Enough is Enough EA !!!!!!!!!!!

[Demonous]

rare collectors are being hacked very often, regular people as well but specifically people collecting rares... myself, nine dark moons, criminal and some others as well, its really lame and annoying working for years to build up what you have and then lose it all to some undeserving punk... the least EA could do is reimburse you of your items but they do not for some reason, for example i had a 1 of a kind mask when i got hacked and ea could easily track it down but would not which is just dumb, i want something done about this some new security or the promise of reimbursing lossed items due to hacks or such, and the policy ea has regarding hacked accounts is really dumb where you need to get the police involved and everything to get the ip address of the person who hacked you because the police don't care about this type of stuff, do it yourself u dont need police, i am not asking for a response from EA, i am DEMANDING IT!

 

[packrat]

I agree. Something needs to be done about the security in UO. They should hire a security agent and track down these people and use the funds they collect to fund it. Even Myspace tracks down spammers and takes them to court and is winning huge amounts of cash. If myspace can do it, I'm sure UO can do it. Hackers that are caught need to be punished hard. And send an example to others thinking about it.
And I bet you 90% of the time they are getting the persons email address and sending a request to EA for the password. So it's like EA is an accessory to theft.

Oh, and sorry to hear you got hacked. That really sucks. EA needs to get up to date with security. I have been on here for almost 9 years and they have the same procedures in place. You think in 9 years they would have advanced a little in the security age.

 

[GarthGrey]

Oh please, EA has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with people getting hacked. This is not 1995 where some punk is jacking into your account via a 14400 modem. Stay off icq, stop downloading xxxxUO scripts from your buddies and you won't get hacked, period.

The Title is perfect though....stop whining about being hacked....Enough is Enough !!!!!!!!!!

And how completely arrogant of you thinking that I or most others even know who you, Dances with Wolves, or whoever even is....sheesh..

 

[Demonous]

Oh please, EA has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with people getting hacked. This is not 1995 where some punk is jacking into your account via a 14400 modem. Stay off icq, stop downloading xxxxUO scripts from your buddies and you won't get hacked, period.

The Title is perfect though....stop whining about being hacked....Enough is Enough !!!!!!!!!!

And how completely arrogant of you thinking that I or most others even know who you, Dances with Wolves, or whoever even is....sheesh..

who the hell are you buddy? pretty sure no one ever heard of you, if you were a rares collector you would know these names, and u should be a little more respectful and show some compassion, almost everyone in uo uses icq, i do not trade with people who don't use icq, k thx, if u have nothing nice to say don't post

 

[Uriah Heep]

ahh nm

Don;'t feel like getting into today...check back tomorrow

On second thought Garth, you gotta remember, rares and one of a kinds, to locate em, its a database search. Quite a large database, but still, basically a database search. It can be done, should be done, but the main problem is that the parent corp just really doesn't give a rat's ass about helping their subscribers with anything other than pinging and lightening that cc every month...

Rare's collectors, (I ain't one, but have had the pleasure to meet several of em) their events, fests, cross-sharding, trading, all bring a unique and valuable aspect (as well as $$ in EAs pocket) to the game, which will/would be sorely missed if it was eventually destroyed. And this kind of disheartening crap, will eventually make the majority give up.
If all ya do is play to collect the latest uber arty, then it means nothing to you, sure.
But you still have to respect the playstyle of those who seek to and work to preserve shard histories, and even the overall histories of Ultima Online.
The roughshod and uncaring players and employees of EA have destroyed/allow to be destroyed so much of our games history, that THAT should be criminal!

No one's asking for anything free, or anything. Just find out who has that item (items), (we were told long ago they all have unique ID numbers) return it to the proper owner, and severely action the accounts of those who stole em.

 

[GarthGrey]

who the hell are you buddy? pretty sure no one ever heard of you, if you were a rares collector you would know these names, and u should be a little more respectful and show some compassion, almost everyone in uo uses icq, i do not trade with people who don't use icq, k thx, if u have nothing nice to say don't post

If I don't have nothing nice to say don't post? LOL ok.....anyway, here's another fyi for ya, if someone gets hold of your username and password and logs into your account, guess what? YOU WERENT HACKED!!!!!....you were stupid. I challenge you to find one single person anywhere that's been truly hacked in UO, and have them explain exactly what happened....i'll wait here...

