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A simple guide.

Okay, welcome to the thread. First of all, I'd like to let you know that these will not 100% PREVENT hacking, but will HELP.
Also, some of this stuff is my opinion on how you can help prevent it.

Rules
1. Please follow Gaia's ToS.
2. Be nice, alright?

If you want to add something to this guide, please feel free to PM me or post it and I'll add it when I can.

::Quick Info!::
Alright, this is in the first post because you really need to know this and it will be stated again.
Moderators will never ask you for your password. EVER.
So NEVER give out your password.

Colors to know (and their meanings):

Admins are ORANGE
Moderators are GREEN
Non-Player Characters are RED
Other Staff Members are BROWN
Regular users are BLACK
These colors refer to their names.
Regular users are users are just normal people who simply use this site and not run it.

More information about the moderator types (as well as a list of moderators who take care of the "Welcome to Gaia" forum) can be found here.

::Hacking::
Hacking is the illegal access of someone else's computer or account. Usually for destroying, stealing, or harming information or items.
Like a burglary.

:::Cracking:::
Cracking is like another term for hacking. I've heard it's usually used just for the recovery of lost passwords. It's a guess and check system.

::Scamming::
If you have ever heard someone say "they were trying to scam me" then you might know what this means.
A scammer tries to trick you to give them things. On Gaia, a scammer usually tries to pretend to be a moderator or some special part of the Gaian staff/crew and tell you to give them your password, username and often times your email address.
If their name is black and they are asking you these in a PM or in the forums, then they are a scammer.

::Keylogger::
A keylogger is a program that gets onto your computer and monitors you. It records your keystrokes and sometimes monitors where you go and what time you go there. It sends the information to someone else and they then have access to your accounts. (Like your Gaian account.)

::Cache::
Your cache basically stores all of your information from the internet. Saved passwords, your browser history, pages you've recently visited and other things.

:::Cache Busters/ Cookie Stealers:::
They have several names either way, they get onto your computer and try to take the information from your cache and send it to someone else.
I've seen some disguised as popup ads.

Alright, like stated before, some of these are my opinion.

Okay, getting hacked can be a horrible thing. Especially if you're online and watching it happen.

1. Let's stress this again.
Moderators will never ask you for your password. EVER.
So NEVER give out your password.

2. Pay attention to the links you're clicking on. Since Gaia has the ability to change the name of links they can take you to places the look exactly like Gaia or to viruses.
_____They can be checked at the bottom of the window ( The load bar [Image] )
_____Right click the link and choose "Properties" from the list. A window will open and it should tell you the address that the link takes you to.
_____Since Gaia takes you to a warning page by default (you can have that page disabled) it will tell you the actual link before you actually go to the page.

3. Clear your cache occasionally. Cookie Grabbers/Cache Busters can take any information in there.


Windows
Start Menu > Control Panel > Network and Internet Connections > Internet Options
Then a new window should come up looking kind of like this. In the Browsing History section click the Delete button.
Again, another window should pop up looking like this one.
I usually just click the "Delete all" button because it clears space on my computer as well.

Keep in mind, if you do clear everything or the Temporary Internet Files, then webpages you visit will be cleared and you will have to download those pages again.

Internet Explorer
Tools Tab > Internet Options > follow the last two steps in the Windows one.

Firefox
Tools Tab > Clear Private Data (Ctrl+Shift+Delete)
Afterwards this should come up in another window. (You can select "Cookies" too, but that's just the default selection in the picture) then finally click the "Clear Private Data Now" button. (I'm not sure about the Authenticated Sessions selection so don't ask what it's for.)

4. Scan your computer. Viruses like keyloggers or other harmful things can get on your computer and steal your information. Aware, Spyware and other harmful things should be cleared too to keep your computer running well.
Here's a list of programs you can use for scans.
_____McAfee
_____Norton Anti Virus
_____AVG Virus Protection (The Free Edition can be found at Free.grisoft.com.) Be sure to click the Free one.
_____Adaware (A Adware/Spyware scanner) (Adaware for free can be found at lavasoftusa.com. Remember to click the Free download.)

There are others, those are just some that I've used.

5. Have a secure password. Many hackings occur because someone's password isn't very secure. If you make your password too simple then your account could be hacked into.

