↳HACK PREVENTION GUIDE↰

[Perfectly Unique]

More people should learn about this stuff as soon as they join Gaia.
Like a little safety lesson.=__=

[Crystal Sparda]

Perfectly Unique

More people should learn about this stuff as soon as they join Gaia.
Like a little safety lesson.=__=

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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I agree 100%.
IMO, I think that Gaia should give a little test before
allowing new members to actually sign into their new account.
Nothing too long, just a few questions on how to recognize
official admins and what should and shouldn't ask for your password.
I think it would help bring down the number of hackings
related to new accounts/users.

Honestly, I think Gaia doesn't emphasize account security wholeheartedly.
Sure, there are the few threads found in random forums,
but tons of users don't even go to the Welcome forum off the bat.
They usually play games and wander into random forums
(usually the ones without the "Recognize Staff Impersonation" stickies).
They don't even think about being hacked,
have no clue what is and isn't a hacking attempt,
then end up falling for a phisher without even knowing it.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

[Perfectly Unique]

Crystal Sparda

I, my self, did not go to the Welcome Forum at all. I just already knew a little about some things. sweatdrop

I know some other sites that would give you a short test that you would have to take. You had no choice in the matter. The site allowed no contact with other users until you completed it. Harsh means, but sometimes necessary.

Gaia did add the new IP Verification which is pretty decent. But I have heard some people still get hacked even with it, because the hacker could still access their email account. Some people have the same password for both their email and Gaia account. Making it just a bit more simple for hackers.

[elborrino]

Unlike what other people said, people who get hacked don't always deserve it. What about new users who know nothing about the site expect how to browse and buy from shops, feed your fish and change your avatar? They get hacked because that's the only thing they're taught in the tutorial. Maybe they should condense all of the announcements the Admin has made about Scam/phishing/hacking PM's and sites into a little tutorial ( ESPECIALLY including sites that "give away" millions of gold and rare items for your password, or those "houseparty" giveaway links), and make a quiz afterwards, and you'd need to pass it to get into Gaia, nothing to hard, considering they'd have given you all of the information. Or heck just show you the info on the page and make you chose, it might seem obvious, but that'll also make it obvious when someone tries to scam you, which is what we're all looking for, right?
Something like this maybe:

Click to enlarge:

[Crystal Sparda]

elborrino

Unlike what other people said, people who get hacked don't always deserve it. What about new users who know nothing about the site expect how to browse and buy from shops, feed your fish and change your avatar? They get hacked because that's the only thing they're taught in the tutorial. Maybe they should condense all of the announcements the Admin has made about Scam/phishing/hacking PM's and sites into a little tutorial ( ESPECIALLY including sites that "give away" millions of gold and rare items for your password, or those "houseparty" giveaway links), and make a quiz afterwards, and you'd need to pass it to get into Gaia, nothing to hard, considering they'd have given you all of the information. Or heck just show you the info on the page and make you chose, it might seem obvious, but that'll also make it obvious when someone tries to scam you, which is what we're all looking for, right?
Something like this maybe:

Click to enlarge:

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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Yeah, I was mentioning this in the posts above. sweatdrop
Sure, not everyone deserves to be hacked,
but it just seems like the people who don't give a s**t about their account
until after it gets hacked are pretty dense and need to learn a few things.
Half of the stuff I see in the Q&A about being hacked is about
users who get PMs from random users with naked avatars asking for passwords.
You would think most users have at least a little common sense to
know "Hey! That is just a naked avatar and doesn't have a title under their name! That looks suspicious!"
I agree that before being allowed to EVER log in to Gaia,
new users/accounts should take a small quiz to recognize the password phishing attempts
that are commonly found in the forums and elsewhere on the site.
Then, if the user guesses the wrong answer, it will give a pop-up
explaining why it is the wrong answer and clarifying everything.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

[elborrino]