 

[Demonous]

ok hmm... me and the other 2 people and countless people in the past? they dont give their account info out, they get an email requesting their info

 

[GarthGrey]

So give us the details of your so called "hacking".....*waits*

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Sorry mate, but if you are getting hacked, it isn't EA's fault, but your own. Whenever you connect your computer to the internet, you should know about the basic rules and the risks of the internet. You're lucky your online banking hasn't been hacked! Maybe you'd even blame EA for that.

Use a firewall!
Update your system with the recent security patches!
Don't friggin' download any crap from the internet!
Don't trust any files you get via internet or email!

If you get hacked -> Always your own fault!

 

[Azazel of LA]

Oh please, EA has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with people getting hacked. This is not 1995 where some punk is jacking into your account via a 14400 modem. Stay off icq, stop downloading xxxxUO scripts from your buddies and you won't get hacked, period.

The Title is perfect though....stop whining about being hacked....Enough is Enough !!!!!!!!!!

And how completely arrogant of you thinking that I or most others even know who you, Dances with Wolves, or whoever even is....sheesh..

Sorry to say it but Im gonna have to agree with this one a lil .

 

[GarthGrey]

ok hmm... me and the other 2 people and countless people in the past? they dont give their account info out, they get an email requesting their info

I"m sorry for the late editing, I just reread your response, and then fell out of my chair laughing. They don't give their account info out, they get an email requesting their info???? Did you really just type that out? .........hrm

 

[Demonous]

Sorry mate, but if you are getting hacked, it isn't EA's fault, but your own. Whenever you connect your computer to the internet, you should know about the basic rules and the risks of the internet. You're lucky your online banking hasn't been hacked! Maybe you'd even blame EA for that.

Use a firewall!
Update your system with the recent security patches!
Don't friggin' download any crap from the internet!
Don't trust any files you get via internet or email!

If you get hacked -> Always your own fault!

actually it is ea's responsibility to keep their customers happy no matter what, world of warcraft reimburses their customers for lost things, including deleted characters so yes i do blame ea, and i wish my online banking would get hacker so that the hacked would be tracked down very hastily and be dealt with severely

 

[legendsguy]

Oh please, EA has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with people getting hacked. This is not 1995 where some punk is jacking into your account via a 14400 modem. Stay off icq, stop downloading xxxxUO scripts from your buddies and you won't get hacked, period.

spoken like a hacker. besides, whether it's "their fault" or not, the point is that EA has a duty to their customers to help them out... not just do NOTHING.

 

[Demonous]

Sorry to say it but Im gonna have to agree with this one a lil .

get hacked and then see how you feel on the matter, same goes for garth

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

...
On second thought Garth, you gotta remember, rares and one of a kinds, to locate em, its a database search. Quite a large database, but still, basically a database search. It can be done, should be done, but the main problem is that the parent corp just really doesn't give a rat's ass about helping their subscribers with anything other than pinging and lightening that cc every month...
...

Well, the real problem, is that yes it is a Data Base Search.

So they find it.

So they find it on me.

So I say He gave it to me.

So I say I gave him 10 checks for 1 Million Gold each. So they say he does not have checks that track back to me. So I say, so he cashed them and got new ones changing the ItemID.

So what are they going to do? Play Solomon? Chose who is telling the truth and who isn't?

Is that what everyone wants them to do? To decide, with NO proof who is telling the Truth?

Be very very careful of this.

And yeah no one wants to be hacked and yeah the poster may have been more polite/diplomatic but the more you get into ICQ, scripts etc then the more likely your security is going to be compromised.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Did anyone of you that are complaining about EA really read the agreement you checked off and agree'd to when you subscribed and created your account?

I'm not going to search it out and post it exactly but it reads somewhat like this. . . . All things in the game UO are virtual property and all that virtual property is the sole property of EA.

So in essence you let someone gain your username and password and lost EAs' rares , not yours.

Suggestion ; EA will never ask you for your account info in an email so dont give it out. Please scan your computer regularly and use virus and spyware protection. And change your passward regularly.

