’m aware of, no.
Hi- I think someone has access to my earthlink email account and has been checking my email. Is there anyway possible to trace their IP address or find out who is checking my email? This is a huge security issue so if I notified police is there anything they would be able to do?
You would need to contact earthlink customer support.
I sent an e-mail to someone and realized I didn’t want to send it. I guessed her password and logged into her yahoo account to delete it before she could read it. She read it, but I deleted it anyways so she couldn’t forward it. Is their anyway if she suspects someone was in her e-mail that she could trace it back to me? I feel ****** for doing that. Thanks!
Someone is accessing me email. Is there any way I can track the location and ISP of the person who is doing this?
The practical answer is no. You would have to convince the folks at Hotmail to help you, which is highly unlikely unless you involve law enforcement.
I am under the suspicion that someone is logging onto my im account what software if any can i use to find out if it is so and who it is?
I know of no software to do that. Change your password.
My b/f and I share a computer together. Is there any way he can look on the computer thru the ip address to see what sights I have been on? And also,is there any way he can read my e-mail thru my ip address?
If you share a computer, then yes, it’s probably quite likely that things can be seen.
I like what you people have done for me
Today when I signed in with my username and password, hotmail rejected my password many times. I remembered my friend has my password. Is it possible that she was checking my email account while I was trying to log on at the same time? after i tried logging on many times then I finally was able to log on. Do you think she changed my password and changed it back? what would have happened if we were both checking at the same time? I have now changed my password.
thank you.
Helen
Someone has access to my email account in yahoo and it’s caused me and my husband to split up. His family was also involved how can I find out where and who this person is?
I’ve had the same problem, except that I have not shared my password with anyone else. Is it possible for someone to gain access without a password?
hi i have a question i feel like my girlfriend put a parental control on my email.I saw her checking her email and I saw a letter that I wrote to someone else in her inbox I asked my other friend if she got the letter and she said yes & there is no way that I sent the letter to the both of them I am positive I did not send the letter to my girlfriend.is it possible that she has some type of parental control on it and how did she get that letter? thanks alex
Any sort of computer expert (i.e. IT, MIS, Computer Science people) are knowledgeable about this stuff. They know how to tinker with computers. Never ever share a computer with a computer junkie. I don’t how it works, but I know there’s a way to record every key that gets typed on a computer. If you share a computer with another person, that person can easily set the computer to record all keys which are being punched into the keypad. The person can then discover your email password.
I just remembered…. they’re called ‘keyloggers.’ Anyone can download keylogger software onto their computer, then record all typing and program information
I am the office manager and we have Outlook at my work. I have a strong suspicion that one of the admins we laid off a couple of weeks ago is checking some of our office emails from her home computer. Could our IT person find out for sure if and when this is happening, maybe through tracking the IP address? How much effort would this take, and if so, could we bring legal action against this person?
I am the secretary and we have Outlook at my work. I have a strong suspicion that one of the admins we laid off a couple of weeks ago is checking some of our office emails from her home computer. Could our IT person find out for sure if and when this is happening, maybe through tracking the IP address? How much effort would this take, and if so, could we bring legal action against this person?
It really depends on how the network is set up, but yes, in most cases a competant IT peson could set up some kind of monitoring to see what’s happening.
I can’t speak to the “legal action” question – I’m not a lawyer.
how da ?a know if some one opening my email
Read the very short article at the top of the page. The one that starts with “You don’t”.
How do i know if there is a key logger on my pc?
Someone hacked into my email inbox in other words accesed my email account.I would think on June 4th 2007 at night. Deleted everything in my inbox and several folders. Some that I did not open and read as yet. I want to know if you can tell when and where and if i am able to get my emails backed to my inbox. Also to put a stop to this person they have invaded my privacy.
Can I recover my emails that they deleted
Hey Leo………i wanna ask U regarding this matter…is there a way to find out…if sumone opened ur email id from someother system…to be specific…can we get to know wen was the last time the email was opened….??can we find out from Yahoo…i mean is there a way to check yahoo logs…or is there anything or website which shows u the last time wen the emaial was opened….????waiting for Ur Reply……???
If someone has my password and username and is checking my email from another computer, is there any technology available on the market to identify who this person is? I have a hotmail account
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Not that I know of, no.
Leo
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How do I recoup professionally after someone was monitoring my emails and read what I thought were deleted emails to another colleague that were written in frustration about her? Especially since she had written several disparaging emails about our boss in frustration, however; I had deleted them and would have not ever used them in a retaliatory manner.
Good evening happy new year of 2008 with blessings to all of the world.
Can I ask how can I know if my mail account is used by a third party because i guess that someone else is using it. I’m changing my password every so often, I don’t tell anybody but i am sure that it has been found by somebody that i am not sure who’s this one can be. What else do u suggest me that Can I do ? thanks
It’s is exactly what I was looking for last two weeks. One can get lots of useful info from this article, in other words, it’s never late to learn. Thanks to the author
Can one set up a password so that if your outlook is open they can’t open your mail.so if the item was clicked,a
password requirement block would pop up
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Other than using a password protected screensaver, no, not
that I’m aware of.
Leo
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=HwSF
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I dont want to know how they did it, is it possible? I know it can be blocked by someone but can they get into my email & read it?
Thanks Salome
Guys this is too simple.. Just send a mail to ur own inbox and check it outlater..
when i sign into my gmail account,,there is a notice saying that i already sign out of my mail..does this mean someone was just in my mail box?
Doesn’t AOL tell you when someone has opened your mail and the time?
If not, we should all write to the software co. and tell them they need to be able to do this!!
How much do these types of spyware run and I would LOVE to put it on my son’s computer because I KNOW his wife is reading my emails to him. (She turns into a controling ….)Where can I buy these?
my emails appear to have been opened when i get to them from the website….how do i find out what ip address the email was opened at? can this be done?
folks, if you are using outlook for your email, you can assign “delegates” and give “permission” to open your outlook email. I view my boss’ email daily. go to your outlook help and type in delegates. Someone probably is viewing and using your email account.
05-Sep-2009
I have delegated access to my bosses inbox. Can she tell when I have read them if I mark them unread?
@Secretary
It depends if your boss has any activity monitoring or keylogger software installed.