Evil College Roommate
Caught in the act! Roommate Spy Ring Cracked!

October 22, 2001 - Roommates. We’ve all had them from time to time, and while most of our experiences may have been good, there’s always that one or two that make us wonder if, in fact, humanity has  evolved yet. Most of our roommate experiences begin as early as college, where the idea of a roommate is practically inevitable. So what do you do when you suspect a college roommate of stealing your things, and breaking into your computer, reading your private files, and yet constantly denying that they’re doing it?

This was the case with Erik Robinson, a college student having nothing but trouble with his roommate Tom. Erik suspected Tom of stealing his things, breaking his computer and AV equipment, and accessing private computer files on Erik’s computer. Even though Erik had password protected his files, he suspected that Tom had a program to crack the password. And when confronted, Tom simply denied that anything ever happened.

But XCam and XRay Vision and Hawkeye made it possible for Erik to find an iron-clad solution. Erik set up a macro through ActiveHome that would allow him to monitor his room while he was out. He also used Hawkeye to detect motion in the room, which turned on his hidden ScanCam and sent commands to activate the VCR. Erik had pre-loaded a tape, and set it to slow speed, so that he had a good eight hours worth of recording time. "I also used an XRay vision cam, which monitored my computer and sent email pictures the moment it sensed any kind of motion." Erik remembered.

Within two days, the "evil" roommate was busted. Caught on tape, caught on jpeg files, and now the proud owner of his own mug shot. All thanks to X10, who helped Erik get his "hard" evidence.

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