 

[Uriah Heep]

They can track the item ID of the stolen item, NOT checks, thru the accounts that have held it...
Do you seriously think they search the database and say Item #14507-475a is on account Iainttellingya with no idea where it came from? That it just appeared there?
If this were true, they couldnt very well track and delete dupes either then, could they...and the burning houses in Luna show they can.

 

[Draxous]

Sorry to say it but Im gonna have to agree with this one a lil .

get hacked and then see how you feel on the matter, same goes for garth

Feels like crap knowing you were careless with your information, doesn't it?

Sorry to hear about your loss, but next time... you might be more pressed to take care of your info and not be so careless with it. All the steps are outlined for you to prevent this from happening again.

Your first step should be to stop blaming others for your own faults... really.

 

[Uriah Heep]

Well, the real problem, is that yes it is a Data Base Search.

So they find it.

So they find it on me.

so they take from you, and give it to rightful owner...Same as they do here in Texas when they find you holding stolen property...Don't matter where ya got it, what reciepts you have, it goes back to rightful owner, nno discussion no negotiation.

 

[Joyous2K]

rare collectors are being hacked very often, regular people as well but specifically people collecting rares... myself, nine dark moons, criminal and some others as well, its really lame and annoying working for years to build up what you have and then lose it all to some undeserving punk... the least EA could do is reimburse you of your items but they do not for some reason, for example i had a 1 of a kind mask when i got hacked and ea could easily track it down but would not which is just dumb, i want something done about this some new security or the promise of reimbursing lossed items due to hacks or such, and the policy ea has regarding hacked accounts is really dumb where you need to get the police involved and everything to get the ip address of the person who hacked you because the police don't care about this type of stuff, do it yourself u dont need police, i am not asking for a response from EA, i am DEMANDING IT!

I want to post something in this, but it is over my head. It's not a good idea to DEMAND THINGS. Sounds rantly. What did you lose? Horse poo icon? I hope it wasn't horse poo.

 

[Uriah Heep]

Just a note and observation, and not directed at any particular poster...
Sure are a lot of cold-hearted evil tempered peeps around now. I remember a time when this woulda been met with outrage, now its "So what?" "It's your fault for playing the game"
"Who cares?"
" What's it to me, it don't affect me!"

Geeez, and we wonder why there's no community anymore...

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Most client hacks are due to a the person getting hacked allowing someone access to their system via outside programs, dodgy websites, and poor security management.

Learn to secure your system, and stay away from unapproved 3rd party programs, sites, and so on, make sure your password isn't stupidly easy to figure out and change it periodically. Keep a good anti-malware/spyware/virus program running AT ALL TIMES and KEEP IT UPDATED.

Yes, some people get hacked due to the hacker getting lucky... most people get hacked by their own lack of prevention.

 

[Kaj]

I think it's very sad when people get hacked, but I don't think EA should give items back, for reasons similar to what Enigma has stated. Of course there are IP sheets, but many countries have either dynamic IPs or use the same IP for entire regions (Portugal). This would complicate matters a lot (some people getting items back, others not) and of course hackers would kindly use a Portuguese proxy.

So I think getting items back is simply out of the question. I do think it would be fair that EA banned the hacker and his accounts, if it can be proven that someone was hacked. But with the amount of trading (both ingame and for RL cash), that can be complicated.

But the key is, you can have a very secure car. Lasers, flamethrowers and a trusty blinking red light inside. But when you forget to lock the car a thief can still get inside . Everyone has a responsibility to make sure their PC is secure. Just presume that everyone is out to get you and your account. Have a firewall, router, anti virus, secure passwords, keep your system and software up to date, don't talk about personal things to strangers (sneaky way to find out your answers to your secret questions for e.g. e-mail is to talk to you about your pet, mother, etc.).

But do let me emphasise that I think hackers and dupers are dogs and should be banned for life. Ruining something for which someone has worked for, for sometimes many years, is low and pathetic.
If you are on GL, LS or EU and need some help getting back on your feet, just contact me..

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

Well, the real problem, is that yes it is a Data Base Search.

So they find it.

So they find it on me.

so they take from you, and give it to rightful owner...Same as they do here in Texas when they find you holding stolen property...Don't matter where ya got it, what reciepts you have, it goes back to rightful owner, nno discussion no negotiation.

