# What is the worst thing you've accidentally seen on a computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736 "2017-05-16T12:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/21 "2017-05-16T23:09:55Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Atamasama is right. As a career HR manager, I was privy to secrets about employees I truly wish I hadn’t been forced to know. > > The worst case for me was an email from the VP Operations to a young lady on the evening housekeeping crew. Why an otherwise intelligent man would make such remarks through a company email I will never know, but in essence, the email was a thinly veiled threat to the housekeeper to meet him that night in the company gym for sexual relations or he would ‘have her job’. > > One should alway double check one’s “To” line in an email before sending… And this person too? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/22 "2017-05-16T23:11:02Z")
> [@Calatin](#): > > In law school, people bring their laptops into classes for note-taking or to surf the internet (one guy entered into online poker tournaments during lectures, and ended up doing so well over the semester that he dropped out of law school). > > Well, during the first semester, there was a girl sitting in front of me, and she was working out of a folder full of pictures. We saw her open one, and it was a close-up of a woman’s genitals, and frankly, it almost looked like a smoker’s lung. After our shock, she opens another one, and this one looked like it was splayed out. > > This process continued throughout the class, and we stared in shock, horror, and fascination, as each image was worse than the last. > > We didn’t talk to her for a week, because we had no idea what to say. Finally, some of us were sitting around the quad, and it turns out that her mom was a fairly famous plastic surgeon, focusing on labiaplasty. > > My friend helped run her mom’s website, and on that day, she had been working on before and after photos of the work her mom did, and my friend was focusing on all the “before” photos to make sure they were paired up accordingly, by file name. > > Every now and then, I would talk friends into visiting the website, because some of those pictures are right on the front page, and seeing the looks on their faces once the page finished loading… I’ve heard that law school lectures can be awfully boring, but…really? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/23 "2017-05-16T23:23:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > :eek: > > So, what happened to this person? I certainly hope he was fired. He was about a month from retirement after decades of service so I’m sure they just let it go. It sure left me with mixed feelings at his retirement party. I’ll also add, we work for the government as a union. Even if action is/was initiated it wouldn’t take effect until an extensive investigation. Maybe something did or will happen, I’m sure I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/24 "2017-05-16T23:36:52Z")
I sat down at our family computer to compose an email. I thought I had cut something to paste but when I pasted, it was my daughter’s private blog entry about how she and her cousin shoplifted at the mall. There was hell to pay that night. I don’t think my daughter, in the past 14 years, has ever once given me a bit of trouble since that night. My niece, unfortunately, ended up not learning her lesson until the police caught her a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/25 "2017-05-16T23:50:07Z")
This is second hand, but… I used to have a co-worker who left the video game industry (where I work) to join, of all things, the FBI. So one day he was in a big auditorium-style classroom at the FBI academy, and this was during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, so while bored in class, he decided to check on what was going on. He intended to go to [www.whitehouse.gov](http://www.whitehouse.gov), the official white house website. But he typed in [www.whitehouse.com](http://www.whitehouse.com) by mistake. Which is a hardcore porn site. With his laptop fully visible to anyone sitting behind him. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/26 "2017-05-16T23:51:53Z")
[hamsterdance.com](http://hamsterdance.com) ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/27 "2017-05-16T23:58:27Z")
Had to do forensics on a (government) computer an officer had been wrongfully using to trawl pornography. Some _really_ out there stuff. Not neccessarily _harmful_, but _wierd_. Some things, you just don’t want to know that they exist. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/28 "2017-05-17T00:06:40Z")
I manage the website for my workplace. We have programs we offer in partnership with other departments in our organization, and of course there are links on our site that go to the specific program pages of those other departments. One day I got an email from someone interested in one of these dual programs, saying only that there was ‘inappropriate content’ at one of the links there. Someone had hacked a partner’s site and changed a few things… turns one of the links on their page led to bestiality porn. Oops. Thankfully it was resolved within the hour. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/29 "2017-05-17T00:35:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And this person too? Absolutely! It was a tough sell because it was a family-owned business and the jerk in question was the owner’s brother-in-law. But thankfully wisdom prevailed and he was let go. Unfortunately he wasn’t given a swift kick in the a\*\* on the way out the door. ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/30 "2017-05-17T00:49:40Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I sat down at our family computer to compose an email. I thought I had cut something to paste but when I pasted, it was my daughter’s private blog entry about how she and her cousin shoplifted at the mall. There was hell to pay that night. I don’t think my daughter, in the past 14 years, has ever once given me a bit of trouble since that night. My niece, unfortunately, ended up not learning her lesson until the police caught her a few months later. Story please? ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/31 "2017-05-17T02:16:27Z")
