Watch out! Possible new UO hack

[Mahmudiyah]

I'm going to post this once more as an admin deemed it unworthy of being on these boards despite being a WARNING to all of you trying out the new client and the downloaded mods...

While on my mule this morning preparing to fill a lot of bods, I was setting up my pack and just as I used my Cut up cloth menu selection my character just yells out "I'm in the hack!" So I immediately shut down and began to run my anti virus & spywear checks. I am not running ANY 3rd party progs, just AIM, spybot & Avast. I use Firefox w/no script as my browser. That being said, I did get tired of the map on the new client so I checked out a resizeable map mod onhttp://uo.modders- exchange.net/ packaging site. I scanned the file after DL and it came up clean so I used it, it worked fine but this is the only thing I can think could have caused this. So far I do not appear to have any hijacking virii or anything of that sort running.

That being said, that website could very well be a bad site, it might not. All I am saying is I have had no problems until I downloaded a resizeable map mod from there. So either steer clear of it or be extra cautious. Being paranoid is a healthy thing in this case.



*Points at mod - Is that better for you Chief??

 

[Arcus]

I'm going to post this once more as an admin deemed it unworthy of being on these boards despite being a WARNING to all of you trying out the new client and the downloaded mods...

While on my mule this morning preparing to fill a lot of bods, I was setting up my pack and just as I used my Cut up cloth menu selection my character just yells out "I'm in the hack!" So I immediately shut down and began to run my anti virus & spywear checks. I am not running ANY 3rd party progs, just AIM, spybot & Avast. I use Firefox w/no script as my browser. That being said, I did get tired of the map on the new client so I checked out a resizeable map mod on http://uo.modders-exchange.net/packaging site. I scanned the file after DL and it came up clean so I used it, it worked fine but this is the only thing I can think could have caused this. So far I do not appear to have any hijacking virii or anything of that sort running.

That being said, that website could very well be a bad site, it might not. All I am saying is I have had no problems until I downloaded a resizeable map mod from there. So either steer clear of it or be extra cautious. Being paranoid is a healthy thing in this case.



*Points at mod - Is that better for you Chief??

Not buying it..something seems odd here.

 

[wee papa smurf]

I'm going to post this once more as an admin deemed it unworthy of being on these boards despite being a WARNING to all of you trying out the new client and the downloaded mods...

While on my mule this morning preparing to fill a lot of bods, I was setting up my pack and just as I used my Cut up cloth menu selection my character just yells out "I'm in the hack!" So I immediately shut down and began to run my anti virus & spywear checks. I am not running ANY 3rd party progs, just AIM, spybot & Avast. I use Firefox w/no script as my browser. That being said, I did get tired of the map on the new client so I checked out a resizeable map mod on http://uo.modders-exchange.net/packaging site. I scanned the file after DL and it came up clean so I used it, it worked fine but this is the only thing I can think could have caused this. So far I do not appear to have any hijacking virii or anything of that sort running.

That being said, that website could very well be a bad site, it might not. All I am saying is I have had no problems until I downloaded a resizeable map mod from there. So either steer clear of it or be extra cautious. Being paranoid is a healthy thing in this case.



*Points at mod - Is that better for you Chief??

Tourettes?

 

[wee papa smurf]

Not buying it..something seems odd here.

Agreed, i would'nt hit that link for a million bucks

 

[Mahmudiyah]

What's so hard not to get here? Be careful going to any sites that offer mod downloads!! I may have gotten some type of virii or hijacker from downloading a mod from that site... simple as that, would you rather me be cryptic in the site itself and just play guessing games with where I may/may not have gotten a problem??

 

[guum]

I think people are wondering why someone would yell, in-game, "I'm in the hack!", as they're hacking your account.

Just a guess.

 

[Zayin666]

What's so hard not to get here? Be careful going to any sites that offer mod downloads!! I may have gotten some type of virii or hijacker from downloading a mod from that site... simple as that, would you rather me be cryptic in the site itself and just play guessing games with where I may/may not have gotten a problem??

Then edit your first post so its not a clickable link... maybe cut it up so it cant be copied easily either! When you post it like that, you risk someone will be clicking it!

 

[IanJames]

I highly doubt that you got a virus from that site. You said yourself you have not detected a virus. Did you try posting in the EC forum so the owner of the site could respond, or possibly the writer of the mod?

I am running this mod also, and have never had this happen.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

I know a lot about hacking/phishing/trojans, and the story sounds very fishy to me. Might have been a hoax. You could check your journal to see if it really was your characer yelling that sentence.

Besides, a mod usually consists of a few XML files (text files) and some graphics, and both should be safe from any kind of infection.

 

[Mahmudiyah]

Yeah it does seem like a hoax, but it's a annoying one. Having your character randomly yell out "I'm in the Hack!" is very annoying/paranoia inducing...

And let me make this really clear (Even though some of you will STILL miss the point...) I did NOT purposely yell this out. I am NOT saying go check that site out. If you do click on it after reading that post, then that's all on you and your educational system.

 

[Zayin666]

If you do click on it after reading that post, then that's all on you and your educational system.

LOL

 

[Crysta]

Maybe somebody coded in that odd phrase to appear with a specific keystroke on one of the mods you have to scare people? lol

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

As a modder on the Exchange, I an affrim that none of the mods available through the Exchange have any sort of virus, trojan, keylogger, or other malware. If any are found, the package would be pulled and the submitter would be removed from the Exchange.

