Post by tinwoman on Sept 5, 2008 13:17:45 GMT -8
This is a [glow=red,2,300]WARNING[/glow] for anyone who receives zipped MY files from other players for off line play - or for anyone who receives any attachments in the email from other players.
My computer got hacked into by an MTE player last night - well, I don't know if they hacked into it last night, or if they've been hacked into it and only decided to do something last night. I receive a number of zipped MY files for playing the speedies, and even larger layouts, off line. When I get them via email, I then save them, unopened, to my desktop until I play them - then I delete them.
I go through a routine of sorts every morning - I go to my computer, turn off the internet connection, load a new MY file to the player file, open it, by unzipping it, then open the game to play the 10,000 point layouts. When I finish with one file, I go on line and push the ponits to the server, then exit the game, turn the internet off again, and repeat.
This morning all my players were deleted, so I thought it was a horrible glitch in the game. However, I do a backup of my player file every time I get a new star, so I had just backed it up the day before. My playerS file had gone from over 400 KB to just 2 bytes. After I restored the backup copy, I went into the game (off line) and all the 10,000 point layouts were now at 500 points. So I loaded a different zipped file - same thing - every single zipped file on my desktop had been opened, devalued, then rezipped; obviously the culprit thinking I wouldn't notice.
If they had just deleted my players file - I would have thought it a glitch in the game. But no game glitch can open every single zipped file on your destop like that! Some of my backgrounds were deleted as well, and I haven't even checked the tilesets yet. But I do have backups of everything, and can re-download the zipped files from my email system.
When I got on the phone with my geek boys (actually Fire Dogs) at Circuit City, who work with my computer and help me on it - they said there is not really any virus protection software out there wthat can protect you from hackers - nor can any spy detetction software.
Now, whetrher this person did this as some kind of sick joke, or whether they just wanted to do something mean, I don't know . But they had no idea of the financial repercussions this is going to have on me. It will cost me a small fortune to bring my computer in to those guys to track it down and remove it - money that will be at least a month's supply of heart and other medications and insulins, as well as now having to cancel visits to medical specialists (one of whom had just been set up as a consult on more surgery to help restore some vision; the other one I had to wait 6 months to get - to find out if I need a transplant).
SO - whoever you are that hacked into my system - I know you are an MTE player - and I want you to know that you have affected not only my computer - but my very health and the medicines I need to stay alive. I hope you are happy and I hope you had fun - was it worth it?
Everyone - please be on the alert about this hacker - he or she is out there - and if you share zipped MY files or any other files with MTE players - know it can happen to you! The sad thing is, I trusted everyone I got files from... and now I don't know who to trust.
I am going to resaerch to find out if it is considered a crime to hack into someone's computer - and if it is, and if I find out who this hacker is - rest assured I WILL see that they are charged to the fullest extent possible. When they play with people's lives - they are a danger and a threat to everyone out there and they need to be stopped! It is no longer a joke.
My computer got hacked into by an MTE player last night - well, I don't know if they hacked into it last night, or if they've been hacked into it and only decided to do something last night. I receive a number of zipped MY files for playing the speedies, and even larger layouts, off line. When I get them via email, I then save them, unopened, to my desktop until I play them - then I delete them.
I go through a routine of sorts every morning - I go to my computer, turn off the internet connection, load a new MY file to the player file, open it, by unzipping it, then open the game to play the 10,000 point layouts. When I finish with one file, I go on line and push the ponits to the server, then exit the game, turn the internet off again, and repeat.
This morning all my players were deleted, so I thought it was a horrible glitch in the game. However, I do a backup of my player file every time I get a new star, so I had just backed it up the day before. My playerS file had gone from over 400 KB to just 2 bytes. After I restored the backup copy, I went into the game (off line) and all the 10,000 point layouts were now at 500 points. So I loaded a different zipped file - same thing - every single zipped file on my desktop had been opened, devalued, then rezipped; obviously the culprit thinking I wouldn't notice.
If they had just deleted my players file - I would have thought it a glitch in the game. But no game glitch can open every single zipped file on your destop like that! Some of my backgrounds were deleted as well, and I haven't even checked the tilesets yet. But I do have backups of everything, and can re-download the zipped files from my email system.
When I got on the phone with my geek boys (actually Fire Dogs) at Circuit City, who work with my computer and help me on it - they said there is not really any virus protection software out there wthat can protect you from hackers - nor can any spy detetction software.
Now, whetrher this person did this as some kind of sick joke, or whether they just wanted to do something mean, I don't know . But they had no idea of the financial repercussions this is going to have on me. It will cost me a small fortune to bring my computer in to those guys to track it down and remove it - money that will be at least a month's supply of heart and other medications and insulins, as well as now having to cancel visits to medical specialists (one of whom had just been set up as a consult on more surgery to help restore some vision; the other one I had to wait 6 months to get - to find out if I need a transplant).
SO - whoever you are that hacked into my system - I know you are an MTE player - and I want you to know that you have affected not only my computer - but my very health and the medicines I need to stay alive. I hope you are happy and I hope you had fun - was it worth it?
Everyone - please be on the alert about this hacker - he or she is out there - and if you share zipped MY files or any other files with MTE players - know it can happen to you! The sad thing is, I trusted everyone I got files from... and now I don't know who to trust.
I am going to resaerch to find out if it is considered a crime to hack into someone's computer - and if it is, and if I find out who this hacker is - rest assured I WILL see that they are charged to the fullest extent possible. When they play with people's lives - they are a danger and a threat to everyone out there and they need to be stopped! It is no longer a joke.
OMG Marlene, 