Ilikemilkandcookies ............ This is NOT a very good password, it is much too simple.
1l1k3m1lk4ndc0ok13s ......... This one is better, but can still be rather simple to guess.
alkdfjalkfdiwehg3498udDtaieojq ......... This one is completely random. It's pretty secure as well. The longer could be the better though.

Random passwords like the one above are (from what I can tell) pretty secure. If you are afraid of loosing the password or just don't want to memorize the whole thing, send it to your email address and save the email. If you're worried someone will look there for your password, then don't label it as a password and don't put your username in the email.
All you'll have to do is copy and paste the password each time you want to log in or use it. Remember to be careful when copying it. Sometimes you can accidentally select something you don't want.

6. Keep a mule account. Mules can come in really handy when you think you're going to be hacked soon or when you want to keep a few items on another account to keep them safe. If you're not using a valuable item that you're afraid is going to be taken or you want to keep some old items that can be sold or gold or something that you can fall back on when you're hacked, then I suggest you put it on a mule.

::Things To Notice::
Alright, there are things you need to notice to tell if someone is trying to break into your account or not.

Are you getting warnings (not by PM) saying that you have been banned due to too many failed logins?
Okay, with this one you have to also pay attention to other people too. It might just be a glitch so ask about it in the Questions & Assistance forum or better yet, look for any recent topics about your problem. (It saves space.)
Most of the time (my opinion) it won't be a glitch so try to take care of your items. (Look at the Prevention post)

Are you getting PMs from regular users (people with black names) saying that they are some secret service for Gaia and asking for your password?
That is not a real Gaian staff member! That's a scammer. Whatever you do, DO NOT give them your password.
If they threaten you by saying that if you do not respond in a certain amount of time of if you do not give out your password that you will be banned, they are LYING.

If you do get a PM like the one mentioned above then report it!
To report a PM like this simply go to the PM and press the button under the PM.


Go to the Forums then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Report A Scamming link and fill out the form.

[Click here to see an image of how to get there.]

Is there a keylogger on your computer?
Alright, keyloggers aren't always on your computer for Gaia, they could be there for many things, either way, it can still get your password.
Do a virus scan on your computer to check first. If one is found, get it off of your computer as soon as possible.

Are items missing from your inventory?
You could be being hacked.
Some hackers take only certain items, I suppose to scare you or because those items are the only ones they want. Either that or to make it look less noticeable. I suggest you make sure your email address is the same and change your password as soon as possible.
Report what has happened as well.

Is your avatar suddenly stripped of all its items? And you're not the one doing it?
You are probably being hacked.
Contact a moderator as soon as you can, send them a PM and tell them what's going on, you should possibly ask them to disable trades or gift giving if they can. Next you can check to see if your email address is the same, change your password quickly (if it lets you) then log out.
Logging out will kick the hacker off your account. Log back in to keep monitoring your account.
Don't forget to report the hacking!

Those are just some things to look for.
If you fear your account is a soon to be hacked victim, then try talking to a moderator about it. The Prevention post should help you too.

Many questions could be going through your mind right now. (Or not.) Either way, do you want to know some ways you can recover from it?

::Need-To-Know::
Alright, first off, you want to Report the hacking.
To do so go to the Forums Page then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Report A Hacking link and fill out the form.

[Click here to see an image of how to get there.]

Alright, I don't know how many times this must be stressed to get this through people. BUT Report ONE hacking ONE time that's ONCE per hacking.
It takes them up to 18 MONTHS just to get back to you on the hacking. Filling up their report inbox with the same report only makes the wait longer for other people and a lot of irritation for them.


::Trying To Recover::
Okay, once the report is finished, the next thing to do is try to start again if you want to continue your life on Gaia. If you have lost your account completely, but want the same friends, see if you can contact the ones you had and tell them the story. If they're your friends then I'm sure they'd understand.
Next thing to do is to recover your lost items and gold if you want them again.

Most of the time, you have to get the items back yourself.

1. You can ask charities to help you in the Charity/Quests Forum.
2. You can ask your friends if they are willing to help.
3. Earn them back yourself the old fashioned way. Posting, playing games, Towns, polls, roaming the site, sending in money, or selling items.

Keep in mind, people usually don't like people begging for gold so it might not always help. Also, understand if they accuse you of lying, it's probably because there are a lot of scammers who try to get gold and items that way.

After typing all of this and putting it all together, I'm a little tired to go out and look for other guides at the moment. If you have a guide you'd like to see in this post, please PM me and tell me.