The worst thing I ever saw on my laptop was a rum and coke spilled on the keyboard. I still haven’t gotten over it. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/32 "2017-05-17T02:36:49Z")
Not accidental, but certainly unexpected. I work in a 9-1-1 center and continuing education is required to maintain certifications. Some of the training updates include highly graphic photos of traumatic injuries, suicides, and the like. We do not need to see the gory details to understand the issues. Uncontrolled vehicle accelerations were a thing for a while so a training update was rolled out. I did not need to see graphic photos of a crash victim to understand the potential seriousness of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/33 "2017-05-17T02:37:51Z")
-I saw an article on Snopes about “crush videos”. It showed pictures of some Chinese chick in stilettos stomping a kitten to death. -One Guy, One Jar. Most shock sites don’t bother me, but this one was a little too much. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/34 "2017-05-17T02:59:07Z")
Back in the day, when you booted your Win95 computer you got a ‘splash’ screen of the Win95 logo for 20-30 seconds while the OS booted. My boss was a real d-bag…& totally computer illiterate, which was really tough because I managed a computer system. :dubious: I changed the Win95 splash screen to something mildly pornographic; however, because the computer was still booting, you can’t just Alt-Tab to another program like you could if you were playing solitaire. (Those PCs had games on them & email, but no internet browser access.) ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/35 "2017-05-17T03:06:30Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Not accidental, but certainly unexpected. > > I work in a 9-1-1 center and continuing education is required to maintain certifications. Some of the training updates include highly graphic photos of traumatic injuries, suicides, and the like. > > We do not need to see the gory details to understand the issues. Uncontrolled vehicle accelerations were a thing for a while so a training update was rolled out. I did not need to see graphic photos of a crash victim to understand the potential seriousness of the matter. It’s probably so that when you see a similar scene in person, you remain calm and useful and still able to perform useful work when a similar scenario happens in real life or something. I heard that there was a line of specialized police work that required recruits to listen to some audio clips of some standard civilians being tortured or murdered or something. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/36 "2017-05-17T04:16:27Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I sat down at our family computer to compose an email. I thought I had cut something to paste but when I pasted, it was my daughter’s private blog entry about how she and her cousin shoplifted at the mall. There was hell to pay that night. I don’t think my daughter, in the past 14 years, has ever once given me a bit of trouble since that night. My niece, unfortunately, ended up not learning her lesson until the police caught her a few months later. She was, like, SOOOOOOOOO busted! 😃 I heard about some parents who took their teenage daughter’s computer in for service, because it had been infected with a virus they couldn’t get rid of. The technician cleared the virus, and discovered gigabytes of gay male porn on that computer. :eek: He simply told the parents, when they came to pick it up, that they should keep a closer eye on their daughter’s Web searches. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/37 "2017-05-17T04:36:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And how did you happen across this? 😕 > > A not-very-active website I used to post on, which has since been shut down, lost its webmaster, and all kinds of disgusting porno images started popping up in the message boards. There’s a place and time for porno, and this wasn’t it, especially because a lot of the pictures appeared to depict underage teenagers getting it on, which was why they were disgusting. :eek: Cyberzine? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/38 "2017-05-17T08:06:36Z")
Financial information. In one case, financial information which was illegal for me to know, but also illegal by itself: the company in question was in breach of at least three laws I know of, and I’m not even a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/39 "2017-05-17T09:48:04Z")
The worst thing I have ever seen is the comments section of any Breitbart “news” article. It really provided an ugly insight to Trump’s supporters. ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736/40 "2017-05-17T11:15:31Z")
Oh my…don’t know if this count as worst but **definitely** weird; I was in school during 2012 taking an exam in a German room. There was a poster of famous German figures, obviously assumed because there was Einstein there but didn’t know any others nevertheless. I saw a picture of who I now know to be the musician, Joseph Haydn. Anyway fast forward to 2013 and being the weird kid that I was and still am today, I was searching up sexual kinks and fetishes online. I type in poop fetish in Wikipedia and…wouldn’t you believe it. It redirects to ‘Joseph Hadyn’. I thought it was a mistake on my part but 4 weeks later, it still redirected whenever I typed in poop fetish and again until I forgot about it then typed in a year later and it was gone. Asked a question on city-data but never got any explanation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-thing-youve-accidentally-seen-on-a-computer/786736.md?page=3)