I have been HaXXed before… Have you?

Posted by Emory on June 14, 2008

I’ve been haXXed before, in l337 (leet a.k.a Elite) terms, HaXX0r means hacker. Then I’ll make HaXX means hack then! Kekekeke…

Today’s blog topic will about hacking, I wonder if most people out there know what hacking means. Hack in Wikipedia terms means:

a modification of a program or device

I just crop that for easy understanding…

I know most people are unaware of the dangers in the Wicked Wide Web. Most people only knew about virus, virus, viruses and the solution to that problem is only anti-virus… It’s been common for normal users are being unaware of the major threats that lie in the web. It may be fun to surf ‘those’ websites but most people just don’t know what lies behind.

You got AIDS!

Mostly to the new generation kids, Hack can be related to a game called .hack. It’s a nice RPG game but kids who have internet access can either get your own computer into trouble or your personal information being stolen without a thought. It’s best to teach your kids about internet safety without having them learning it the hard way.

dotHACk the game

Ironically, kids knew more than us in the Cyberage, one ex-student of mine is quite daring and very keen to hacking. These days kids learn how to hack software, emails, online service accounts and the list goes right through. Children mostly think things are suppose to be for free and doing hacking is also fun, I don’t blame them because I was a kid too. But it’s best to know one owns limits before it breaks over the border.

It is hard but it is a phrase they’ll go through…

Here is a list of the main cyberhaXXs I’ve known or experienced over my lifetime.

Email account hacks…

The worst of them all. I remembered the day I went online to check my mail and have been shocked with NOTHING inside!!! All my precious Love mails are gone! All the funny forwarded mails, the Account activation emails, Account username and password emails, Recipe emails, and not to mention my love letters! @I#2%!4!&38 etc.

That was then… but now…

Lesson learned: Save all those emails that you need. Especially those love letters…

PASSWORD changes

Usually a prank or we can seriously connect this to Identity theft. Ever since the Email incident I have, I got a password change on one of my internet forum account. I was so damn pissed off that I couldn’t sign in to a forum I usually go to when I was young. I’ve emailed the admin to reset my password but it took a whole freaking year until the admin checks the emails. Lazy forum admin… Odd enough password changes are normal. Hackers change your password and never really did anything. Finally everything is sorted out and I got my account back.

Done without looking

I know that passwords are easy to hack. They can do it with a touch of a button and a few minutes. The worst is for us using SIMPLE words as passwords! Not until I learned something from good old TechTV (defunct, combined with G4TV)

Make passwords using alphanumeric format.

Eg. iknowwhatyourarethinkingnow1337

Make passwords that you only know that people rarely know.

Eg. haagendazsstrawberry (Nestle ice cream brand and product)

Make passwords with first words of phrases or abbreviation.

Eg. LotR (Lord of the Rings), SOS (Save Our Ship), DotA (Defense of the Ancients)

Make passwords that uses long and easy words.

Eg. ninehundredandninetynine

Make passwords that uses capital letters and also small ones (If you know where to make them big and small).

Eg. FrIEnDsTerStyLe

If you are concerned with your security, make one like this…

iLuvC0ldpl4yVlVoDaAHF2008 (I Love Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends 2008)

To sophisticated in my standards. The password is random made…

Money Come, MONEY GONE!!!!!

This was the worst!! It was more of a scam that I joined and cost me a lot of money lost. I can say till hundreds during my teen years. I’m not easily fooled by the Nigerian Scam Email. It was too good to be true. The ones I was into was HYIPs or known as High-yield investment programs. These programs usually ‘guarantee’ you 100% or 200% payouts within a few weeks time. They will create ‘virtual’ account to stimulate you to invest money inside and watch it grow. Then payouts will be given to you to make you invest more. When the HYIP site is getting popular, they will instantly become a closed site. Then many people will be frustrated through time. So did I back then.

The worst of all was those earn FREE money scams which they want you to subscribe to get emails of endorsements! Most of them are usually spam/junk mail that links to a Virus… sometimes a serious one.

The old Nigerian Millionaire scam I keep getting…

Lesson learned: There are ways to earn money online but it is hard to earn money using money in the internet. Online investments? Sorry, not interested of losing money and getting my computer formatted for the 10th time.

Website Defacements

It means a change of the actual page layout to something else… Disturbing or Taunting. I remember a friend of mine had his Friendster’s account defaced. His profile said something like: Your Friendster profile is being hacked… Go to Hell!!!. It was creepy to read that but with a little JavaScript placed on the page, the whole page can be redirected to some other things that will harm your computer. I remember featured at LYN, some websites in Malaysia are getting Defaced and hacked into.

Reset your password now! Emails…

These are known as Phishing scams. Yes, related to what it is called, Fishing… These hackers sends out emails regarding of your Paypal, Bank, or other internet related websites. Usually they will ask you to change your password. Their email will contain a link to the ‘fake website’ where what you see is the actual web URL/link.

These can be disguised my making the actual text and the actual link different. For example, the email shows you this link:

http://www.iniworldbank.com/changepass/thisisfakeexample/index.html

But the link actually links you to:

http://www.secure.iniworldbank.highsecurity.info/changepass/ youdaretotrymeh?/index.html

I’ve got these emails. MANY of them telling me to change my password through the links ‘they’ provided. The best tactic to prevent this is to go to the actual website my typing the url or the ACTUAL and NOT FAKE website and check if they made announcements on the matter.

Better safe than sorry…

Identity Theft

This is a story I read at a Gadget blog at Gizmodo.