*Shrug*

You conveniently left out how they are going to PROVE who the rightful owner is? let me assure you, I will assert he gave it to me. I will give them the time and day he gave it to me. I can do this because I hacked the account (this is all theoretical / just a scenario) and I used his character to let me do what ever I am going to say was done. Heck, make it simple, how are you going to prove it was even stolen?

In another reply previous to this one you for some reason seemingly want to suggest they have something more in the db to go on that ItemID. The something more you seemingly want to suggest would be a Transaction file. I think you give UO's infrastructure far more credit that it deserves and far less credit to the HUMAN effort made to deal with .... the scenarios you laid out.

 

[phantus]

For 10 years EA(UO) has catered to cheaters and hackers. The mentality is so bad that instead of people rallying behind you for better protection you get jackass' that think you didn't do enough to protect yourself and it's your fault. The facts are that other MMO's do provide the support that the OP is talking about. They do track down the punks and losers and they do take actions. EA does not do this. Their subscriber base is suffereing because of this lack of attention to their paying subscribers as well. The evidence is all around you when you login.

It would not take a great deal of resources to better the situation with UO. It's never spoken about publicly and it's never acted upon however.

 

[Azazel of LA]

get hacked and then see how you feel on the matter, same goes for garth

Well I dont download crap , I dont go adding people I dont know to my ICQ and I change my password all the time. Maybe if people were a little more carefull they wouldnt have to worry so much eh?

 

[Dermott of LS]

...



You conveniently left out how they are going to PROVE who the rightful owner is?

In another reply previous to this one you for some reason seemingly want to suggest they have something more in the db to go on that ItemID. The something more you seemingly want to suggest would be a Transaction file. I think you give UO's infrastructure far more credit that it deserves and far less credit to the HUMAN effort made to deal with .... the scenarios you laid out

Not to mention that if people think the wait for a GM sucks now, imagine what it would be with a significant number of "lost item" pages being from people (including hackers) trying to get a GM to give them something that they "lost" (where "lost" is defined as "never owned in the first place"). Those types of pages are one of the biggest reasons why UO has NEVER returned lost items.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

....
The facts are that other MMO's do provide the support that the OP is talking about. They do track down the punks and losers and they do take actions....

I think you may want to step back and seperate the OP's desire to have his property returned to him vs your assertion that other MMO's go after wrong doers.

I doubt anyone here would sign the petition to EA saying IGNORE HACKERS AND DO NOTHING. I think everyone (well probably a lot) would sign the petition saying GO AFTER THOSE JERKS.

I actually think there is a lot of evidence that EAMythic has an aggressive posture vs these people. I do not see the words from them saying they are but I do see the deeds. One would not expect (well I dont) them to broadcast what they are doing to deal with the jerks.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

...



You conveniently left out how they are going to PROVE who the rightful owner is?

In another reply previous to this one you for some reason seemingly want to suggest they have something more in the db to go on that ItemID. The something more you seemingly want to suggest would be a Transaction file. I think you give UO's infrastructure far more credit that it deserves and far less credit to the HUMAN effort made to deal with .... the scenarios you laid out

Not to mention that if people think the wait for a GM sucks now, imagine what it would be with a significant number of "lost item" pages being from people (including hackers) trying to get a GM to give them something that they "lost" (where "lost" is defined as "never owned in the first place"). Those types of pages are one of the biggest reasons why UO has NEVER returned lost items.

Actualy this is true and sets up the reverse scenario. I visit your house. I see something I want. I say you hacked me and stole it from me and I want the GM to return it. As long as we are NOT requireing proof and proof is not to be had, then guess what I stand a chance of getting the item.

 

[love2winalot]

Well first off someone can just use any screnn name, board name, charater name, and just start guessing what the pass word is, and there is no way to stop that. It is not EA who will not return lost or stolen items, that is an OSI policy that was started because players were getting items returned to them that was not theirs in the first place, and they never owned.

I Quit many many years ago because of this. I had Pics, my journal log, and a GM verify what happened, AND GOT NOTHING BACK. It is just a game, and when WE make it more than that, you only end up being hurt, or dissapointed, or both.

 

[feath]

I'm not totally sure how hacks work - from my experience, i'd believe they get a key copier on your computer - so they can watch what you type in. that means you've visited a web site with spyware, or downloaded something from a stranger or friend who had the virus attached. okay, so, thats fairly easy to get around with security.

