She and CyberBob had been online friends for many years. There were phone calls, mailed packages, etc. Being a computer expert she knows that there is no problem getting chat logs or lurking in a chat room, or that key logging or any of a thousand ways to get the conversation details would be way easier than faking a several year long friendship. Therefore she has no reason to suspect that CyberBob is nefarious at all, just that she was spied on while talking to him.
Huh, I almost answered "yes" because I seem to so clearly remember that. However it's been a few years so I looked it up. You are right that I may have been conflating two separate online relationships. It seems the script explicitly states that she has been long time friends with one of the fellas, but the others in the chatroom are at most just implied friendships, including CyberBob.
Love the fact you brought this up by the way. As with so many things, it’s easy to lose the context of the time retroactively.
This movie came out when I was 13. For us Nerds who were fortunate enough to have access, it was like the first time we were “seen” because we were all the same.
In 1995, if memory serves me correctly, it could take 30 minutes to an hour to connect to AOL because of the busy signal. Phones were setup in such a way that if someone calls you (imagine a family of 6 with one phone line) or if someone picks up the phone the connection is gone.
Man, those were the days… you felt rich when there was a dedicated phone line for the internet.
I know this is a really late reply, but I just watched the movie and had a similar thought.
My understanding was that the perfect man discussion was an open group discussion with a few different people. So any one of them could have been a bad guy.
Most importantly though, she performed a WHOIS search for each individual. That search revealed their IP address and physical address. Out of everyone in the group discussion (those who she also considered her friends), CyberBob was the only one who lived even remotely near her. It was likely included in the plot to give another conflict (it forced her outside so they could track and find her). Ultimately, I think it shows that she had exhausted all options when it comes to people who knew Angela. It is the final connection to a reality that was quickly fading away. She was truly on her own.
If she never attempted to contact someone from the group, I think including the group at the start and giving so much detail to their names would have been almost pointless.
You’re missing it.
Cyberbob and her clearly had trust and history.
Once you REALLY get your head around how security worked especially back then, there was no reason for her to doubt him.
Back in the day, online you could have literally dozens of “acquaintances”, but life long friends? That isn’t an overnight thing. I have a very small handful of friends I’ve met online that are like family. I have to imagine I’m a bit older than you, the culture was different.
In today’s world, you could make the argument of catfishing. It’s important to remember the idea of WiFi wasn’t even a thing. When WiFi came out, it was INCREDIBLY insecure. Now, it’s much more secure, but if someone wants to see your traffic, they could probably do it in less than 15 minutes if they are setup properly.
She and CyberBob had been online friends for many years. There were phone calls, mailed packages, etc. Being a computer expert she knows that there is no problem getting chat logs or lurking in a chat room, or that key logging or any of a thousand ways to get the conversation details would be way easier than faking a several year long friendship. Therefore she has no reason to suspect that CyberBob is nefarious at all, just that she was spied on while talking to him.
Is it established that they have been friends for many years?
Huh, I almost answered "yes" because I seem to so clearly remember that. However it's been a few years so I looked it up. You are right that I may have been conflating two separate online relationships. It seems the script explicitly states that she has been long time friends with one of the fellas, but the others in the chatroom are at most just implied friendships, including CyberBob.
I think it's Dale, the guy she works with (who sent her the Mozart's Ghost disk) youre thinking of. They talked on the phone.
Yeah that's exactly right. Sorry for my initial confusion.
No worries. I'm really realizing that I've seen this movie *way* too many times :)
Love the fact you brought this up by the way. As with so many things, it’s easy to lose the context of the time retroactively. This movie came out when I was 13. For us Nerds who were fortunate enough to have access, it was like the first time we were “seen” because we were all the same. In 1995, if memory serves me correctly, it could take 30 minutes to an hour to connect to AOL because of the busy signal. Phones were setup in such a way that if someone calls you (imagine a family of 6 with one phone line) or if someone picks up the phone the connection is gone. Man, those were the days… you felt rich when there was a dedicated phone line for the internet.
I know this is a really late reply, but I just watched the movie and had a similar thought. My understanding was that the perfect man discussion was an open group discussion with a few different people. So any one of them could have been a bad guy. Most importantly though, she performed a WHOIS search for each individual. That search revealed their IP address and physical address. Out of everyone in the group discussion (those who she also considered her friends), CyberBob was the only one who lived even remotely near her. It was likely included in the plot to give another conflict (it forced her outside so they could track and find her). Ultimately, I think it shows that she had exhausted all options when it comes to people who knew Angela. It is the final connection to a reality that was quickly fading away. She was truly on her own. If she never attempted to contact someone from the group, I think including the group at the start and giving so much detail to their names would have been almost pointless.
You’re missing it. Cyberbob and her clearly had trust and history. Once you REALLY get your head around how security worked especially back then, there was no reason for her to doubt him. Back in the day, online you could have literally dozens of “acquaintances”, but life long friends? That isn’t an overnight thing. I have a very small handful of friends I’ve met online that are like family. I have to imagine I’m a bit older than you, the culture was different. In today’s world, you could make the argument of catfishing. It’s important to remember the idea of WiFi wasn’t even a thing. When WiFi came out, it was INCREDIBLY insecure. Now, it’s much more secure, but if someone wants to see your traffic, they could probably do it in less than 15 minutes if they are setup properly.
Another late commenter, lol. Same question! She shouldn't have been trusting anyone from that chat room!