Q: For the past three years, I have been a victim of online and phone harassment. I reported him to the police and the FBI, but they couldn't arrest him. Do you know what I can do for:
My husband and I use Wi-Fi to access the Internet on our iPhone, but I can't connect to social media, especially Facebook. Activity logs for both of our Facebook accounts show that IP addresses other than our IP address have been connected to those accounts.
About two years ago, my Gmail account suddenly started receiving about 400 pornographic spam messages per month.
• My iPhone couldn't receive multiple calls, emails and text messages that friends and family said they sent me.
• On my old phone (Android phone), the call from the local sheriff's office was cut off before I could answer it. One deputy said my phone number seemed to deter him (not).
• When the same Android phone sat on the dresser, my husband, I heard it make strange noises in the middle of the night.
• When an unidentified white van pulled up in our neighbor's driveway, my tablet began to get locked out of my Instagram account. The driver told the neighbors he stopped because he liked their lights.
A: The common thread running through all of these events is wireless communication.
One possibility is that someone is using illegal devices called "signal jammers" to block your Wi-Fi and cell phone signals. Another possibility is that someone has hacked into your home Wi-Fi router and installed malware on it that affects all of your devices.
How can your wireless signal be blocked remotely? Jammers near you may interfere with Wi-Fi, cellular, or GPS radio frequencies. While jammers are illegal in the United States, they can be easily purchased online.
The only way to avoid interference is to report it to the police. I recommend that you keep a log of Wi-Fi or cellular outages. Make a note of the date, time, and duration of each event, and make a note of any unknown vehicles near you at the time (jammer ranges vary, but are usually no more than 150 feet).
How does a Wi-Fi router get hacked? Sometimes hackers use simple technical skills, but more often they gain access because no one changes the router's default passwords (which are well known to hackers). Once a router is hacked, it can spy on your Internet communications (stealing social media passwords, for example), help hackers attack your other Wi-Fi network devices and interrupt your Internet access.
Replace the router. Many routers have their own protective firewall. And, of course, change the default password for your new router.
Keep in mind that if your router gets hacked, your computer may also get hacked.