What gets me - i get a lot of emails from EA saying 'hey, you requested a password reminder, here it is!' ... i'm like - no, no i did not. i open the email and find my password, spelled out in glorious detail. WTF? Am i living in the century of the fruit bat? okay - if someone were trying to get my password this way, they'd not only need my account name, but they'd need to hack an online email system, which unlike EA, is up to date with security. but suppose the criminal mind does figure it out. there's cracks, after all, to everything.

my burning question is; Why does EA send the exact password? Send me my reminder question! So even if some yahoo manages to break msn, he STILL has to figure it out.

then i realized, EA doesn't use reminder questions. Some guy selling eguana doo can buy this software for $10 from godaddy. Its total basic security.

Bottom line is, EA wont do anything until a hacker gets into their server and cleans them out. if their security is this lax for customers, their own security wont be that much better.

 

[Surgeries]

Feels like crap knowing you were careless with your information, doesn't it?

Sorry to hear about your loss, but next time... you might be more pressed to take care of your info and not be so careless with it. All the steps are outlined for you to prevent this from happening again.

Your first step should be to stop blaming others for your own faults... really.

It is a rare day I agree with Black Rain on much of anything...but I must say...I most assuredly agree with him on this one...getting hacked is the responsibility of the person getting hacked to prevent, not the company, in a vast majority of the incidences, I am convinced.

Could EA do more?

Sure they could.

But I have a view about accountability, and it doesn't START with EA...it starts with ME. I have played 11 years, and have never been hacked...I have LOTS of really great stuff...maybe not Super Rares etc...but my inventory across two accounts is vast. I would hate to lose it...so I take Great Pains to ensure I do not. My passwords will likely never be hacked...not ever. I NEVER give any account info out to anyone, no matter how trusted they are....I change my passwords every two to three weeks. I play behind a Hardware Firewall. I NEVER accept ANY files from ANYONE that don't know IRL, and personally. I never download files from websites that are not EA sites...etc...etc...etc.

Now maybe I am just lucky. Maybe...but I don't think so.

I am not saying you did any of the things listed, but, there is a really really good chance you may have, at some point in time. And once is all a thief/hacker needs to get your goods.

Demonous...do me a favor...

Call your Auto Insurer, and tell them that your car was stolen, and totalled.

Then...tell them that YOU left the keys in the ignition...it was an accident, and you didn't mean to...but you did...

Then...see what they tell you about "Accountability", and who is responsible for the loss...then apply that same principle to EA, and your hacked account.

I am not unsympathetic to your loss...just to how you present it as it being EAs fault...it isn't. I am betting it isn't...unless you can prove that THEY gave your info out...it isn't, in my opinion.

 

[timbeOFbaja]

Bwahahahah. You didn't get hacked. You gave somebody your username and password.

Hope you learned a lesson because next time they could be asking for your SSN or bank account. LOL.

 

[Lord Kynd]

ok hmm... me and the other 2 people and countless people in the past? they dont give their account info out, they get an email requesting their info

and yet i agree with garth , they still haven't 'hacked' all they are doing is phishing.. it is the people that send/give there info to someone.
or are careless and let others see them enter there password if they are at there home's.

based on this... a person claiming to be 'hacked' while in realality they let another person know there info has not been 'hacked', but phished.

newb's

 

[Lord Kynd]

Bwahahahah. You didn't get hacked. You gave somebody your username and password.

Hope you learned a lesson because next time they could be asking for your SSN or bank account. LOL.

no kidding, now a days people are more worried about identity theft.
lol
hate to be the person that steals my identity. mhahaha

 

[Sarsmi]

I think there are some free email services that have exploitable weaknesses, and that is how some people are getting 'hacked'.

Don't use the same email for gaming as you do for everything else people. Don't go to unknown UO websites without first checking to see if they are ok. Don't open files people send you over ICQ. Don't give your account information to anyone unless you absolutely trust them (IE your husband or wife or family member etc) and you can also vouch for the security of their system. Do keep up with security updates, do run a firewall, do run spyware checks frequently.