Crystal Sparda

elborrino

Unlike what other people said, people who get hacked don't always deserve it. What about new users who know nothing about the site expect how to browse and buy from shops, feed your fish and change your avatar? They get hacked because that's the only thing they're taught in the tutorial. Maybe they should condense all of the announcements the Admin has made about Scam/phishing/hacking PM's and sites into a little tutorial ( ESPECIALLY including sites that "give away" millions of gold and rare items for your password, or those "houseparty" giveaway links), and make a quiz afterwards, and you'd need to pass it to get into Gaia, nothing to hard, considering they'd have given you all of the information. Or heck just show you the info on the page and make you chose, it might seem obvious, but that'll also make it obvious when someone tries to scam you, which is what we're all looking for, right?
Something like this maybe:

Click to enlarge:

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀

Yeah, I was mentioning this in the posts above. sweatdrop
Sure, not everyone deserves to be hacked,
but it just seems like the people who don't give a s**t about their account
until after it gets hacked are pretty dense and need to learn a few things.
Half of the stuff I see in the Q&A about being hacked is about
users who get PMs from random users with naked avatars asking for passwords.
You would think most users have at least a little common sense to
know "Hey! That is just a naked avatar and doesn't have a title under their name! That looks suspicious!"
I agree that before being allowed to EVER log in to Gaia,
new users/accounts should take a small quiz to recognize the password phishing attempts
that are commonly found in the forums and elsewhere on the site.
Then, if the user guesses the wrong answer, it will give a pop-up
explaining why it is the wrong answer and clarifying everything.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

I'll be honest when I say I don't understand how an older user gets hacked, but noobies? All the time. It's so easy to fall for a houseparty scam or want gold so bad you put your information into a scam site, or panic when a phishing pop-up appears and put your password in when you don't know much and aren't taught the basics of how to recognize a Gaia staff member. But people who've been on for years? They might as well been doing it on purpose. Maybe that's why so many hack reports go unanswered. Sheer negligence from the user. If we're taught this at step one, and get reminders every now and then imagine how safe Gaia would be.
And I definitely like the idea of getting more information when you get an answer wrong.

[floofy booty]

Will the checked box for the IP verification remain check?
Because i check the box and save my setting, but it gets un-checked. Should it be doing that?

[Crystal Sparda]

oTazi

Will the checked box for the IP verification remain check?
Because i check the box and save my setting, but it gets un-checked. Should it be doing that?

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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After saving that setting, you will need to go to your e-mail
that is attached to your account and look for one from Gaia.
You will need to verify that you activated the feature,
then the check box on your account settings page will remain checked.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

[floofy booty]

Crystal Sparda

oTazi

Will the checked box for the IP verification remain check?
Because i check the box and save my setting, but it gets un-checked. Should it be doing that?

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀

After saving that setting, you will need to go to your e-mail
that is attached to your account and look for one from Gaia.
You will need to verify that you activated the feature,
then the check box on your account settings page will remain checked.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

Oh and um...I'm not sure, but yesterday i clicked on this link and it took me to my account setting, and it was a fake gaia page, so i exited out of that page and logged into gaia (real website)
but I'm not sure if i have the keylogger. I scanned my computer 2 times already, 1st one with the Melwarebytes' Anti-Melware and the 2nd scan with Avast! Anti-virus.
3 Items were infected and i got rid of them, but I'm still worried i have the keylogger.
If i check the IP Varification, will it block the guy/girl that made me get the key logger not able to get onto my account?

[Crystal Sparda]

oTazi

Oh and um...I'm not sure, but yesterday i clicked on this link and it took me to my account setting, and it was a fake gaia page, so i exited out of that page and logged into gaia (real website)
but I'm not sure if i have the keylogger. I scanned my computer 2 times already, 1st one with the Melwarebytes' Anti-Melware and the 2nd scan with Avast! Anti-virus.
3 Items were infected and i got rid of them, but I'm still worried i have the keylogger.
If i check the IP Varification, will it block the guy/girl that made me get the key logger not able to get onto my account?

