fuckin fuck: wizards, what is the deal?

[rosco rathbone]

It appears that somebody managed to hack my yahoo IM account and send some irritating responses to several IMs I had got from friends.

How is it possible to get my yahoo password? It is a completely made up word known only to me. Is there some higher tech method of stealing passwords?

Any of you computer genuises that know about this stuff should weigh in here.

FUCK.

 

[babiesmiles]

Yes its possible to steal passwords , specially if you use the same one for several things and it is not an alphanumerical sequence but a word with an accomplished meaning . But it takes time and usually is not used to hack mail accounts .
Maybe you have got a virus who collected your contacts sending standard messages to them . I once had a virus like that on my email , but as I keep my contact list separate from my mail account it didn't make too damages . But it bothered me as well .

Sorry not being able to help more .

 

[rosco rathbone]

My antivirus software has informed me several times that I have the "non-removable traces" of a keylogger. I thought that meant that it had been disabled though. And would such a program be used by a person interested in answering my IMs????

I changed my password to yet another made up word known only to me.

 

[babiesmiles]

well done !

Once an hacker when i was not using a good firewall yet , entered in my computer while i was talking in a place , took remote control of my keyboard and started talking at my place with the other person . It was damn scary and taught me to be a bit more cautious about safety measures on the net

 

[rosco rathbone]

well done !

Once an hacker when i was not using a good firewall yet , entered in my computer while i was talking in a place , took remote control of my keyboard and started talking at my place with the other person . It was damn scary and taught me to be a bit more cautious about safety measures on the net

I am going to change the password every couple of days according to a cryptologic scheme known only to me until they get bored and move on to easier pray.

 

[babiesmiles]

This is a wise move , use different passwords for different accounts or things in general and if you can insert some sign like these _ / [ § *+ ( I dont know how they are called in english soz !! ) randomly in the password, it will help to not be hacked .

 

[rosco rathbone]

The problem is if I get too fancy with that shit I will forget my own passwords.

 

[A Desert Rose]

You know, that's pretty scary but it explains the IM I got from "you" wanting me to meet "you" for lunch.

Seriously... I use a combination of letters and numbers in my passwords (and I have a couple different ones) as in: 12abc34... but ones that are more complicated and meaningful only to me.

 

[~hellbaby~]

The problem is if I get too fancy with that shit I will forget my own passwords.

Keep a notebook handy and write them all down and change them every week. I just grab letters and numbers out of the air. I had a problem with a yahoo account too and finally had to close it.

 

[rosco rathbone]

notebook *check*
complex scheme *check*

 

[Aeroil]

And whatever you do, NEVER make your password: password.

 

[rosco rathbone]

And whatever you do, NEVER make your password: password.

drowssap is unhackable!

Seriously though this bull shit is no joke.

 

[Aeroil]

Yup, someone tried that on me too, but I have only one person on my YIM, and she would know instantly if it wasn't me talking, so unless they start tampering with MSN, I'm fine. When did it happen? if it coinsides with when it happened with me, then I doubt changing passwords would help much, since it would obviously be a hack.

 

[TaintedB]

There used to be a way to hack into a yahoo account (email, groups, IM, the whole shebang) that didn't involve knowing the other person's password ahead of time. I don't know if yahoo closed that security breach yet, but the method is still posted various places (such as certain yahoo groups) and seems to be well-known.

But if that had happened to you, you wouldn't have been able to log back into your account, as that method changes your password to one of the hacker's own choosing.

 

[catalina_francisco]

Sorry you are having such bother. F may have some secret words of advice as this is his specialty and he has a reputation for being one of the best in Europe, but from what I gather when I proofread some of his work related documents, there is no way to 100% protect your system from being hacked or infected etc., just ways you can make it safer and work for you in a more user friendly way.

Catalina

 

[h_i_s]

As Catalina has already said, there is no method of making a PC 100% safe.