 

[Lord Kynd]

actually it is ea's responsibility to keep their customers happy no matter what, world of warcraft reimburses their customers for lost things, including deleted characters so yes i do blame ea, and i wish my online banking would get hacker so that the hacked would be tracked down very hastily and be dealt with severely

how nice for WoW players. EA has always stood behind not replacing items.
EA is not a internet policing force, we can not expect tehm to protect us from the evil's of the world.

on a side note however , EA can tell the Ip addy's prior to the report of said account being hacked,.. tyypicly you are logging in from one general addy, now say a so called 'hacker' uses your accout, they left a trace of there action by there ip. this IS something EA can trace and do something about.
however...

you also get people who visit other site's and use there game name's, account name's, and omfg then they use the same passsword ?? what are ya'll thinking ? surely you can remember more than one password

i would dare say 80% of the people's account's that have been hacked have also used the same info while joining sites related to the game they play.

of course you could 'brute force' the account via the account page, but you only get 3 try's i think.. good luck with that.. tried it with a account i forgot my pass to.

and do not download things you are unsure of in anyway shape or form. cheats area big thing used for backdoor's into people system's... oh and you where worried about punkbuster invading your privacy, lol at least you could know it 'was' there.
now they just hide it.

 

[Lord Kynd]

It is a rare day I agree with Black Rain on much of anything...but I must say...I most assuredly agree with him on this one...getting hacked is the responsibility of the person getting hacked to prevent, not the company, in a vast majority of the incidences, I am convinced.

Could EA do more?

Sure they could.

But I have a view about accountability, and it doesn't START with EA...it starts with ME. I have played 11 years, and have never been hacked...I have LOTS of really great stuff...maybe not Super Rares etc...but my inventory across two accounts is vast. I would hate to lose it...so I take Great Pains to ensure I do not. My passwords will likely never be hacked...not ever. I NEVER give any account info out to anyone, no matter how trusted they are....I change my passwords every two to three weeks. I play behind a Hardware Firewall. I NEVER accept ANY files from ANYONE that don't know IRL, and personally. I never download files from websites that are not EA sites...etc...etc...etc.

Now maybe I am just lucky. Maybe...but I don't think so.

I am not saying you did any of the things listed, but, there is a really really good chance you may have, at some point in time. And once is all a thief/hacker needs to get your goods.

Demonous...do me a favor...

Call your Auto Insurer, and tell them that your car was stolen, and totalled.

Then...tell them that YOU left the keys in the ignition...it was an accident, and you didn't mean to...but you did...

Then...see what they tell you about "Accountability", and who is responsible for the loss...then apply that same principle to EA, and your hacked account.

I am not unsympathetic to your loss...just to how you present it as it being EAs fault...it isn't. I am betting it isn't...unless you can prove that THEY gave your info out...it isn't, in my opinion.

your so smart

 

[wanderer1origin]

biggest thing this question lacks is hey sold xxxxx item for lot of cash paypal paged on buyer hehe he hacked my account, have his mula and item ea returned this is why they dont replace!!!!!!!!!!! simplified for the chalenged

your so smart

 

[Fink]

actually it is ea's responsibility to keep their customers happy no matter what

It's in their best interests, but they're not legally/ethically bound "no matter what". A line has to be drawn somewhere, and that's detailed in the TOS you agree to (via subscription) when playing UO.

world of warcraft reimburses their customers for lost things, including deleted characters so yes i do blame ea

World of Whinecraft's set up differently; the have a dedicated server with individual character rollback ability and character-bound items.They've benefited from seeing the inherent flaws in genre-pioneering titles like UO, and from that they've made a very sucessful electronic babysitter. No reason for UO to start wanting to be like WoW, as that's a very slippery slope.

and i wish my online banking would get hacker so that the hacked would be tracked down very hastily and be dealt with severely

Uhm,..that's like wishing someone kicked your dog so you could call animal welfare on them.

 

[Doomsday Dragon]

Having been hacked once myself I can easily see what you mean. I didn't lose anything that couldn't be replaced the guy had no idea what a rare even was or he would have grabbed most of the ones I had sitting in my tower.

I think when I got hacked it was someone hacking people to sell off items they knew sold for real dollars not just someone looking to grab rare items. The term "crooked gold dealer" was used to describe the person who hacked me.

