The Most Frightening Experience of My Life

[Michaias]

Yeah, OK, this has never happened to me before. So, I was hoping someone would offer some sort of helpful, calming news for me (Eh-hem. ::Cough:: Arakon....::Cough:

I was just screwing around with Google checking out Dreamcast emulation stuff (SX was down. What else did I have to do?). And this gray screen popped up (amid about 12 other pop-ups) that had my IP address on it, my ISP, my OS, and the last time my IP had been "investigated," to use their terminology (about 8 P.M., by the way). Then, it told me I was being monitored or some shit, and I freaked out, deleted all my temporary internet files and cookies, and unplugged everything surrounding my computer (however, I think I'm stuck with this IP address for the next 24 hours). Yeah, then it said some crap about "What are all those pictures on your computer?" But, uh....I don't have any porn....Well, none that I'm aware of....So, uh....was that just a shot in the dark to scare the shit out of me....Or, uh....what the Hell?

 

[Zziggy00]

Well this could be one of your friends just fucking with you (most likely

)

But recently I've been getting the messages daily, but they are advertisements, saying "come visit www.blahablahablhab"

just ignore it.

I thought i was finally done with pop up adds and now here comes a new breed

 

[Gallstaff]

OH these gah this is nothing to worry about. What this is is not sending the information on your computer to the website what it does is somehow just get windows to open up your ip adress to pop up and some of your files just for you to see so you buy their bullshit software. It's just opening up the windows for you no different then if you did it yourself.

 

[Michaias]

::Exaggerated sigh of relief::

Just breathe with me.

Thanks, guys.

 

[Quadriflax]

Originally posted by Michaias@Nov. 11 2002, 9:03 pm

::Exaggerated sigh of relief::

Just breathe with me.

Thanks, guys.

Just make sure you're running a good firewall and up-to-date anti-virus software.

If you're really concerned you can try running some of the tests here:

http://security1.norton.com/ssc....RQQCZUF

But take the results with a grain of salt. They are trying to sell you software, after all. It does give you a good starting point, though. I think you need IE to run all the tests properly.

 

[megametalgreymon]

consider getting mozilla and using that for your normal web browsing (turn off the java options)

that will get rid of most of the popups, and let you switch back to ie for the sites where you have to have javascript on without massive problems

you might also want to check grc's shields up tests to see what information your pc is letting out (a normal windows configuration with netbios on will let them see who your logged on as, amongst many other things)

 

[Cynnamin]

Originally posted by megametalgreymon@Nov. 12 2002, 3:14 pm

consider getting mozilla and using that for your normal web browsing (turn off the java options)

that will get rid of most of the popups, and let you switch back to ie for the sites where you have to have javascript on without massive problems

you might also want to check grc's shields up tests to see what information your pc is letting out (a normal windows configuration with netbios on will let them see who your logged on as, amongst many other things)

ahahah grc

ROFL

That guy is SO full of shit.

Use DSLreports for your security stuff. They aren't trying to sell you anything, like Mr. I Program In Assembly GRC.

AHahhahahahahahahhahaha

 

[Taelon]

Well, Cynnamin, I'm surprised at your hostility.

I agree with megametalgreymon completely and I think grc is a cool site (just a little wordy and tends to come off as overly alarming). This is, after all, the place that taught me how to disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP completely and clean up my network settings in the process.

I too use Mozilla (even reinstalled Windows98SE with no IE

) but I think it's safe to leave JavaScript on. Just skip installing Java itself

and only worry about the popup blocks.

If anything is full of shit, it's not GRC, it's IE .....

 

[Cynnamin]

*sighs*

Poor poor deluded children.

Let me give you my favorite quote!

"i'm 46, i've been hacking since i was 14."

32 years - 32 years before the article was posted: 1970!

1970 - ARPANET - apparently at age 14 he was sneaking into the original universities and HACKING THEIR COMPUTERS! OH no! He must have been stealing daddy-the-scientist's email!!! Oh wait, maybe he was just using other people's credit cards... or he was out using blackboxes... hMm... Is any of that hacking??

*falls over laughing hysterically*

 

[SkankinMonkey]

Originally posted by Cynnamin@Nov. 13 2002, 1:17 pm

cards... or he was out using blackboxes... hMm... Is any of that hacking??

Well, according to several hackers in jail, (and out, ie. kevin mitnik) yes, that is hacking

Although, I do agree that this guy's history is rather shaky, I remember point that out to my dad when his site first came online a number of years ago, a lot of his facts were inconsistent and were later changed to fit 'reality'.

 

[antime]

Originally posted by Cynnamin@Nov. 13 2002, 6:17 pm

Let me give you my favorite quote!

"i'm 46, i've been hacking since i was 14."

32 years - 32 years before the article was posted: 1970!

1970 - ARPANET - apparently at age 14 he was sneaking into the original universities and HACKING THEIR COMPUTERS!

You're right, if you define hacking as "gaining unauthorized entry into computer systems". That is a very narrow definition. His résumé says that between '68 and '70 he worked for Tecnica Education Corporation on some hardware and software projects. I have no way of verifying his claims, but even his debunking page makes no mention of it. It was not totally unheard of at the time for companies hiring "child prodigies" to do software work. They understood the systems as well as anyone else and were cheap, well-motivated labor.

 

[megametalgreymon]

either way it would probabbly be a good idea to try more than one test/site to check on some basic security, regardeless of your opinion of the guy running the site

 

[Taelon]

Exactly. Besides, the term 'hacker' is often mistakenly associated with malevolent individuals when in fact hacking means putting software together (scripts, programs, modules, what have you). It's CRACKERS that go into networks and break codes and do unauthorized things.

As for GRC, well what the fuck? It's still not a bad site.

 

[antime]

Originally posted by Taelon@Nov. 13 2002, 10:44 pm

Besides, the term 'hacker' is often mistakenly associated with malevolent individuals when in fact hacking means putting software together (scripts, programs, modules, what have you).

It has been used for both purposes. AFAIK "hacker" originally stood for a very knowledgeable person (and/or programmer) and breaking into computer systems certainly used to require a degree of skills. In my opinion the current hacker/cracker debate is revisionism in action.

 

[ExCyber]

That guy is SO full of shit.

Use DSLreports for your security stuff. They aren't trying to sell you anything, like Mr. I Program In Assembly GRC.

Gibson is a bit alarmist (seems like every new attack method = Imminent Death of the Net) , likes to invent his own terms for things, and otherwise tends to act like he's discovering things that everyone else was clueless about. Aside from that, he does seem to be reasonably competent, and the only things his site is trying to sell are SpinRite and ChromaZone, programs that have nothing at all to do with his security stuff. As for programming in assembly, that is in no way an absurd claim (it's actually not that tough to code Win32 in assembly as long as you have an invoke pseudo-op or a similar parameterized macro) and comes down to personal preference when coding the kind of apps he offers. I'll agree that he could stand to be a bit less braggy about it, though.

Let me give you my favorite quote!

"i'm 46, i've been hacking since i was 14."

32 years - 32 years before the article was posted: 1970!

1970 - ARPANET - apparently at age 14 he was sneaking into the original universities and HACKING THEIR COMPUTERS! OH no! He must have been stealing daddy-the-scientist's email!!! Oh wait, maybe he was just using other people's credit cards... or he was out using blackboxes... hMm... Is any of that hacking??

Computer hacking does not require a nationwide computer network. Was The Woz (who, I might add, not only programmed Apple II Integer Basic in assembly language, but assembled it by hand because he couldn't afford an assembler) not a hacker in his garage days because he wasn't h4x0ring d4 n37?