ryyannon Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Some darling soul has hacked into it and changed the password. Ten days ago, it was my PayPal account. Dealing with Yahoo customer service reps made me actually appreciate PayPal's response: they called me from the U.S. to alert me that someone had debited my account, and reassured me that the money would be re-credited. Yahoo was (and is) another story. After exhausting all the Yahoo Help suggestions, I got on the blower with the people at Yahoo itself, who diligently read scripted answers to my desperate pleas: "My mail account with all the financial info is in the hands of some hacker and you say there's nothing you can do? Hmm...I guess there's nothing left except to shoot myself, right?" - "Thank you for calling Yahoo Customer Service, Jonathan, and have a nice day!" The real problem is that when this account was created, some nine, ten, eleven (or more) years ago - I don't even remember when - I input all sorts of nonsense in the personal information windows - stuff that I immediately forgot - while congratulating myself on having cleverly avoided posting anything about myself on the Net. This uber-clever move has come back to haunt me with a vengence, since if you can't cough all this info back up at Yahoo's request, they won't permit you to re-access your account by giving you a new password. Sure, it makes sense security-wise, but there are limits. I know that somewhere in the amorphous corporate hydocephale that Yahoo has become, there's some joker with the power to waltz me right back into my account, but I also know I'll probably never get to talk to him, no matter how many times I ask to speak to the last CSRep's supervisor. So that's why I'm asking if there's anyone out there with the skill to hack into what was my yahoo mail account...before it got hacked by the last hacker. I Googled the question and discovered that certain methods do exist; for example: http://rahulhackingarticles.wetpaint.com/p...Accounts?t=anon But it's clear that you have to know what you're doing, which I certainly do not. If anyone does, and wants to help me out (hey, it's only ten or more years of my life on that account, not to mention tons of archived mail, files and financial info) and actually manages to get me back in, there's a watch more or less of his choice in the deal. Just as long as the person in question isn't the one who hacked into my account in the first place. Ok, even if he is: I know when I'm beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 From what I've heard, hacking into the Yahoo account is difficult, so these people must be professional IT guys or crackers by "hobby". http://arik.baratz.org/wordpress/2005-05-2...account-please/ The problem is with keyloggers and people who promise to retrieve your account, is that they will just add you to a database for their own nefarious purposes. It sucks. Speaking of prayers, will send a few vibes down your way, since I don't know how to solve your prob, Ryyannon. Wishing you luck too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Crap, cannot imagine how sick to your stomach you must feel. BASTARDS!!!! I'm sure, someone here will know someone who can help If you...no wait WHEN you do get back in, maybe use a password that's a little more secure? Longer, more random, think monkeys writing Shakespeare secure Will cross my fingers tightly for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 If someone has hacked your Yahoo and changed the password, you're screwed. No two ways about it, they humped you, and how. The problem is that they must have brute-forced their way in, meaning no matter how hard you try, you'll never get that data back. If Yahoo won't help, you've got to keep asking them as they're the only ones who can fix the problem. If they absolutely cannot help, you've got to restore all your info from your local backups. You do have local backups, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Keylogger won't do it: I have no idea who's got the account now, and no way to access his computer - other than by sending an email(!) with some damn hidden code or another that will supply the info needed - if and when he opens the message and/or executes the code. What I don't exactly get is how this happened: my computer is so hyper-protected that according to some online tests/probes you can do, it doesn't even appear as being connected to the Internet: which is to say, it's just not visible. But then again, who really knows.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Crap, cannot imagine how sick to your stomach you must feel. BASTARDS!!!! I'm sure, someone here will know someone who can help If you...no wait WHEN you do get back in, maybe use a password that's a little more secure? Longer, more random, think monkeys writing Shakespeare secure Will cross my fingers tightly for you Hey, thanks! For those to whom this has never happened, it's a little like discovering that someone has burglarized your house - and is now living in it May it never happen to you guys... If someone has hacked your Yahoo and changed the password, you're screwed. No two ways about it, they humped you, and how. The problem is that they must have brute-forced their way in, meaning no matter how hard you try, you'll never get that data back. If Yahoo won't help, you've got to keep asking them as they're the only ones who can fix the problem. If they absolutely cannot help, you've got to restore all your info from your local backups. You do have local backups, right? Local backups? Riiiight! I'm far too clever for any of that! The answer probably does lie in convincing yahoo of my identity and that the account is mine - which I could easily do if anyone there would actually let me. I guess I'll just have to keep pestering them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Ah, the question we dare not ask for fear we already know the answer and make Ry feel even worse. Never understood web-based services to be honest. Paranoia is healthy sometimes. Local backups, downloaded email, never keep anything on remote servers is my motto. That way if it goes [censored] up, you can burn the house down and walk away with your stuff intact. As for someone using your old account, I don't know anything about Yahoo, but surely there must be some sort of fail-safe security in which they can at least put a block on the account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 I'm sure, someone here will know someone who can help I can tell you how to hack it, but the problem is the resources needed. First, you need a botnet of about 150,000 zombies ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 I can tell you how to hack it, but the problem is the resources needed. First, you need a botnet of about 150,000 zombies ... Just look at our membership curve: we're almost there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 But then again, who really knows....Quite. Physical security is still the most reliable and reassuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Just look at