I may have been hacked

[Isabella Thorne]

Notice to all my friends at Literotica -

This week all of my executable files became corrupt ... I got kicked off the net... and my programs got wiped out ...

A friend came over last night and helped me get back online ...

He felt that it was the work of a hacker. In this case, virus protection (i.e. Norton Anti Virus) does nothing to prevent it.

Please be careful. Don't click on any executable files that you are not certain of.

Nothing like this ever happened to me before and it sucks ... it feels like an invasion of privacy ... like a break in at one's home.

I like to think it was a random act and that no one did this to me on purpose ... but I am going to be extremely careful from now on.

 

[Nobody Special]

I know the feeling... I have gotton a virus that is attached to my boot up files and the only way I can get rid of it is to crash my comp.. the way thta I got it was from a freind whoes pass word was stolen and then used to send pictures in a zip file that was opened on my computer after another freind gave me the program to open it.. now I dont open any zip files that are sent to me.. I request them to send them in another form.. And there is nothing that Macafee can do for me about it but tell me that it is there..

and I found out that some one had found my password on AOL cause I got mail from self to goto a porn site that I had never heard of before.. so my suggestion is to change your passwords every once in a wile, for security and your owne protection..

 

[jcgirl]

Happened to me too Isabella, last week. Im waiting on my new computer. Nothing on my current one is retrievable. Every file destroyed, every path disintegrated.

 

[Closet Desire]

Hacked? or a Virus?

If you are on the web, particularly through a cable modem or other hi speed, full-time connection you should have a firewall installed that is continuously updated with current "definitions". This will stop all but the most deliberate hacker (who wouldn't be interested in you anyway).

If you downloaded an executable file or one of the newer "macro" based files containing a virus, Norton should catch it provided that it is updated with the current definitions and that it is enabled to scan all files that have been downloaded.

I hate to say it but more than half of all the files I have received from contacts here on lit have been infected. Some i'm able to clean and use, others cannot be cleaned and have to be deleted.

It's like safe sex...safe practices make it more fun. In fifteen years of using computers I have yet to lose data or suffer corruption at the hands of a virus.

Be ever vigilant...register your virus/firewall software...and keep it updated.

Happy trails.

 

[Isabella Thorne]

Well you know Closet Desire ... at first i thought it was a virus too ... i don't know as much about computer problems as my friend does ....

but because my windows programs were tampered with, i.e. my program for Dial-Up Networking was obliterated ... there wasn't even an icon for it showing in My Computer .. vanished ... disappeared ...

He felt that a virus could not do that ... only a very experienced hacker ... he told me he had never seen anything like it before ...

... and we are very diligent about scanning for viruses on the computer ... it did nothing to help in this case i am afraid.

 

[Siren]

HEY IISSIE......

 

[ShyGuy68]

Firewall

There is a pretty good firewall avaiable on the net for those who might be interested. The link is:

http://www.zonealarm.com/

 

[OUTSIDER]

My brother in law works for reuter's(sp) and he swear's by an anti virus called "Sophos" and so far touch wood I've had no problems, maybe you could give it a try. BTW I know a lot of people who won't give Norton anti virus the time of day, don't ask me why but they won't...?

 

[Isabella Thorne]

... yea you are right, Shyguy ... a firewall is definitely the way to go ... i am going to defend myself from now on ... that's for sure .... i am a fortress ... lol ...

Siren ... <big hugs darling> .... you beautiful bride ... have you tired out that poor Wolfy already? lol ... let's hack, baby!

 

[Closet Desire]

It does sound...

...some schmuck with nothing better to do found your computer unprotected and proceeded to f*** it up. I have a monitoring program on mine that detects intrusion attempts and traces the location. For a while I was getting at least ten per week, most from them from the same ISP. I notified the ISP and within three days nearly all the attempts stopped. It's been pretty quiet since then.

For those who don't know the way this works and the hacker has a program (I only know general stuff so forgive my lack of detail) that goes out and looks for connections that are unprotected. When it finds one...well...you figure it out.