CCTV shots of the incident

Apparently some hackers hacked ATM machines to gain credit card information of innocent people. Then they will use those innocent people’s credit card numbers to buy stuffs etc.

Eventually these things are not happening at our country just yet but if it does, it would be a pain in the arse to have it on us won’t it?

Full news here.

*-End-*

The fact is that people lack internet security, but in fact the threat is not just in the Cyberworld, but our living lives are also filled with normal scams and frauds. But mostly with technology, hacker’s works are easier done.

Yes, I do fear sometimes to the threats of the internet. That’s why I know a lot but technology is advancing as you read this blog. We must get updated on time to know what’s going on in the world or we will still be drooling over the Nigerian Scam.

There are a lot of ways to learn how to prevent all of these and I can’t tell you all I know… Good thing there is a Complimentary Workshop on Cybersecurity held in Malaysia. I wish to learn more on Cybersecurity as well to protect myself from being harmed online or offline. It is better to know more about it than knowing nothing at all. We live in a changing world, and there are bad bad evil villains who want to conquer the world. Or at least your bank account savings, or your email account, or just your name…

So,

Have you kena HaXXed before?

Wicked Wednesday…

Posted by Emory on June 11, 2008

Ok, I was going to submit my work to the office today. It was cold and I only had 2 hours of sleep. Ben woke me up because his keys were lost and I need mine to go out today.

I went back to a little sleep right before my alarm went off. I woke up and boiled some water for shower. During the shower, the bucket filled with warm water was tipped of balance and most of the water is poured.

BAD SIGN NO. 1

As the time was approaching for me to go, someone called me. The comic editor told me that the appointment was postponed due to a blackout in the office.

DOOOOOOM!!!!

Sienz… I was hoping that I could go there today. Then I stayed home for a while, I was planning to go buy something to cook for lunch and plan for the new comic. Suddenly my stomach started to feel uncomfortable. It was bloating and I kept burping…

BAD SIGN NO. 2

As I was price surveying and shopping, I came across cheap stuffs which I will buy other days. But the whole shopping went worst when my stomach started to fight back with gas coming out. I felt like I wanted to puke. I took my time to get some fresh veggies and some meat for lunch. Tomato from Cameron had a price hike and I couldn’t stand the uncomfortable stomach ache. I bought a can of softdrink and a sachet of Eno Ginger fruit salt for later.

Went home and instantly cook the meal. While drinking the can of Pepsi Twist.

Good thing there was rice from last night. I cooked more for this morning but I ran out of time to cook it, so I plan to leave it till noon to eat it when I was back from the office, but ironically it was canceled.

I have not taken meat for the past week and I only taken veggies, veggies, fried rice, fried rice, porridge, fried rice, etc… I remember having fried rice for the past few days. It tasted good at the beginning, but the more of it makes you bored and scared of it… Now I’m damn scared of having fried rice again… with soy sauce…

The simple meal I made. Ben called me to open the door for him, so I waited for him to join along with me. Since my appetite was being blocked by my stomach… And the Pepsi Twist managed to sooth some gas off through my throat.

I wonder how the kids at my old workplace are doing? Especially the one I cared the most… I hope they are all fine. (While I’m sick here and do nothing but work all the time… Grr…) I damn miss Kuching.

Ben came home and told me a few stuff on my sickness while we were having lunch.

1) Sleeping in odd times, eg. usually sleep at night, suddenly sleep at day.

I’ve been doing so because of work. Working at night and sleep at day. I suddenly felt like becoming a vampire. That caused my stomach to ‘wake up’ at different time zones. Although I’m still awake, the stomach might be ‘resting’. I’ve been like this for the past few days.

2) Stomach bloating because of the gas inside.

This is because of the sleep time error… Got to correct that today… Or else I’ll remain sick.

3) Take ginger tea to sooth the pain. or Eno.

I already bought it, Ginger flavoured too..

I need to make sure I don’t skip a WHOLE night on work and sleep at morning again. I must sleep at night… Or else I will really become a vampire and fly back to Kuching.

Ben told me to take the Eno after lunch and try not to eat fried or oily stuff… (as opposed to the fried nugget and sausages above, I did another boo boo…)

It was been a Hellofaweek… I need to focus on my work in day and sleep at night. Take more veggies other than having rice only. Drink more water and focus more on work. I’ve been off key on work lately too…

I’ve been up for the Apple’s WWDC08 conference with Vin on Tuesday morning at 1 a.m. We listened to the streaming live audio from the convention. Although noisy and loud, it was worth the listen to it. Live from San Francisco and the thrill is to know about the Iphone 3G, the new Iphone.

Lastly, my sick face…

Do I look sick to you? My hair is longer now… Plan to have it cut in next year. Let’s see how my hair grown till the end of the year. If I’m tired of it, I’ll snip it off at the salon here. Damn expensive leh…

So soi one, Then Wednesday is my bad day.

but Friday isn’t! Friday is my Fantastic day!!! W00t! Submit my artwork on that day!! Laters…

“Live the Life”

Posted by Emory on June 5, 2008

I so like this ad… I hope their next album is the bomb! Or it will be “Death and All His Friends”.

Here is their 2nd Single,

COLDPLAY - VIVA LA VIDA

(Not original video! And not related with Kingdom Hearts either!!!)

(Video will be removed when Official Video is out)
Update: 6/6/8 >The old music+lyric video was removed… Updated with a Kingdom Hearts Fan made vid. Nice too..