Hackers, Scammers and Thieves just plain suck ...

[Nathan Caroland]

Today has been an interesting day for me.

I wake up to find that someone has announced on the shoutbox how to hack the Wyrd Online Webstore and provided a link. Granted, it was very helpful, and the individual posting it might have just been trying to help out and point out an exploit, but I think I would have enjoyed a private message versus a publically shouted one for the world to read.

So in some small irritation, a bit of trepidation, I went and started to look into this and found that the software the store uses had an exploit someone found who then of course blasted it out to the nation of script kiddies who are now all making a concerted effort to be asses.

Thankfully, the nothing 'Wyrd' has been hacked, I've made backups and after several hours of going through code, files, folders and reading support forums, found ways to shut down the exploits and to tighten up security. Yay, it was needed, glad I managed to do it without anything becoming an issue.

Did it none too soon either, as the site suddenly had an influx of traffic as folks tried accessing the backdoors. I've watched, waited and sighed with a bit of relief as they've moved on to their next prey as these kids play havoc with the net. Oh joy, little bastards.

This goes well with the hacking attempts that have occured three times now on the Wyrd website in general, as folks have tried to execute scripts and kill the forum, one even trying to exploit it like it was a phpBB forum. Obviously none of them succeded thankfully, as to be honest, I paid good money for this software license to avoid that exact thing - shoddy coding. FOD, REAPER and a load of others got hit with that a bit back and I made the choice then and there to not make that mistake.

Then of course, I get home tonight and I've got some e-mails, two phishing through ebay, one a question about something I'm selling (which I'm not, which of course got my attention) and then an e-mail from ebay saying they've detected third party activity on my account and have suspended it and removed all the items up for sale.

Yup, some dipwad apparently got into my ebay account and started selling all sorts of electronics. Ebay caught them, and set everything to right, which I'm thankful for, but I'm at a loss how the hell they got the information (I never click on those links, ever). Still, all taken care of, but just one more thing to flippin' add to the pot of $$$$$$$$ I'm starting to have about hackers.

Hang 'em by the gonads!

:AR15firin

[Duende]

Yep, I think hackers must lead sorry little pathetic lives since they get thier kicks out of making other people's lives miserable, people that they've never even met, seen, or even know anything about. Pretty sad that they waste thier lives away doing something so pointless and stupid. I hope there's a special place in Hell reserved for hackers.

:evil: :AR15firin Hackers :rocketwho :firedevil

:angryfire

[green stuff]

I hope there's a special place in Hell reserved for hackers.
At the right of Bill Gates :P?

[EricJ]

well, this guy actually seemed to be fairly considerate letting you know, although doing it in a way to stroke his e-penis a little by posting it in a public place... Overall I guess it's hard to be too upset at him.

As for phishing, those people are criminals, and more needs to be done. Even sending out emails like that should be a criminal offense I think, even if they are never caught doing anything with any info they obtain. Sort of like concealed weapons are illegal even if people never use them. In general this type of activity is going to need more policing as it's a growing issue.

Ebay hackers are jerks, but cool that the ebay sistem caught them, makes me a feel a little better about them.

[supervike]

Hackers and vandals are all the same ilk. Get their jollies by causing others grief. Sick world.


Phishing scams are freaking scary. Yesterday I got one from PAYPAL and it looked real. I even attempted to click the link when the old spidey sense started tingling....(or maybe that was the beef burrito I had for lunch) but had they Not spelled January correctly (they spelled it with an 'i') I may have been duped. And I consider myself cautious!!

[Spacemunkie]

Wham, Bam, Anti-Spam.

Mine is filled with all sorts of saddo's trying to beg or blag your cash. It's utterly impossible to police properly so it's simply up to individuals and companies to ensure their own safety.

It also helps if the people who host your site used to be hackers:D

[Nathan Caroland]

I'm not too upset with the individual that let me know about the security issue, as frankly, I would rather know about it early on than after the fact, just .... maybe off on the side, quietly, not on the megahorn where everyone can see/hear.

Ah well.

[Gonzoangel]

Hmmm, we've had a spate of these over here recently and it's on the rise.
I regularly receive emails supposedly from Ebay and banks asking for my details........ :bump: .......straight into the deleted folder, unless an email is from someone I know and trust, then it's gone.

[wiccanpony]

Man! I hate those e-mails that can give me the “secret” to a larger penis ...damn it ! I want the whole man! ;)

[Duende]

...damn it ! I want the whole man! ;)

:laugh:

:thumb:

[Nathan Caroland]

:twitch:

[Gonzoangel]

the “secret” to a larger penis

Doesn't work................

..................um.....so I'm told.... :whistle: :embarasse

[RedGoblin]

Yep, unfortunately if you own a website and use any out of the box opensource stuff you are asking for it. Should they really pat themselves on the back though considering they cna download the code, read it and look for a weakness?

I know its happened to Jeff Valent Studios a couple times and its happened to Grimey Games as well, which was why i switched stuff from phpBB and PostNuke to the system I use now, which I am switching the CMS again...I decided I dont care for the one I am using anymore...to involved to get news posted.

Anyhoo! DOWN WITH HACKERS...if they all got together and did something useful you might actually end up with a decent program. But instead lets all rip apart what someone else has taken the time to create. I would venture to guess that the majority of hackers out there are younger folks with nothing better to do. Someone should introduce them to wargaming. LOL

[Celtic Lilly]

I don't understand why these people do this sort of stuff. I can somewhat understand scams and trying to rip people off, they are doing it for money - its wrong, but that's the motive.

Hacking someones website with a script though just to say hi to their friends is just plain annoying and destructive and really shows a childish personality.

[Jabberwocky]

Sorry to hear the news. Glad you got the notice early.

[Mosch]

Anyhoo! DOWN WITH HACKERS...if they all got together and did something useful you might actually end up with a decent program. But instead lets all rip apart what someone else has taken the time to create. I would venture to guess that the majority of hackers out there are younger folks with nothing better to do. Someone should introduce them to wargaming. LOL

A Hacker in the old school definition of the word would probably be a great bonus to any group related to security, but what we're dealing with usually are scriptkiddies - people with no moral who leech off the exploits other people have found.


I don't understand why these people do this sort of stuff. I can somewhat understand scams and trying to rip people off, they are doing it for money - its wrong, but that's the motive.

I have a huge penis. I can $$$$$$$$ other people off and get away with it.

Really, that's all there is to it. I'm male too, I know how we think. Also, there are things I want to do because I can or want to see if I can. That's by the way the very motive that drove me to finding a backdoor in the security of steeldog's site which allowed me to get all the videos for free. I reported that though, it's fixed, we're all happy ;)