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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As long as you ran a scan on your computer
and your program removed the threat, you should be fine.
It doesn't sound like you have a keylogger, maybe just had a couple
of minor viruses, but nothing serious.
Do one more scan and be sure the threats have been removed.
If you have a bit more technical questions about viruses and keyloggers,
I suggest making a thread in the Computers & Technology forum.
They probably know a bit more about the technical side of computers than I do. sweatdrop

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

[floofy booty]

Crystal Sparda

oTazi

Oh and um...I'm not sure, but yesterday i clicked on this link and it took me to my account setting, and it was a fake gaia page, so i exited out of that page and logged into gaia (real website)
but I'm not sure if i have the keylogger. I scanned my computer 2 times already, 1st one with the Melwarebytes' Anti-Melware and the 2nd scan with Avast! Anti-virus.
3 Items were infected and i got rid of them, but I'm still worried i have the keylogger.
If i check the IP Varification, will it block the guy/girl that made me get the key logger not able to get onto my account?

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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As long as you ran a scan on your computer
and your program removed the threat, you should be fine.
It doesn't sound like you have a keylogger, maybe just had a couple
of minor viruses, but nothing serious.
Do one more scan and be sure the threats have been removed.
If you have a bit more technical questions about viruses and keyloggers,
I suggest making a thread in the Computers & Technology forum.
They probably know a bit more about the technical side of computers than I do. sweatdrop

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

Okie, thank you! ^^;

[PurbleBurble]

When ever I try to turn on the IP Notification, and I save the changes, I go back to double check, but it's not turned on! I've tried 7 times already! What do I do and why won't it turn on??? burning_eyes

[Crystal Sparda]

yuki nagato xXyuki-sanXx

When ever I try to turn on the IP Notification, and I save the changes, I go back to double check, but it's not turned on! I've tried 7 times already! What do I do and why won't it turn on??? burning_eyes

Crystal Sparda just a couple posts up

Quote:

Will the checked box for the IP verification remain check?
Because i check the box and save my setting, but it gets un-checked. Should it be doing that?

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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After saving that setting, you will need to go to your e-mail
that is attached to your account and look for one from Gaia.
You will need to verify that you activated the feature,
then the check box on your account settings page will remain checked.

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ

From the first page of my guide

Make sure the IP Verification option is checked, just like in the image and save your changes. After doing so, you will need to check your e-mail that is attached to your Gaia account. Gaia should send you an e-mail saying that you need to verify that you activated the feature. Click the link in that e-mail and your settings will be saved on your Gaia account.

[The Years Charity Mule]

i got hacked by getting a pm.. then clicking the link 'Get a Free item [get angelic scarf]' or something i forgot then a tab popped up then i clicked 'get free item' it was an angelic scarf then it said 'please sign in to continue' and then i put my info in and then BAM!! i was hacked completely :C

pls warn this to everyone, hackers can be smart! - but we could be dum sometimes.. btw no offence pls dont take this as a mean offensive thing to u >.<

[use this for the reserved post if u want]

[Crystal Sparda]

Kagemori07

i got hacked by getting a pm.. then clicking the link 'Get a Free item [get angelic scarf]' or something i forgot then a tab popped up then i clicked 'get free item' it was an angelic scarf then it said 'please sign in to continue' and then i put my info in and then BAM!! i was hacked completely :C

pls warn this to everyone, hackers can be smart! - but we could be dum sometimes.. btw no offence pls dont take this as a mean offensive thing to u >.<

[use this for the reserved post if u want]

Í Țєαʀ Ϻy Ҥєαʀț Ӧpєȵ, Í Șєw Ϻysєʟғ Șћυț
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It is already a part of this post.
All the basic stuff you need to know about those fake screens. wink

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Ϻy ѡєακȵєss Ís Țћαț Í Ҫαʀє Țόό Ϻυϲћ