The Ins and Outs of a Hacking | Page 1 | References and Announcements | Guild Forums

[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:29 am

Reporting a Hacking

My account got hacked recently and that was when I realized that as many posts and as many times people educate others about the hackings, when you're in the situation it all seems completely different. Well now that I have experienced the rush of my hard earned gold and items being taken away from me right before my eyes, I know exactly what people are looking for. I wanted to share this newly acquired and already known information to anyone else that may have the same troubles as I have.

Table of contents
-Post one: Opening statement
-Post two: Basics to filling out a report
-post three: Dos and dont's
-post four: Helpful tips
-post five: reserved

-1-

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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:31 am

Basics to reporting the hack

When filling out the report you should really try to remember any account that may have caused you to be hacked. Such as signing into a strange site posing to be Gaia, giving out your password or even someone you know IRL that may have gone on your account and violated your respect for them.

I will go through the separate spots in the form to help you understand what it's asking for and possibly helping you understand why they may ask for it. First step is finding the proper place to report.

-Where do I report?
It's as simple as clicking a thread. Go the the main forums index and at the very bottom is a link that looks like this: [Report A Hacking] Click on it and it will take you to the form you need to completely fill out. This report will go directly to the admins and they will handle it from there.

-Breaking down the form
There are 8 points to the form. Username, e-mail, occured, friends, same computer, mules, missing item(s) and additional notes. I will go through every one of these and explain what they are asking for and for what purpose that may need explaining.

Username

This is simple. They are asking for the username of the account that was hacked. This is especially important for when you're reporting with a different account.

E-mail

They are asking for the email of the account that was hacked. Even if the e-mail has been changed, put the original email that you had. The admins have every action that has been done on your account on record. They can search for your e-mail and get your account.

Occured

The date and time that you noticed your account was hacked into. Get it as close to the time that it actually happened as you can. This is really helpful to the admins when they begin their search.

Friends

This is asking for the people that you know IRL that are also on Gaia. If you have your suspicions of it being a certain one don't leave the other ones out. You may be wrong and you could be protecting the correct person without realizing it.

Same Computer

This kind of explains itself. It's asking if you have shared the same computer with another member of Gaia and know about it. You may have left your account logged in or accidentally clicked on the remember password button. This happens often and is usually an easy answer to hackings.

Mules

The admins are going to trace every action that was done on the account from the time it was reported to the current moment. If the see many trades to certain accounts then they will pay extra attention to said account. So a list of your own mules is helpful being as many trades may be sent to them in your history and they can quickly disregard them.

Missing Item(s)

Assuming you can get back onto your account they would like to know if you're missing anything. If so they can trace it around many accounts and catch the one(s) whom had hacked your account. It is always good to keep an updated list of your items for such an event.

Additional Notes

This is where you explain everything as much as you can. Your beliefs on who may have done it and how you noticed that you were hacked. Try not to leave any details out for this is the important stuff that will help assist the admins to getting your account and items back.

-Now what?
So you're done with the report and want to know what else to do. Well there isn't much there is left other then live on a mule or create a new account and live your time on Gaia on that account untl the admins get to your claim. The process can take a long time and the is never a guarantee that all of your items will be returned to you. But the important thing is that you reported correctly and did everything the way that they would prefer you to.

-Why can't I just PM a mod?
I suppose you can do it that way. But they will almost always tell you to fill out the report. If you get your account back by means of an Omnimod((green mod)) then there is no hope as to tracking your items or anything else that has moved through your account. Filling out the form is the only way to get your problem to the correct people with complete access to all of your account's history.

-2-

[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
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[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
Captain

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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:32 am

Dos and don'ts

The do's and dont's ... aah the stress of getting your hard earned account and all of your items and reputation taken away from you in one fowl swoop. It really is a horrible thing to experience but not matter how frantic it may get, always go about it in the right manor.

DO relax and think the situation over a little bit. This is the only way you will think of the minor details such as the report.

DON'T go into the Q&A forum and post many threads with the titles "Hacked need a mod now!" or "Mod look here!!". Though they seem like a good idea they're really not. Most people who go into the thread will all tell you to fill out the report. The odds of a mod happening by your thread is slim to none and all you're doing is giving the hacker more time to remove the items from your account.

