back to article Fresh cup of WTF with lunch? TeamViewer's big in Twitter's domination-as-a-service scene

Users taking to Twitter to moan about TeamViewer have received a bit of a shock when attempting to use the eponymous hashtag. It appears that as well as providing corporates with their IT support needs, users have found an entirely different, and quite literal, use for the remote control software. Rather than being wielded by …

  1. WolfFan Silver badge

    Nothing surprises me anymore

    see title.

  2. Valeyard

    To do the same for free...

    ...leave your laptop unlocked at work and watch just how imaginative your colleagues are

    1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

      Re: To do the same for free...

      Been there, done that (although it's actually a desktop I have at work). Learned to alway use the lock feature on whatever OS I happen to be using, even before my employer (as a response to GDPR) required we all lock our computers if we leave them for any reason.

      I can't go into details ('cause I can't remember much), but lets just say I had to spend a while cleaning my facebook account.

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
        Coat

        You accessed your FaceBook account from your work computer ?

        There are things I'd like to say about that, but decency prevents me from doing so.

        Your IT admin might want to have a word with you, though.

      2. Jim McCafferty

        Re: To do the same for free...

        Back in the good old days of NT, one of our colleagues was a Man Utd fan. When he left his PC unlocked, we installed an exe running on a timer which periodically changed his desktop background to Arsenal. He immediately took to locking his PC at that point - by that stage it was too late.

        Another one is the 2nd wireless keyboard trick (insignificant USB dongle recommended). The joker didn't press keys all the time. He monitored our colleague, and pressed single keys when he was in important dialog boxes (like logins). The prank ended shortly before an imminent nervous breakdown.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: To do the same for free...

          "You accessed your FaceBook account from your work computer ?"

          Yeah i do that. Whats the big deal? they dont pay me enough to work the full shift

          I never leave it unlocked though. Nobody should. That genuinely is bad on quite a few fronts.

          1. Adrian 4

            Re: To do the same for free...

            "You accessed your FaceBook account from your work computer ?"

            You still have a facebook account ? WTF ?

    2. Jeffrey Nonken

      Re: To do the same for free...

      What happens to me is that I verify that my colleagues are mature adults who respect me.

      1. DJV Silver badge

        Re: To do the same for free...

        Blimey! Are you sure you're on Earth?

    3. BlueAdmiral

      Re: To do the same for free...

      That would be how we keep the office stocked with cakes and snacks

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well, being the curious sort that I am I headed over to twitter to see what all the fuss was about, scrolled down about 2/3 pages and came across this absolutely shocking tweet.

    "your fair use algorithm thinks I’m commercially using. I’m not. I’ve filled in your form about a week ago no response please look into this I know you’re busy"

    I'm not sure about anyone else but I think that's just terrible and cannot be defended morally.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why would you even search for TeamViewer on Twitter in the first place? Mr Guppy protests too much...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Go on, you know you want to: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23teamviewer&src=typd

      1. Waseem Alkurdi

        Thanks for making my stomach turn and causing my no-porn-ever-promise to be broken ...

        Damn ... I never knew it would be THIS terrible ...

        Now if you excuse me:

        waseem@body: ~ # ./bleach-eyes.sh

        Bleaching eyes ...

        Too dirty to continue. Aborting ...

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

          Can anyone shed light on how the recommendation soundbites are obtained

          I use these tools for ... research...

      2. Terry 6 Silver badge

        I admit it. I did have a look. I guess this is what the politicians call the enterprise economy. Certainly a niche market. I wonder how anyone got on to this idea in the first place, though. My best guess is that even the women who pose in front of cameras need tech support-when the technology goes TI...... ( no I can't bring myself to write that) and one of them IT guys must have had a bright idea.

  5. tim 13

    I could do with some clarification. Are people just using the #teamviewer tag on twitter as code for naughtyness, or are they actually using the application\service to broadcast it?

    1. Ben Tasker

      Neither.

      They're paying a dominatrix (usually) to Teamviewer onto their machine and exert complete control. Based on some of the results for the hashtag, they commonly sit and watch, in front of the webcam whilst wearing lingerie.

      The "thrill" apparently coming from the level of control being exerted. She could screencap the cam and then post it on their facebook page. Or log into Amazon and order a bunch of stuff, etc.

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        Oh God, I am on the edge of my seat.

        Waiting to fall over.

        <snooze>

        Well, each to his own I suppose. I'll continue googling "tits & stockings", thank you.

  6. Jeffrey Nonken

    Rule 34.

  7. Alistair
    Windows

    Dear god the things that show up in my email twitter feed.....

    Oh *thank god*.

    I don't have a twatter feed.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Am I getting old or have Reg articles become completely incomprehensible?

    I read the title. No idea what's going on. Read the first couple of paragraphs. Still nothing.

    Read the Tweet, and it all becomes clear.

    Then read the paragraph after the tweet, and I am back to thinking wtf is reg on about. Their definition of teamviewing is not about being dominated so the xp reference fails hard. Seriously Reg. Not every article has to be unbelievably hilarious. Sometimes I would like to leave an article with a reasonable understanding of the topic.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The category for this article is "Bootnotes," which apparently means anything goes. A quick squiz at the bootnotes category is most instructive.

      Anyway, you can just ignore that category and you'll be fine. I think. But don't quote me.

      1. Scott 53

        "A quick squiz"

        I'd check urbandictionary before you use that phrase again. Unless that's what you meant, of course.

  9. David Roberts
    WTF?

    Unpatched XP?

    Has anyone tested this recently?

    This used to be a thing when XP was current and some Internet connections came with just a modem and not a NAT router but are there still people/systems out there automatically searching for newly connected unpatched XP systems?

  10. Camilla Smythe

    Yew! Ugly People.

    Who'd of thunk?

    Goes off in search of kitteh pictures.

  11. imanidiot Silver badge
    Childcatcher

    meh

    as far as domination/submission kinks go, this one is mild to say the least. I'd almost call it tame and unimaginative.

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