I have added in the resizable map into an Enhanced mod that I have been working on and posting to the Exchange and have never had such an occurrance, nor have we read about it from the many others who have used the mod either individually or as part of a package.

At the start of the Exchange, I personally emailed the Devs (Jeremy at the time) to let them know what the project was and for oversight if we went "too far". Thus far there has been no problem, and even after an extended evaluation became part of the UO Fan Site listings... something that would not have happened if the Exchange were a shady site.

Every mod/skin posted on the Exchange is non-encrypted and open for viewing.

 

[Gildar]

*goes and double-checks the resizable-map mod to make sure it doesn't contain any malicious Lua code*

Neither version available for download, nor any version that ever existed in the repository, has ever made your characters say anything.
If you truly did experience what you claim to have experienced (and I'm not saying you haven't), it was not because of the resizable-map mod.
In the future, if you suspect that any of the files available at the Modders Exchange are causing any issues, please e-mail me ([email protected]). That will be much faster and more reliable than posting in UHall.


That being said, always be careful when you download any custom interfaces for the Enhanced Client. Always scan any executables and zip files for viruses (and if there is an executable, you should have extra doubt - installation of skins is a fairly easy task, and, while you could make one for it, doesn't require an installer), and make sure you think you can trust the source of any lua files. It is very possible for a mod to cause somebody to say things, move items around, or otherwise hinder your use of UO. Write access to the Modders Exchange is very limited, and those of us who can add/change files tend to keep an eye on what everybody else is doing (usually out of curiosity, not looking for malicious code - but we'd see both).
I, the owner of the site, take a little extra time trying to make sure nobody who has write access to the site does anything that might cause problems for uses of the skin. If you, or anybody else, every wants to download anything available at our site, but have doubt - send me an e-mail and I'll look through the code to make sure there isn't anything bad with it. Or, if you don't trust me, I can help get you in contact with some of the other modders, or point you to a few sites that can help you learn Lua yourself.

Some degree of paranoia is a good thing on the internet - it helps keep you safe in an environment where many, many people have malicious intent.
Excessive paranoia, however, can keep you from enjoying new things that are completely harmless.

 

[Kensai Tsunami]

Perhaps its merely a 'signature' ...like an artist might do on his/her painting?
if you have no harmful effects, then i would suggest this might be the case.
its possibly just the 'creator' havin a lil goof on the d/l. (download/down-low)
no harm. no foul.
heh
...peace

 

[Mahmudiyah]

This was not meant to disrespect or suggest that site or it's authors is trying to hack people but even mod sites can be hijacked and have some of their mods injected with potentially harmful programming. It's happened to WoW mods before so it's not impossible for it to happen here.

But the main purpose of this was to warn and hopefully educate some users before they get into the act of using mods. Scan your stuff before you use it, be wary of what sites you go to, only download from sites you trust. Simple as that.

I have ran an updated scan on my drive and and it has come back negative so there's no telling what caused this, do be on the lookout for little things like this and hopefully it is nothing serious.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

If in the future, you do encounter such an issue, feel free to let one of us (the modders) know as we are always on the lookout for any bugs or issues with our mods.

Simply drop one of us a private message and we'll look into the issue.

 

[Trebr Drab]

This is why I cringed when they said they'd allow MODs. But unless I'm mistaken, just because you aren't running any 3rd party programs doesn't mean you aren't infected from some other download.

This does sound more like a trick, sounds like when you could offset your overhead speech and make it look like someone else said something.

 

[HillBilly]

There is nothing in the LUA or XML file to make this happen. I downloaded this mod the day it was available and use it with bitterblack UI. Never had any problem.

I think you are mistaken on what actually happened. Perhaps someone was standing on your character and said this?

 

[Lythos-]

Someone actually has that macro on Atl tied into a spell key which could very easily be offset now making it look like you said it.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

I am a user of the Skins and Mods from the modders exchange.

I have been using them since they became available, oh what nearly a month back?

I have never had the issue you describe and I do use the Sizable Atlas mod, in several skins.

To the modders exchange and its contributors

 

[Llewen]

There is nothing in the LUA or XML file to make this happen. I downloaded this mod the day it was available and use it with bitterblack UI. Never had any problem.

I think you are mistaken on what actually happened. Perhaps someone was standing on your character and said this?

I'm just seconding and thirding what has already been said. I just checked the files in that mod, and there is nothing in them that would cause the behaviour the op described.

It's a real shame that the hackers out there have created an atmosphere on the net where genuine modders who are creating mods in their spare time, for nothing more than the joy of sharing their work with someone else, are constantly under suspicion.

 

[Arcus]

I think people are wondering why someone would yell, in-game, "I'm in the hack!", as they're hacking your account.

Just a guess.

Exactly.

 

[zared of napa]

I wrote that resizable map and i assure you...No hack or any other Garbage was added to it or ever will be.That file is currently spread to well over 1000+ users.as it hit the japan Modders exchange 2 days after being posted.The File was also Submited to EA/Mythic prior to any posting.
The modders Exchange has been around for some time never any complaints up till your post!!

 

[Lorddog]

look at your macro file (macros.txt i believe) and see if that text is in there.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I don't know what the truth is behind this, but I do know it's nothing whatsoever to do with Zared's map. I'm using it myself.
I think it's time for these groundless accusations to be halted.