Getting hacked

[SexiJenna]

Hi In the last week or so my computer has been hacked twice useing jave and this isn't the first time..it has happened atleast two other times. I enjoy this chatroom and thank you alot Drew for all the work you have done...I think it is great expect the hacking thing lol...I enjoy the people here so much but i cannnot use this room when I keep getting hacked. I guess it's the same person doing it but who wants there privacy broken into...isn't that what this room is all about...our privacy and us being comfortable with who we are when sometimes we can't do that other places. If there is anything i can do about please please tell me know until then I am afraid i wont see any of you. :( Thanks for you time

Jen

[Brian]

Hi Jenna,

Hmmm, I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say that you've been hacked twice using Java. I'm curious to know exactly what you've been seeing/experiencing. Almost all home computers come with Java installed already, and then applications such as our chatroom, will use the java on your computer to deliver the application. So you've almost certainly had Java installed on your home computer long before using the chatroom on bisexual.com. Let me know what you are seeing going on and maybe I can help.

- Drew :paw:

[SexiJenna]

Hey Drew...My computer didn't come with java i had to install it before i used the chat room. I got messages on my computer from java stating that someone had hacked my computer and had been looking around in it...each time this happened while in the room. I have talked to others and they said that you are sitting target when in a chat and that java is easy to hack. I actually did a search on-line to see how easy it was and there are actually hacker sites up telling you how to hack java. The first time i was hacked on this site someone actually went into my computer and I saw that someone had been makeing user names...i guess to let me know they were there. Haven't found that they are doing anything harmful but the point is they should not be in my computer at all.

[Brian]

That is all new to me. I'll have to do some reading.

- Drew :paw:

[SexiJenna]

thanks for the replys drew you are great :)

[DareMe]

I'm very curious about the method of hack that is used. A lot of the tools I use are Java based. Some of my customers have developped extensively in Java both on the front end (ie web pages and web applications) and on the backend (Java beans). Very securely.

The one proble I encountered, my next door neighboor, got hacked via a keylogger that sat on her Desktop and relayed information to an external web site.

The basics, I would suggest running anti spyware, and virus software. On top of that you may want to invest in a personnal firewall. Zone Alarm is a very good one and is free for personnal use, http://www.zonealarm.com/. It intercepts everything that goes out of your computer, unless you actually say OK this program can talk to the outside world. It may be a bit frustrating at first because until your have it fully configured, you will realise that a lot of communication occur with the outside world.

Saddly, it is not a 100% safe way. Some smart kid may figire out a way to spoof a process and pretend it is one that is allowed to talk to the outside world. But is a tough one to do.

The next time you get a funky message, try doing a print screen and a paste to word you will have the entire screen in your clipboard and email it to me.

See you on the chat,

DM

[Brian]

BTW, if you or anyone else experience this while in the chatroom, email me through my profile, http://main.bisexual.com/forum/member.php?u=1 (email, not PM). When I am online I often check my email every 5 minutes or so (what can i say, I have the attention span of a squirrel monkey). If I get an email, I can log into the chatroom and see if I can identify the troublemaker.

- Drew :paw:

[sexy couple]

You need to get a Firewall, Spyware, and Anti - Virus Software. If you are using AOL, they offer all of this for a small monthly fee, and it is constantly updated. This is very important. The average computer is attacked every four seconds. This statistic comes from a recent college study where computers without protection were given access to the internet; within four seconds, they had all been attacked with something. When a Firewall is installed (the software version), every time another computer tries to communicate with your computer, that information is kept in a log. I'm still constantly amazed when I take a look at this log, how much stuff is being caught in the Firewall on an hourly basis. Every two days we run the Anti Virus Software Scan. Even with the Firewall, at least once a week the Virus Scan catches something. Many times it is a Trojan and they are nasty and you do not want one! Spyware - run this daily! Having these programs can make a big difference, keeping your computer as protected as possible...

[allbimyself]

Jenna,

I highly doubt the intrusion came via the chat. There are trojans that will tell you that you have been hacked to get you to download/purchase a specific piece of software to "protect" yourself. It would be trivial to make one that recognizes that you have a java applet running and tell you that is the problem. Unfortunately, under the guise of protecting you, these programs allow other pieces of spyware and trojans to reside safely on your computer. I recommend the following:

1) AVG anti-virus at http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
2) Ad-Aware at http://www.lavasoft.com/ (click downloads)
3) Spybot S&D at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

These are all free or have free versions. AVG runs pretty much automatically once it's set up, checking for updates and scanning your computer daily.

Ad-Aware and Spybot will need to be run manually. How frequently depends on how much you use the interenet. A heavy user should scan daily.

My question to you is WHAT told you you had an intrusion and why should you trust IT? If it wasn't a piece of software you installed, chances are IT is the intruder.

Allbi

[peakload78]

If you go to Computer Associates, ca.com, they have probably one of the best firewalls and virus protection software packages available. They are offering it FREE for a year. It is very user friendly and is easy to download and install. Along with this FREE software package you also get super friendly tech support.

I just installed this on both of my computers and feel completely safe. CA is the choice company that I work for, and I think that you would like to software too!

Best Luck... Peakload

[mike9753]

Jenna,

I highly doubt the intrusion came via the chat. There are trojans that will tell you that you have been hacked to get you to download/purchase a specific piece of software to "protect" yourself. It would be trivial to make one that recognizes that you have a java applet running and tell you that is the problem. Unfortunately, under the guise of protecting you, these programs allow other pieces of spyware and trojans to reside safely on your computer. I recommend the following:

1) AVG anti-virus at http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
2) Ad-Aware at http://www.lavasoft.com/ (click downloads)
3) Spybot S&D at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

These are all free or have free versions. AVG runs pretty much automatically once it's set up, checking for updates and scanning your computer daily.

Ad-Aware and Spybot will need to be run manually. How frequently depends on how much you use the interenet. A heavy user should scan daily.

My question to you is WHAT told you you had an intrusion and why should you trust IT? If it wasn't a piece of software you installed, chances are IT is the intruder.


Allbi

I have used SpyBot and Ad-Aware and I also use McAfee Virus Protection. In addition I have SpywareBlaster and PestPatrol and Microsoft's Beta Virus Protection. I scan almost every night and check each product for updates before scanning. So far, in the past 12 months I have caught many bugs, trojans, plus many "you name it's". But my system is clean adn I spend a good 8 hrs. a day online. Oh, I also have a hardware firewall from SBC Yahoo.

But I also believe that with all this protection, some whiz kid - perhaps still in short pants will find a way in to any protected system. So be vigilant!!

[SexiJenna]

Hi thanks for all your replies. The message came from java and happened each time while in the chatroom. Also i scan my computer on a very regularly
meaning atleast a couple of times a week...i do adware checks and have an anti-virus along with the virus scans. My problem isn't that I'm doing the right thing on my computer its that someone is doing the wrong...all clues point to java. Now what i need to know is how to protect myself using java?




thanks everyone :)

[DÆMØN]

Ok, now this is right up my alley, I'm one of those Internet Security Specialist types. Get as much information and detail about the vulnerablity as you can to me and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime I'll be researching Java , and alerting Sunmicrosystems about these java vulns. Besides the usual spyware/adware , and trojans there are other insidious methods of "infiltration" like rootkits and social engineering to name a couple. No promises but I'll do what I can. That'll free up Drew's time for other things as well. Meanwhiles update EVERY security application you have on your operating system and keep a close eye on your day to day use while online. Educate yourself more about security concerns and vulnerablity reports for various platforms and such. Hopefully we won't need Mac's heh. You can contact me via email in most cases just check my profile for the addys.