Good grief! This is awful.
Now, I had not been on the site at all yesterday, was planning to go on late last night to at least feed my pets, do dailies, etc. But RL things prevented me.
So, I'm going to guess that I am safe? I always come here first just to see what's happening, if there's anything new, any glitches, etc.
Part of me wants to steer way clear of the site, part of me wants to go check that everything is ok. I'll have to go with the part of me wanting to stay away for the time being.
As to why someone would do something like this (cookie grabbers, etc.) - IMHO it's a) because they think it's fun, especially given TNT's firm stance that the site's never been and never will be "hacked";
b) because they are testing if they work - I'm too computer illiterate and have no desire to know such things, but I understand there are places where you can easily and legally learn about them;
c) because they CAN - they already know at least the basics (also speaks to a) (they think it's fun in some really perverse way);
d) the most troubling - it's practice. If someone can do something to a game site, then they could, theoretically, use that and gain the additional knowledge to go after bigger, RL things. My roomie's email being hacked and her personal financial information being taken and used was a real eye opener.
I also agree with the statement that just because someone has visited a site with a CG or other baddie (keylogger, etc.) does NOT make them stupid. What are people supposed to do, never go anywhere on the internet? What good is having a computer with internet access if we have to be afraid of every place we go? I know of the petpage mentioned, have read it in the past. I have to say I don't agree with everything written there. I don't like some of the assumptions made. Edit: Thank you Inrun
Browser/computer security is important for everyone to take care of as best they can - Firefox is good, but not perfect. IE has had security updates to (supposedly?) help stop the incidence of CG. Having a firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware programs, keeping them updated and doing scans regularly can help. I also clear all cookies, temporary internet after every site I visit as part of my safer surfing. But no one, I don't think, is completely immune from everything.
I hope TNT is able to find and stop this, clear out whatever bad has been put on the site and tighten whatever hole was found and compromised. I wouldn't want to be in staffs' shoes today. What a nightmare for them.
Unfortunately, that will probably negatively impact the rest of us in some way. Every time a few bad eggs find a way to mess with things, the rest of us are burdened with more, stricter rules - which most of us don't know until we try to innocently do something (coding) or are frozen for something we didn't know was wrong.
BTW - disabling java may or may not help - I don't really understand all the workings of javascript (told you I was illiterate) - but I know of 2 people who've been frozen for disabling jscript for rs'ing - frozen, I believe, for something like an "unfair advantage". Though I have seen tech sites strongly recommend disabling java just on principle because of the bad things it can be used for.
I don't understand how someone could have put any javascript anywhere on the site - I tried once on a petpage (a no right click, very basic thing) and it wouldn't let me. You can't even type javascript on the boards let alone use it anywhere on the site. At least us normal folks don't seem to be able to.
The problems with the site, when they pop up, seem to be getting bigger and happening regularly. The last big duping incident - there had been dupes before, first seeming to be glitches, then people finding out how to do it at will - that was supposed to have been fixed. We all found out that it hadn't been, or hadn't completely been fixed.
A rep from my internet provider visited the site while I was on the phone with him a while back and he said he thought there was something weird with the way it's set up. He didn't know what or how (not his area), but he said it just didn't seem "right".
Last edited by everconfused on Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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