changing rooms/can't trust current one

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**Partially cross posted here**

I go home on the weekend, I leave Friday afternoon and return Sunday night. I got back to my room and discovered that someone had gone on to my computer and through checking logs, I discovered that this/these person/people had both times tried tried to log on multiple times, only to be stopped by the logon password.

So I'd figure I'd ask my roommate what was up. He Just got back and I casually popped the question of who was on my computer with out telling him of the sleuthing I did to see what they were doing. His response....

"I have no idea, I wasn't here long friday, I just got back (pause) It was probably just someone trying to change your home page." He then walked out.

I thought about that and my B.S. meter shot off-scale high. I can only draw two conclsuions from this.

1. He was gone for the weekend, but didn't lock the door

- or -

2. Someone he knew *was* trying to get on my computer and he's just lying to cover there ass.

Either way I've decided I can no longer trust him. He either doesn't have the presence of mind to care about my property, despite me pressing the issue, or, the explination I find more plausable - he's is/allowing people to do these things simply becasue he finds it fun.

I know he has people in the room when I'm gone for the weekend becasue when I get back my bed is always shoved up against the wall when I don't have it like that.

So with that in mind, I've changed all my passwords and turned on the BIOS password and tomorrow or more likely tuesday, I'm going to talk to the RHD explain what's going on and ask to change rooms for the next semester, maybe trying to get a single while I'm at it.

Or am I just being paranoid?

I'd say the passwords will be enough for a while. You can't go thru life running away everytime someone touches your stuff. Is he the WoW guy?

It's more than just the computer thing. My roommate is an idealistic, thinks-he-knows-it-all freshmen, along with everyone else on my floor, and he is also the floor socialite. Everybody on my floor stops in so I would have no idea whom to suspect. He thinks I'm paranoid about everything and that I shouldn't "make a big deal out of everything", including him leaving the door to the room wide open while he's outside the building around and about the campus. If it were up to him and him alone, the door would be wide open 24/7.

Anyways, this guy has a lot of influence on my floor. The people he hangs out with most have taken on a "Scoots is a weird-o" demeanor and they have been treating me in a less than polite manner. I'm seeing many of the elments from these people as I did from the bullies who made my life miserable in junior high school.

I could claim harrasment and bring the issue before the community review board, but then I would have to make a case and be confronted by those I'm accusing and vouching for myself is something I've never been able to do, and win or loose, I would have the floor pissed off at me becasue everyone on the floor is his friend.

No, If I can do this quietly and under the radar with out making a lot of noise, the better off I think I'll be.

The computer in question is yours?
Why in hell would anyone have a legitimate need to change your homepage? What, spyware comes to us now?
Sounds like he's full of it. Consider using a BIOS password as well.

OK, it sounds like you are with the wrong kind of roommate, I wouldn't last a week with someone like that.

Yeah, I would switch as quietly as possible. It sounds like the people on your floor are typical obnoxious people who will rationalize away any kind of behavior, and besides, they all follow the "School Boy Code" of ethics wherein they follow the leader, and if the leader agrees that "Scoots is weird," then that's how it is. Sorry, dude. It's the principle of the thing, isn't it? I mean, it's your computer; no one else ought to be on it, whether or not they actually did something.

I pressed my roommate again about the computer, I confronted him this time with the evidence that I knew someone had tried to log into my computer twice along with telling him "I'm not blaming you for anything, I just want to know what happened."

He came clean and admitted that he had people in the room and that one of them "might have tried to get on my computer."

It wasn't a clean confession, but I'll take it as an admission of guilt. I'm still gonna try and switch rooms though.

Scott,

I am wondering if it would be easier to leave quietly. I am sure you can go to the Residence Life people (or whoever it is that runs the dorm system) and inform them that due to health reasons, the situation is not working out (which would not be a lie) and that a single room may be better. Since you are not a freshman, I do not see it as a problem getting a single room. You can tell them that he has guests in the room all of the time and that is causing a disruption in your sleep cycle. It depends on how much you want to push the AS/ADA issue with the school (here is a situation where the disabilities office should be able to assist you).

If you do get a new room assignment, do not tell your current roommate about it until the last day of school. Even there, I would just tell him that I thought it would be better for the both of us if I were to leave. I would not mention the specifics or really say anything else to him. If this roommate does indeed think that you are in the way of his social life, then he should be glad that you are leaving and will not press for answers either. If he does press for answers, simply ask him if he really wants you to stay (I would honestly bet not if he thinks you are weird).

As far as the computer/WoW stuff, I would not confront him again on it. You only have about 4 - 5 weeks to go before the end of the semester, just make sure to protect your stuff and slosh through it.

I was planning the same general thing, Being as far along as I am, I should have no problem aquiring a single, although I will end up paying for it since singles are 2x the cost. Should not be a problem though, I have unused loan money.

As for the computer, from now on when I leave for the weekend, the power cords are coming with me also.

I know that it probably won't help to hear this right now, but try not to make too much of it. To me (a NT), this sounds like the kind of drama that is guarenteed when living with another person, especially in a small space like a dorm room. Even though I was lucky to get along fairly well with my roommate in the dorm, we still had some high-tension moments, and definitely had to make an effort to spend time apart.

The next roommate I had (sharing an apartment) got fed up over an undiscussed dispute over dish washing, threw away all my plates and kitchen supplies, and it ended up in a huge shouting match, and several months of very tense and stressful living. As in the dorms, this was someone I didn't know until we started sharing an apartment, but by the time this incident happened, I thought we'd built a pretty strong friendship. I'm sure that if we hadn't lived together for quite so long, it would have remained so.

Even when I shared an apartment with someone I still consider a close friend, there was a serious incident involving him allowing a friend to crash in my bed without my knowing (which wouldn't have been a big deal, had he not used the bed for other hedonistic activities). This is a guy I'm still very good friends with, but it just goes to show that when you share living space with other people, this sort of thing is bound to happen.

The best advice I could possibly give anyone in college, AS or not, is to get your own apartment. If you've got a close friend or two who you know you can deal with (or at least forgive when they annoy you), share a place with them. If not, get a single. Living outside the dorms is a really healthy and liberating experience. I don't think you need to go as far as taking power cables with you - if they're that intent on powering up your computer, power cables are easy to find. The BIOS and other passwords should be more than enough to keep rude freshman brats away from anything beyond your powerup screen.

Switching could be an option, but annoying with the shifting and the packing. If you've got personal problems with the person you're sharing the room with, go for it.
However, that could take a while to find a new room/place to stay and you'll most likely be stuck where you are for the next few days at least. So in that time I'd go sleuthing. Passwords are great, but I'd recommend a keystroke logger and a motion detecting webcam recording program. That way when someone DOES do something to your computer you can see what they've done later on AND HAVE PROOF. Proof is VERY IMPORTANT if you want some sort of legitimacy to your move, otherwise you're just going to look crazy/paranoid/mental.
You seem to be confident that they'll try to tamper with your computer again because you've changed passwords and locked things up. Why not just sanitise the computer (encrypt/hide anything sensitive) and leave the surveillance programs in place? They'll run in the background undetected by anyone using the machine (unless you know where to look). Check google for reviews of various programs and then check the torrents for those programs. (http://www.btjunkie.com is where I find all my sneaky programs)
Remember: don't get paranoid, get proof.