 

[christy1221]

Some of you people are pretty heartless.

I have played over seven years. I never give out my info and rarely use icq except to talk to a guild mate and someone got seven of my accounts. They weren't even on the same email addresses and one of the emails was never used on this computer. I always keep my anti virus up to date and run virus scans often. Some people said it might be a keylogger. Well that don't explain how they got an account that was closed and had not been logged into for over a year. I have no idea how they got my accounts but it was a horrible feeling.

It may not be ea's fault but that doesn't mean they could not do more to make your accounts more secure. I never in a million years thought I would be hacked since I made sure not to give out my info and always kept my anti virus up to date but it happened to me in feb.

I'm sorry everyone that has gone through this.

 

[DENNAR]

rare collectors are being hacked very often, regular people as well but specifically people collecting rares... myself, nine dark moons, criminal and some others as well, its really lame and annoying working for years to build up what you have and then lose it all to some undeserving punk... the least EA could do is reimburse you of your items but they do not for some reason, for example i had a 1 of a kind mask when i got hacked and ea could easily track it down but would not which is just dumb, i want something done about this some new security or the promise of reimbursing lossed items due to hacks or such, and the policy ea has regarding hacked accounts is really dumb where you need to get the police involved and everything to get the ip address of the person who hacked you because the police don't care about this type of stuff, do it yourself u dont need police, i am not asking for a response from EA, i am DEMANDING IT!

Let me say something to all the nay sayers about it being your fault and such. They live up to the old saying of opening thier mouths and proving something.

There have been several posters on UHALL over the years that have been hacked that did not download anything and EA got involved. I remember Devil Woman from LS who I know quite well. EA stepped in.

Let me make this very clear.

EA can tell you the IP of people that have logged into your account for the past 48 hours. I know this for certain. It may be even longer. They use this info when the POLICE do take action and contact them. They release that info to the police.

Now I am not a computer genius but if a company can tell what IP logged into what account I would think that if IP "x" logged into account A, B &C, and account C says they were hacked and lost item "xyz" EA could check the accounts of A&B and see if that item is on any of them. If it is they could return it.

But beyond that, if you post a harrasment help your log is saved for a very long time. In this day of storage media and speed, why arent logs automatically saved for 3-4 days? It is not like we have 250k subs anymore. And have the log record ALL items picked up. Like "you have picked up "XYZ". Or you have traded "xyz" with player "t".

Players have recommended for years that character deletion have a 48 hr delay--what have we got?

You are right EA could and should do more--just like they should do more about cheats and exploits.

And for all the people saying its your fault--well friend- the board warriors of UHALL push more people away from UO than EA could ever do, with their insults and high and mighty attitudes.

It wont get your stuff back but look at the status of the game. What EA has been doing is working so well the results speak for themselves. Your point of what WOW does for its what 10 million subs and what EA does for its declining numbers is very valid. I personally know at least 40 people that were victims of cheats, exploits, and hacks that have left UO and never looked back.

So like you I ask EA this question:

How are your historical actions been working so far about keeping players?

 

[Halister Marner]

Perhaps having a hack prevention post that is modern and up to date stickied would help towards people checking over their own security and recognizing where they are lax, and how they can fix it.

I can modify the one I use for work and adapt it to online game security, and submit it to Stratics for approval if it will help everyone make sure their PC's are secure and protected. There are a surprising amount of factors aside from just having a firewall and anti virus running, even outdated router firmware can lead to a competent hacker gaining access to your system.

If anyone is interested in having me type out an in depth security walkthrough and checklist, let me know and I will begin to work on one. Hackers and cheaters of all kinds prey on those without the knowledge to adequately defend themselves, and without that knowledge readily available, it's not a problem that will be going away anytime soon.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

So we just blame the victim and make it all better?

Because noone is responsible for their own stupidity anymore?

Yes, people get hacked. Yes, it sucks for them (I know I would be pissed too), but they need to step back a second and see if they did something that led to getting hacked in the first place.

Did they:

- Choose a stupidly easy password?
- Send account information to ANYONE including so-called "friends"?
- Download unapproved software?
- Visit a shady site that put malware/keyloggers on their system?