A writer has mentioned that Zonealarm is good and all the reviews I've read have said it is good. I installed it for a friend and didn't much like it, but that's just me talking. I use Norton Utilities, mostly because I have the full suite and it updates automatically every week or so. If you want to shop for one and compare then you can also go to http://www.zdnet.com and browse, but I don't think you'll find one better, for free, than Zone Alarm.

Sorry this happened...it certainly reminds me to be careful.

 

[riff]

You learned the hard way.

NEVER- run an exe that came to you from e-mail or newsgroup even if it is a friend. Don't do it. The only way a hacker can get into your system is for you to give him permission. When you run the little dancing bears.exe you give the hacker permission.

And be careful about where you may get your little applets and exe files from.

It's just stupid (now that you know). Also- change your passwords regularly and do not use "words." Use random letters in upper and lower case with numbers and special symbols.

 

[Siren]

Hack away my sweet Canadian bacon.......

 

[Closet Desire]

I'm no hacker but...

...I've had a quick look at the tech ref section at Symantec (makers of Norton Internet Security) and it appears to me that a hacker doesn't necessarily need your permission to access your machine. Without a firewall there are apparently a number of ports in the operating system which can be breached...the net effect being that your machine is available like any other on a network. Further, programs can be dropped in which will execute without your knowledge by mimicing some routine operation you may perform (Trojan Horses).

I sat and watched a hacker try several different ports and openings on my machine before giving up and going elsewhere.

While doing research for one of my books I obtained a transcript of a hacker attack on a bog standard PC attached to the network. The hacker got into the machine without any action from the legitimate user, installed files, removed files, and then deleted files to cover up her activity, leaving behind a program to capture passwords and credit numbers from the user. The information was collected as part of a "sting" operation early last year.

Ever vigilent...

 

[KillerMuffin]

Go to http://www.grc.com and you can test to see what kind of holes you have in your firewall. You'd be amazed what kind of stuff you're puter is putting out without your knowledge. ICQ has holes in it, I have hacker buddies who like to turn my puter off whenever I turn ICQ on. I run two firewalls, zonealarm has kept my hacker buddies out, and norton catches the ones that get past it.

 

[Closet Desire]

Hey killer...

...Symantec has some tech notes issued on running Norton IS along with Zonealarm. You might want to have a look to see if any of it concerns you. Something about overlaps causing problems. I just remember seeing it a couple of months ago. Looks like you're living proof that hackers can get into your machine without permission eh?

 

[KillerMuffin]

Never check the Norton thingerbobby. I've not been hacked though, so I can tell, and my hacker buddies can't find my puter (even when I log into an IRC chatroom and they get my IP) so something is going okay. They can only get through via the IRC connection, and I have a bunch of stuff designed to stop that. Like physical addresses. When my computer shut itself off without me knowing why, I start dialing numbers. When I reach the laughing hyena I threaten them with a fate worse than death, I'll call their mother and pretend to be Shyrondia Mae, the 45 year old professional who is engaged to be married to them upon their 18th birthday. I wanna know where my hundred bucks is.

It's nice to know who your hackers are.

 

[CRaZy]

One of my whizz kid techno students at school regularly hacks my computer (with my permission). All he does is change the wallpaper so I know he has succeeded. I then add new firewalls etc. etc. and he spends a few weeks till he succeeds again. It's just a game but I have learnt that anyone who is determined can do it so very very easily. "Intruder Alert" is also good. I run 4 firewalls these days. Sigh. I feel pretty safe cos the whizz kid says knowing where I live gives him a definite advantage.

[Edited by CRaZy on 01-20-2001 at 03:06 PM]

 

[Ezzy]

I was being bugged one night...

And my protection showed attack after attack, it was starting to annoy me, so I went and changed the Name of my comp and the attacks stoped.

I changed it to "I am watching every thing you do!"

So some of them (the hackers) do have a sense of their own vunrability.




EZ http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/cwm2/sleep.gif

 

[*Jennifer-In-Flares*]

that must be so shitty isabella. i got my flat broken into once and i cried for days must be a bit like that. *jenny*