A few things to concider in making a Yahoo account safer:

1) Choose a password containing a meaningless mix of letters & numerals. For added security, make the password at least 10-15 charactors in length. NEVER reveal your password to ANYONE else.
2) Keep your birthdate a secret online.
3) Choose a secret question that no one else knows the answer for.
4) Skip the 'save my password on this computer' option (especially if you share the computer with others).
5) Keep your antivirus/trogan/worm, and your ad ware detection/cleaning programs updated, run them regularly & use a firewall. Make sure your Critical Microsoft updates are installed and maintained as well. Running a good registry cleaner now and then can't hurt either.
6) When Yahoo offers an update, accept and install it.

rosco rathbone: Is there some higher tech method of stealing passwords?

Other than through the use of a keylogger having been installed on a computer, or an account being hacked due to failure to follow 1,2,3 & 4 (read above) it's actually quite difficult to gain access to another's Yahoo account. Yahoo accounts are quite secure and rarely are truely 'hacked'. Yahoo accounts are MOST likely, and MOST commonly taken over due to neglect by the account holder to protect thier personal information, and/or neglect in failing to run a secure computer.

rosco rathbone, it would be a logical guess that (if you are changing the password regularly, and the account is STILL being accessed) that you either have a keylogger installed and running, or someone is retrieving your new passwords simply in knowing your birthdate and being able to guess your secret question.

Possible solution:

DO THE FOLLOWING...
1)When you change the password, be sure and change the secret question and it's answer as well. Instruction for how to change a secret question are found at http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/config/config-17.html . To contact Yahoo!........Email : cc-advoc@yahoo-inc.com .........or call at 408-731-3300 USA ........and .........02078084200 for UK.
2)Run a good trogan/worm detection/cleaning program. Simplysup Trogan Detector/Cleaner is a good one & it offers a free trial period.

P.S. If you have a keylogger and use the email method for changing a secret question, the NEW secret question can also be retrieved by the keylogger. Best bet would be to phone Yahoo.

 

[catalina_francisco]

That is excellent advice by sinn0cent1 .

Especially important is the keylogger warning you got. If you have a keylogger running you are basically fucked. A keylogger is a program that runs invisible on your pc and records everything you type and do on your pc. It is especially good at detecting passwords. So even if you change your password it will not be of much help since the keylogger would just transmit it again.

There is specialised software which you can use to fight it, some of those are pretty good and can kill a lot of these kinds of software. However the truly good keyloggers are extremely hard to find and require expert knowledge. If you have one of those the only advice I can give you is not very nice. Format you Harddisk and reinstall your Operating System. Do not use a backup since that is probably infected. It means basically starting from scratch.

Before formatting your Harddisk do try the following programs, they are free and are pretty good.

Swat it- excellent Trojan remover: http://swatit.org/
Spysweeper - has a free trial which runs out after 30 days and is excellent program. http://www.webroot.com/products/spysweeper?rc=266&ac=559

Try running spybot it will find some Trojans and most of the spyware, http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html.

It might also be a good idea to run the online virus check of trend micro. http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

If this does not work and you are willing to spend a couple of hours trying to save your data, then send me a PM and I will try to guide you through the process of removing a keylogger.

Francisco.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Thanks for the advice, wizards. I am looking into it. There may be an alternate and simpler explanation though. I had a paranoid panic attack last night. I ain't reinstalling windows though, if I have to do that I am buying a whole new computer. (This one is a dinosaur).

 

[ghosst_K&H]

A simple dictionary program is all a hacker needs to break most yahoo accounts, my first line of defense, is a letter/number combination, using random letters, like a few others have mentioned.

For spy ware yahoo has a companion tool bar with a decent pop up blocker, and anti spy ware program, and it's free.

For a free firewall I use Zone Alarm, also free. You might try AVG virus protection, also free, and works as good if not better than Norton's, or McAfee.

All of these can be found...
Here


Between the ZA, XP's firewall and the AVG, I haven't had any breaks in my security as of now.

Instead of reinstalling Windows, try restoring your computer to an earlier date, this should remove the key generator.