ESPECIALLY when you are dealing in areas that attract more shady people in UO (rares, out of game auction sites, PvP, resource gathering for sales, dealing with brokers, etc), you have to step up your own protection even FURTHER than you would otherwise.

Not doing so is going into the projects in a brand new Mercedes SUV wearing an expensive suit with gold jewelry visible carrying a clear case stuffed full of $100 bills WITHOUT any kind of personal protection... you're BEGGING to be rolled.

Now there's nothing specifically wrong with being involved in rares, PvP, or some of the auction sites, but involvement in them DO bring you to the attention to the real life crooks. It's along the lines of the Life Lock owner giving out his SS # in the commercials... he's set himself up as a target for ID theft.

It's not heartless, clueless or ignorant to try and tell people to look at their security protocols. It's actually more substantially beneficial than claiming "Oh, I'm sorry, it's not your fault" when in fact it is very likely that it WAS.

It's "tough love". I'm not here to baby people when they fall down every time. I'm here to ask the harder questions and maybe... just maybe... help them figure out what they can do to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Same with the other posters who are saying the same things I am.

That's like saying its your fault someone broke into the window of your house and stole your things. You shouldn't have windows on your house.

Impact resistant windows/window treatments are wonderful things. And really it's more like: "Don't leave your car doors unlocked with the keys in the ignition".

 

[DENNAR]

This is a joke this was moved to S&R.

Just shows how much stratics is trying to kiss EA/Mythic where they sit.

 

[timbeOFbaja]

This is a joke this was moved to S&R.

Just shows how much stratics is trying to kiss EA/Mythic where they sit.

Enough is Enough, EA. When are you going to start protecting us from being idiots and giving away our account information?

Blizzard actually comes to the house of every player and reads them an article on common sense. Then they leave a guy there, in your house, for the next three months and he watches every move you make and if you start to shout your username and password in server chat, he'll tap you gently on the shoulder and ask you if you're sure you want to do that. He also reminds you which shoe goes on which foot and that you need to turn off the stove when you're done cooking.

 

[christy1221]

Enough is Enough, EA. When are you going to start protecting us from being idiots and giving away our account information?
QUOTE]

I have never ever gave my account information to anyone.

 

[Nine Dark Moons]

I have never ever gave my account information to anyone.

Me either. And I had a very secure password and was still hacked. I know on the old boards someone posted a concise list of virus scanners and checks you can run that look for trojans, keyloggers, etc. I can't find that post. Can someone either direct me to it or re-post the info? I have Windows XP and use Firefox as my browser. I do weekly scans with McAfee and frequent scans with Spybot S&D, and Ad-Aware, but the hackers got through all that. I'm assuming with a keylogger but I think it's impossible to know how you were actually hacked. I'm really paranoid now that there's something lurking on my system that I don't know about.

I'm not going to whine and say EA should return my stuff. But I do wish they had security questions set up when you email them for a pw reminder. And yes, I saw Jeremy's post a couple months back about the backwards way you can set up security questions on your account, which I DID. but the hackers were still able to change my account pw, and I was able to change it back without answering any questions. I tried to re-set up the security questions via the instructions in Jeremy's post but I got stuck in a loop and got nowhere. As far as I can tell that process doesn't work at the moment.

Jeremy Dalberg, Ultima Online Community Director, outlines the details here:

UPDATED 11:55AM PDT - Added a final step to the process for clarification.

In order to add an extra layer of password security, new accounts are required to choose a security challenge question and answer. However, existing accounts can also add this - and we strongly recommend that all our players do so. Instructions after the jump:

To add a security challenge question to your account, please do the following:

- Visit the Account Management page.

- Select "Create Account." (Yes, this is counterintuitive.)

- Select "Already have a member account" and log in using your EA member account. NOTE: this may be different than your UO account name - in particular, older accounts may follow the pattern "uo_youruoaccountname."

- The next screen should give you the option to select a security question. Follow all prompts to create a security challenge question and answer. Type carefully, and choose an answer that only you would know.

- Hit "Cancel" - unless, of course, you want to actually create another UO account The security question will be applied to your account.

This security question will be used whenever someone requests a password for that account. If you forget your answer, you will have to contact Customer Support to get it reset. We strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of this feature!

Remember to always use the best security practices to not only protect your Ultima Online account, but also your email and personal computer.