DO breath. It's a horrible moment, I know, but you're not going to get anywhere if you freak out and beat up your pillow. Though it may help your stress it won't help catch the hacker.

DON'T PM many mods asking them many questions or telling them that you were hacked. The only mods with the hacking jobs are the green omnimods and they're not usually online being as there are very few of them. PMing a mod is annoying to them and still isn't getting you anywhere.

DO change your password often. Do it with all of your accounts not just the one you're always on. Always make it a creative password and nothing simple like your pet's name or anything that someone can guess.

More to come when I think of them.

-3-

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:33 am

Helpful Tips

These are the thoughts sent to you by the other Gaians that may have some advice to help you protect your account and your items. They are really helpful and would be worth your time to read.

The awesome power of the mods
When I got hacked on my main account, DragonEnchantress, the first thing I did was full out the report. My password and my email had been changed on my account but I didn't falter with the form. When I finished I checked my account's posts and store to see if anything had been done to my DE. This was the only thing that I could do to watch over my items. Noticing that nothing had been sold and there were no posts I shamefully assumed that my account was okay and I went to bed.

When I had gone to work the next day when I got a call from my cousin saying that whomever was on my DE account was attempting to sell all of my major items, including my OMG. Freaked out I left work and jumped online and sure enough this was true. The first thing I did was check out the past posts and whomever was on my account was trying to sell my items as fast as they could.

The next thing I did was contact a Purple mod for I knew in advance that they have the power to disable the trades and shop on an account. The mod worked with me and she had locked my account from having any items further removed.

I was very lucky that the one who had hacked my account was rather stupid and obviously didn't know what they were doing, leading me to believe it was their first hack. This is something important that you should think about when you encounter a hack. If you catch it early enough PM a purple mod and ask them to lock your items from leaving your account.
The average hacker
Normally a hacker gets your account name and password through some means, this is obvious. Well the first step they will do is change your password and email so you can't retrieve a new one, leaving them plenty of time to explore and rape your account of it's items and what have. A normal hacker will rarely attempt to sell your items on your own account, like my encounter. The only explanation for the one on my account could be that they feared their accounts being traced to the hacking and didn't want to be caught. They are most likely take all of your items and such off your account within the first hour or so before you have time to catch them. When they think they're safe from your eyes they're not from the admins. They can trace every movement from a change of the account name and selling of a guild to what accounts your item moves through and where it ends up. They're not safe from you or the admins when handled properly.
Changing Password
If you ever have the feeling that someone may be on your account at the same time as you always remember, when you log out of your account it will log whomever out as well. If you get that creepy feeling that someone is on, quickly change your password and log out. Wait a few moments before logging back in. This will kick the intruder off your account further protecting you and your account.

If you have something that you think should be posted in here feel free to say so. I'll check back to this often for updates.

-4-

[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
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[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
Captain

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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:36 am

Reserved

-5-

Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:21 pm

I might suggest telling people to keep note of their user id number. 3nodding Even if your account's name is changed this unique number stays the same; thus letting you keep track of your account no matter what. o:

Ailse

Time-traveling Nymph

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[ Setsuna-Mudo ]
Captain

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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:15 pm

Kouli

I might suggest telling people to keep note of their user id number. 3nodding Even if your account's name is changed this unique number stays the same; thus letting you keep track of your account no matter what. o:

^^ sure, I just added the profile of my account to my favorites lol

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:03 pm

When I got hacked the hacker didn't change my e-mail address.So after I wrote a report and sent it in, I used the forgot password thing and it sent me an e-mail with a different password.So there for I got my account back.But later on my friend told me that the hacker actually sent my Guitar of Demona through like 6 or 7 accounts and sold it on Ebay. =( Oh I also saved the link of the trade he used to take my items.

Relentless_Sin

Hilarious Fatcat

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lizzieangel

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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:24 am

Can I just warn everyone that there is a PM going round supposedly from the admins asking for your password.
They are offering 100,000 gold and 2 donation items. Just be aware and don't fall for it.

Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 10:07 am

that=oldest trick ever.
-_-;;

Pira Bob
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wave222

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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:15 am

i dont think i can find the report in the main forum

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