AIBU Distressed after work colleague told me my phone (hotspot) used to access Escort website?

[LonelyRose]

Apologies in advance I'm not up to scratch with the posting etiquette. I've been a long-time lurker here but had no real need to post up until now that is. Also sorry if the title is confusing, I've tried to explain my problem succinctly but its a bit complicated.

I've very upset all week despite putting on a brave face in front of colleagues, friends, and family. Cut a long story short I had problems with my phone accessing the Internet during the past few weeks, i.e. pages not loading, so I handed it to one of my work colleagues in IT who told me he'd look into it. He managed to fix the problem and I got the phone back the same evening (this was on Monday), which I was happy about.

However, as he handed the phone back, he mentioned that while checking for issues, he'd come across logs that showed someone had attempted (and failed) to access an escort website called Adwork numerous times (sorry I don't remember the exact name of the site). Naturally I was a bit taken aback by this as I assumed he meant someone had used my phone while it was unattended. So I pressed him to tell me more. He said that someone had tried accessing my phone's WIFI using a second device (i.e. using my phone as a 'hotspot') so I was quite relieved. With specialist software it was possible to extract times/device names, but we both thought that was OTT as it was probably just one contractors that drift in and out of our office.

However, later that evening I suddenly remembered OH had used my phone as a hotspot last year, and I just don't wanna go down that path whatsoever (I actually feel really sick in my gut as its unthinkable for me). Up till now he hasn't given me any 'suspicions' so I'm kind of angry at myself for even entertaining that thought.

Also surely 1 year+ is a a long time for a phone to be connected to a hotspot. Surely after some time the connection would time-out or refresh and so on simply for security reasons? (Thing is I'm crap with technical stuff like that so I can't be sure).

Sorry if I'm rambling here but I don't really wanna approach my close friends about this in case they think I'm a weirdo or paranoid freak for obsessing about this. I think I am probably being unreasonable but that horrible niggly feeling at the back of my mind just won't go away.

Hotspots only last for short periods so it’s unlikely it could have been your husband.. When did the attempted connection take place? You have to be quite close to the other device for the connection to work so unless you work next to your DH it couldn’t have have happened while you were at work. It would be someone in your office.

Could he not tell you the dates and times this had happened?

Why would your husband need to access your phone as a hotspot in normal circumstances?

Ask for the times and the device. It wouldn't stay connected for a year, but obviously it could be your dh using it as a hotspot again. That would seem to be vastly the most likely thing to have happened, especially as he's done it before (the hotspot connection).

Why don't you get the time and device from the IT guy. And without mentioning the dodgy site, ask your dh if he used your phone as a hotspot at that time?

Does you hotspot have a password? I thought most did so it can’t be used unless the password is entered. My phone has a bar at the top if someone is connected to the hotspot.

Who else has your personal hotspot password, and access?

What did your husband use it as a hotspot for? Some betting or live sport websites have automatic pop ups for sites like this- could that be the case here?

If he stored your phone as a wifi address on his device and you have your phone enabled as a hotspot permanently (which it sounds like you have) then yes it could well be accessed by your dp after a year, check your phone settings also it's really not a good idea to let randoms use your mobile data like that as anyone with the right apps can hack your phone

I didn't think it recorded the sites visited just that so and so connected to your hotspot.
Also could have been an advert your phone blocked.
Lock your hotspot, so only someone with the password can use it.
Also the tech could have tried been banned and is covering his own arse.

You need a password to use a hot spot so it is someone who you have given the password too. Your husband sounds a distinct possibility. Ask the IT guy for more details. Tell him you want to check it wasn't your kids.

Your colleague sounds like he overstepped the Mark. Which phone do you have? On iPhone you can go on web data and see all the pages your phone has clicked on, ads included.

Why on earth would your colleague need to see website data?

Phones hotspots come with an automatic password assigned to it ime. But once another device has used your hotspot once that device will remember the password, so the person can jump back onto your 4g when they want.

So it must be someone you’ve given the password to before.

If you have an iPhone every time it is accessed as a hotspot, a blue line will be across the top telling you how many phones are connected to it. Unless you have given others your password, they can’t log on to your hotspot.

Ask your IT to confirm the dates and times of the attempted access to the sites.

Go back to your IT guy and ask him for all the times, dates and device names.

Just checked , unless you have software on your phone that you added, you will only know someone is using your hotspot, not which site they are using.
He lied to you.

I’d find our when the attempted access took place. You can then narrow it down from there ....

It’s unlikely that a hotspot is remembered from a year ago ref hour OH.

The good news is that it has been blocked by software. Ask IT to tell you dates and time’s and you can narrow it down - if your hotspot is ‘visible’ to public anyone can try and access without you even knowing ...

I think he suspects your husband so that's why he told you in the first place.

Are you not more bothered that your work colleague was browsing your history??

My phone has a password assigned to the hot spot so random people can’t just use it. It is likely you dh phone remembered the password or he set it so it does, so he is the most likely candidate.

Although the IT guy seems to say someone tried to access but failed. I’m confused therefor of how any websites accessed were recorded. People don’t try to connect, fail then think well I’ll try to go on the website anyway iyswim.

Adultwork.

Fucking hate that website.

My computer automatically used my phone hotspot if the hotspot is turned on. Because the password is saved.

If your DH saved your hotspot password in his computer (or phone) his computer probably uses it whenever it detects it.

Why would a contractor in the office have your hotspot password?

It’s unlikely that a hotspot is remembered from a year ago

My computer saved all the passwords for networks I use, including my phone hotspot, and uses any that come up where I have clicked ‘connect automatically’. Some are networks from more than a year ago

This doesn’t make sense. If someone has tried and failed to connect your hotspot, your phone can’t log what websites they try to access.

For your phone to act as a hotspot you generally need to choose to activate that mode. Seems unlikely you have left your phone in hotspot mode for a year.
Also, I'm not convinced it's easy to retrieve what someone did on your hot-spot - unless the phone is question is a business issued phone which is actively monitored. Even then I'd say it's unlikely.

1. Most phones will tell you when someone is actively hotspotting on your connection, you won’t be unaware.

1. You can’t generally tell what they are accessing via your connection unless you have specialist software or apps already on your phone at the time the hotspotting happened. Is this a work phone with high levels of security?

I think your IT guy (or someone) is telling stories.