Topic: Please Change Your Display Name

[Kaiaatzl]

I have one for trusted sites like this, and another for sites I don't trust (named for the CED general in D3 Mercenary).  I want to get an email for "professional stuff" as well but my family has been changing service providers a lot recently (and since it's traditionally the service provider who gives you your professional email adress it would be very confusing for someone trying to contact you).  What happened was we recently switched from Shaw to MTS, and now Shaw wants to get us back and is offering us better deals (and we're seriously considering switching back the last I heard).

[VANGUARD]

i tend to prefer the providers domain or whatever you call it (@whatever it is.net or .com, or other, like mediacom, comcast, qwest, etc), which I think is what you're talking about wazzazzle, but sorry if I am wrong.

But I am sick of changing email addresses if I move and some provider says I can't keep my email because of the person I am moving into has it already (like my sister), or "we don't have service there".

I just have a gmail account to take care of planetdescent, amazon, best buy, bank, etc. and then my other one for friends. this way, if I move and I get this "we don't have service out there". I just inform my tiny small network of friends the new address and not have to worry about going into planetdescent, best buy, etc etc..., updating the profiles, etc with the new email address.

hey, we're still sort of on topic. sort of.

[Foil]

Did some of you really need to go and change everything (display name, avatar, sig)?

It's taking me a while to re-establish who some of you are.

[VANGUARD]

most should know me. I think I know most others, partially by the name that hasn't changed much and an avatar that hasn't at all.

It's amazing how one little thing like this can make others not know you. and welcome to PD phoil! nice to have you on board

[Foil]

No, you're fine, Van.  Recognized you from the avatar. 

[VANGUARD]

cool 
In all honesty, I don't quite understand why we are going undercover. if they break into our account, what can they do? hijack it? write nasty posts? and with all due respect, this isn't exactly a large fast pace forum. and we don't use credit cards to use the forums, or social security numbers.

Do we even know if this person or group of people are even trying?

[-<WillyP>-]

They have not been back, and honestly I think it was just a bit of panic in the first place.  If it had been able to change the login name, that would make more sense,  but now they have a login name.  Since that did not change, they still have it.  And that person does not have a high level of access, so the most they could have done is upload malicious files, as attachments, in the gallery and in the files section.  Also sent spam pm's, posted spam in the forum, etc...

I don't think they could have run code in a file uploaded on the server, if that was true it would be a major security risk, and it has happened sometime ago that someone uploaded an avatar on the Descent Guides forum and ran embedded code in it. That code injected into every .php file on the whole site, and I noticed because the DescentiaPedia was broken.  This happened at a lot of SMF forums, and the next step was that they would upload thousands of files, and turn the server into a virus distribution center.  SMF quickly issued a patch and closed the vulnerability. 

[VANGUARD]

it's been a slow long day, and I feel my brain is on idle. Did you say they have not come back, but have some login name? or is all this past tense?

edit: they have a login name, I see it now I think. they may have written down ours.

[Kaiaatzl]

I'm assuming you contacted the person they tried to log in as.  Then they know and the rest of us can rest assured it wasn't us.

Did some of you really need to go and change everything (display name, avatar, sig)?

It's taking me a while to re-establish who some of you are.

It took me a few hours to figure out who Matthew was (my brain was in slow motion).

[The Chief]

Yes, as soon as I saw the logs I sent a pm, thinking they could change their login name.  Now, the login name is probably on some spammers database somewhere.  I asked everyone else to choose a different display name so if they scanned the forum again, they would not get another valid login name.  They will only get a display names which should now be different from the login name.  Except of course for the fact that most members did not change.  But as Sky pointed out a good password should be hard to guess, so it very unlikely that anyone's account would get compromised.

If your account gets hacked, unless you are an admin or moderator, the only real damage that could be done is spamming and access to your e-mail account.  And your account will get banned or deleted.  Oh, and don't use a common password for your e-mail they will probably try your password at your e-mail provider.

[Darkflamewolf]

but I like Darkflamewolf, I've never been anything else! O_o

[Sapphirus]

Just to let y'alls know that my current display name is just a temporary disguise name to prevent me from being hacked.

[Kaiaatzl]

I was in a convenient position because anyone here who knows me at all knows that I also go by Wazzazzle... but the spammers don't .

I was afraid my old avatar might give part of it away if they brought in an actual human though.

[-<WillyP>-]

I doubt they would spend much time trying to figure anything out.... It's a numbers game, they hit as many as they can and if they get in, fine, if not, they are on to the next...

[Matthew]

lol I only changed my name. I just never had a sig or avatar in the first place

What gave it away?