 

[catalina_francisco]

Instead of reinstalling Windows, try restoring your computer to an earlier date, this should remove the key generator.

Instead of course if the keylogger was timebomb which means you have no clue how far back you would have to go to get safe and could actualy set it off to start destroying data. If any decent hacker gets on to your system, forget it, there is no way you will be sure that you will have removed all of the backdoors installed.

If there is anything that is important in security is that everyone is a target and there is no safety whatever you try or do. The thing is to try to make another an easier target by protecting yourself better.

[bad joke warning]

Two attorneys took a long safari vacation in the African Bush. One day, needing a rest, they removed their packs and leaned their rifles against a tree. They were startled when a large, hungry-looking lion emerged from the jungle and began eyeing them with anticipation. It was clear that the attorneys’ rifles were too far away to do them any good.

Moving slowly, one attorney began to remove his shoes. Why are you doing that?" asked the other.
"Because I can run faster without them," replied the first.
"I don’t care how fast you can run, you’ll never outrun a lion!" the second said.

The now-barefoot attorney explained, "I don’t have to outrun the lion. I just have to outrun you!"
[/bad joke warning]

In any case if anyone uses Yahoo messenger, update to the latest version because there is a bug in yahoo messenger that allows attackers to use arbitrary code.

Resources:
# VULNWATCH:20050218 Yahoo! Messenger Audio Setup Wizard Privilege Escalation
# MISC:http://secunia.com/secunia_research/2004-6/advisory/
# CONFIRM:http://messenger.yahoo.com/security/update6.html
# SECUNIA:11815
# URL:http://secunia.com/advisories/11815

Francisco.

 

[ghosst_K&H]

Instead of course if the keylogger was timebomb which means you have no clue how far back you would have to go to get safe and could actualy set it off to start destroying data. If any decent hacker gets on to your system, forget it, there is no way you will be sure that you will have removed all of the backdoors installed.

If there is anything that is important in security is that everyone is a target and there is no safety whatever you try or do. The thing is to try to make another an easier target by protecting yourself better.

Resources:
# VULNWATCH:20050218 Yahoo! Messenger Audio Setup Wizard Privilege Escalation
# MISC:http://secunia.com/secunia_research/2004-6/advisory/
# CONFIRM:http://messenger.yahoo.com/security/update6.html
# SECUNIA:11815
# URL:http://secunia.com/advisories/11815

Francisco.

This is true, my bad. I assumed that anyone hacking into a yahoo account wouldn't be vindictive enough to use a timebomb.

For every security program that comes out, theres 10.000's of geeks who have to prove they can crack it.

 

[FungiUg]

The problem being that if the keylogger is still active, then no matter how many times you change your password or what you change it to, the keylogger will capture that. If your virus scanner is saying you have traces of a keylogger, how do you know it's now inactive?

Find someone who is capable of rebuilding your system, and get it rebuilt. With a good firewall in place from the get go. That will get rid of any keylogger, and ensure you don't get another. If you're using Windows, upgrade to XP service pack 2. it's not perfect, but it is 1000s of times more secure than any previous version of Windows.

Run an up-to-date virus checker, and also run a good Spyware remover.

And if you use any of your accounts off your own system (like at a cyber cafe), change your passwords when you get back to your own system. Who knows what is running on those other systems?

And do NOT do any kind of internet banking on a public system. It's just too risky.

Keyloggers are nasty, but to install them in the first place, someone basically has to have hacked into your system, either through an open port of via a downloaded trojan horse. The firewall will fix the first (I use a hardware firewall on my router to the internet connection), and a modern up-to-date virus checker that you USE on every download should fix the second. But in the mean time, if traces of the keylogger are still there, there's a possibility it is still active.

 

[Marquis]

Damn Rosco, someone is after you homie!

No wonder you're so fucking paranoid.

 

[Kajira Callista]

Damn Rosco, someone is after you homie!

No wonder you're so fucking paranoid.

YAY Marquis is back!

 

[Marquis]

YAY Marquis is back!

I could be an impostor, look what happened to Rosco!