Is an Apple Store demo Mac sending me iChat messages?

[nagromme]

Just trying to clear up a minor mystery:

For the past half year, every month or, so I get a "hello" or other simple iChat IM from a .Mac address ("ars" followed by some dot-separated numbers). I don't know who this is and I always find the message after they have logged off.

I thought maybe someone was using a .Mac account to send IM spam, but it seems unlikely. (I notice they are using one of OS X's built-in user icons.)

Today I got another such message--same user ID as always--asking "who are you?" I said "you messaged me" and the person said they are at a Mac at a certain Apple Store (not near me, though I was there last year). Then they logged off. They didn't seem to have any idea who I was.

Could the "ars" address be an iChat account associated with a specific Mac at a specific Apple Store, rather than belonging to a person? Has anyone noticed whether those demo Macs have iChat/.Mac accounts on them?

If they don't, then it's some real person's addy... but it's weird that they would ask who I am and then say where they are.

And if it IS a demo Mac's iChat account... how the heck is my address sitting in its buddy list? You'd think Apple wouldn't allow people to add buddies permanently to demo Macs. But I assume that's what has happened... and every month or so someone IMs me from the buddy list just for the heck of it. Maybe they even think they are IMing another Mac in the store.

EDIT: one of the dotted numbers in the address is the same number that appears in the Apple.com URL for Genius Bar reservations at the Apple Store the person mentioned. Can't be coincidence. Solved my own mystery Except for why I'm in the buddy list. Makes me want to trek across the country and check that machine

I bet the account format is "ars" (Apple Retail Store) + store ID # + Mac ID #. So I guess I can now IM people at Apple Stores and get my revenge

 

[yagran]

Just trying to clear up a minor mystery:

For the past half year, every month or, so I get a "hello" or other simple iChat IM from a .Mac address ("ars" followed by some dot-separated numbers). I don't know who this is and I always find the message after they have logged off.

I thought maybe someone was using a .Mac account to send IM spam, but it seems unlikely. (I notice they are using one of OS X's built-in user icons.)

Today I got another such message--same user ID as always--asking "who are you?" I said "you messaged me" and the person said they are at a Mac at a certain Apple Store (not near me, though I was there last year). Then they logged off. They didn't seem to have any idea who I was.

Could the "ars" address be an iChat account associated with a specific Mac at a specific Apple Store, rather than belonging to a person? Has anyone noticed whether those demo Macs have iChat/.Mac accounts on them?

If they don't, then it's some real person's addy... but it's weird that they would ask who I am and then say where they are.

And if it IS a demo Mac's iChat account... how the heck is my address sitting in its buddy list? You'd think Apple wouldn't allow people to add buddies permanently to demo Macs. But I assume that's what has happened... and every month or so someone IMs me from the buddy list just for the heck of it. Maybe they even think they are IMing another Mac in the store.

EDIT: one of the dotted numbers in the address is the same number that appears in the Apple.com URL for Genius Bar reservations at the Apple Store the person mentioned. Can't be coincidence. Solved my own mystery Except for why I'm in the buddy list. Makes me want to trek across the country and check that machine

I bet the account format is "ars" (Apple Retail Store) + store ID # + Mac ID #. So I guess I can now IM people at Apple Stores and get my revenge

haha, i guess if you rang that store you could get them to delete you from the list if it really bothers you.

 

[SkyBell]

The Macs at the Apple store do have they're own iChat accounts. Sounds like someone added you to it's buddy list.

 

[psycoswimmer]

The "demo" Macs at the Apple Stores aren't really compromised in any way, it seems. Before getting a Mac, I thought you could log into iChat the same way you do with AIM on Windows, but you had to go into iChat preferences and do it that way. But I could log in with the store (?) username.

 

[twoodcc]

ha, that's pretty funny

 

[nagromme]

I'm glad I figured it out. It's been driving me crazy for months, thinking I should know this person and always missing their messages so I can't ask

It's literally once a month--not a problem--so I'll just wait and see how long until I get removed from the buddy list.

(I know Apple restores the HDs to default regularly, but a buddy list isn't local.)

I added the ars account to my own Buddies a few months ago, and I notice it's almost never online. But it just came on so I sent it a test message. The message I sent did not say "Congratulations! You have just won this Mac!"

 

[mgmusicman94]

Hey, can you tell us the screen name of the mac? So we can talk to the people there???

 

[chilipie]

Hey, can you tell us the screen name of the mac? So we can talk to the people there???

This thread's getting on for two years old matey…

 

[Rapmastac1]

Bronto called, he wants his thread back!