our membership curve: we're almost there! Now that's just unkind. However, I believe there's some mindless drones banging on the gates of RWI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyster Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Have you tried calling Yahoo Customer Service again? In this situation I would think about calling again and explaining. Different call = Different call handler = Possibly different outcome. If I call a call centre and dont get what I want, I hang up and call again, not saying it will work but If you call several times you might get a possitive outcome.... eventually......maybe. Wish you the best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Now that's just unkind. However, I believe there's some mindless drones banging on the gates of RWI As an aside, have you seen how dead RWI has become since their change-over? Wow. 4 replies to the Mid-Week Wristies, and very little of the fast-paced thread replies I remember. I think David Niven played Klink in the film version, Murder By Death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everythingape Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Ryyannon, sorry about your predicament. This exact thing happened to a mate last year. He had a lot of ..lets call them "sensitive pictures" on there.. girlfriends, ladyfriends and the like.. He asked me if I could fix it (it's a sad truth that I am the most computer literate in our gang), and after googling the matter for a while, I saw no other solution than to contact yahoo customer service for him at no-mail-abuse@cc.yahoo-inc.com (I think it was) After sending a few mails back and forth about the problem, we were asked to give them his phone number. He was called up by a norwegian speaking representative, and had to go through a lot of steps to confirm his identity. In the end he sent them a scan of his driver's license, after which they called back and asked him about the information on it. This all took two days, and his password was changed and given to him over the phone. He was not so unfortunate as you are, considering your financial information and all.. But I really do believe that contacting yahoo is the only way to go. Best of Luck -Ape- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geo1nah2a Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 1) Did you use the same password to your email account as well as to rwi, rwg, or any other forum? 2) Did you check your PC for keyloggers? Found any? If the answers are both yes, then you have to trace back when the klg was planted. If it was riding on the back of another installer you could get closer to the person behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 2) Did you check your PC for keyloggers? He uses MacOS. The probability of keyloggers is zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Pug, any idea what's the most likely point of violation then? Just curious as I'm Mac both home and work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 Pug, any idea what's the most likely point of violation then? Brute Force password cracking through a relay of bots and open proxies. Run an open proxy on port 8080 and track the logs and you'll see Yahoo login pages being cranked out at high speed. Oh, and then google will no longer work and you'll get your internet disconnected by your ISP shortly after. If Ryyannon's password wasn't too tough to crack, they'd have got in in a matter of weeks or months (which is quick) and if it was a dictionary word, hours or days (which is lightning-speed for password cracking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 After sending a few mails back and forth about the problem, we were asked to give them his phone number. He was called up by a norwegian speaking representative, and had to go through a lot of steps to confirm his identity. In the end he sent them a scan of his driver's license, after which they called back and asked him about the information on it. This all took two days, and his password was changed and given to him over the phone. That's exactly what I mean, there just HAS to be some type of physical failsafe procedure in place for reaffirming ID. Unfortunately, he's not dealing with logical accomodating (Yahoo) Norway, but illogical xenophobic beauracratic (Yahoo) France Better take your medication before you make that call Ry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 He uses MacOS. The probability of keyloggers is zero. heh...you're not serious now, are you. There might not be as many as there are for windows, but theyr are out there (And I'm not talking about the "commercial" ones available) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 @ryannon Another "proof of ownership" is the content of your inbox, as you are able to refer e-mails that only the owner would know about....dunno if that could be an argument in a conversation with Yahoo.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 heh...you're not serious now, are you. There might not be as many as there are for windows, but theyr are out there (And I'm not talking about the "commercial" ones available) Let me reiterate: He runs MacOS9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted October 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 I appreciate the various inputs, guys... Just to clear up a few details: No more Macs: crossed over to the Dark Side: I'm using a Dell laptop running XP... and I like it just fine! I've been dealing with yahoo.com in the U.S. - even though I live in France. The poor people who have to answer the phones and talk to people like me have been reduced to the state of humbots (human robots) - they even talk like Hollywood's comical idea of a machine, as if their voices were computer generated: it's really an unsettling and rather sad experience.... like talking to the HAL 9000, but with less personality. A real tragedy, actually: these people must be really in a bad place to exhibit such alienation. @ryannon Another "proof of ownership" is the content of your inbox, as you are able to refer e-mails that only the owner would know about....dunno if that could be an argument in a conversation with Yahoo.... That's absolutely true! I've got a near-photographic memory when it comes to the messages, folders and sundry stuff in that account. No one could possibly fake detailled knowledge of such an accumulation of data. There are even piles of attached files with my own resum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 No more Macs: crossed over to the Dark Side: I'm using a Dell laptop running XP... and I like it just fine! All bets are off. Good luck with Yahoo. They're the only ones that can get you out of this predicament. Yahoo US is by far the better choice, compared to Yahoo FR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted October 24, 2007 Report Share Posted October 24, 2007 yikes sorry to hear about this.. i think im going to change all my passwords again for safety Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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