Beware or else...................

[Mahomet The Templar]

A word of EXTREME CAUTION is issued. There is MORE damage on the internet than at any other time ever. Guild Wars enjoyment is a target too. I ask each of you to use extreme caution when downloading ANYTHING form ANYWHERE. There is TOO MUCH CRAP LOOSE and you will get it too!

All of the below quotes are real from forums and Guild Wars game players. I can not warrant ANY of the information, but what I can tell you with 100% certainty is there are people out there doing this very type of thing. It has happen to people I know! Do NOT TAKE ANYTHING for granted.

Hear what people say about this MAJOR ISSUE OF TODAY!

people are pretty much freaking out about it, saying "you could be next"

I suspect something is being downloaded (which some of the posters on that thread acknowledge, even if they think it legit) and logging details. There do seem to be a number of different versions of the attribute calculator, for example.

A keylogger trojan can steal anyone's account info. It's likely these people are victims of one of those instead of a GW specific hack of some kind.

Example caught by some observant folks as a trojan - DO NOT LOAD
Originally Posted by ultima_devilbird7

New Attribute Calculator Program (Works Ingame!)
The attribute calculator folks have created a new build for their famous attribute builder program. It's no cheat or exploit, but just an easy way to map out where you'd like to spend your points and what skills you'd like to purchase (has all skills!). It works ingame as a popup window you can move around the screen and tells you every skill and how effective it is based upon your current attributes. These attributes can be modified as well within the same window if you'd like to test some different combinations without wasting refund points. I've found it quite useful, hopefully you will as well .

Mirror: htp://ultima_devilbird7.tripod.com/GWAttribCalculator.zip
**Copy and Paste the mirror link for it to work O_o. Dunno what's up.

Note: Run the file before starting up Guild Wars. If it doesn't work with an error message popping up (seems to be problems with skills loading), then load Guild Wars to the title page and try it from there. If it's still not working, clear both the username and password fields at the title page and try logging in from there,(sometimes the cache needs to be reset).

You didn't use that one SpiritOfWar Team Builder / Attribute Calculator did you? That is a password stealing trojan.

I had the same thing a week ago. Right know i'm play GW again . I used to play with a hotmail account. And both GW and hotmail got hacked. So i don't know who to blame for this problem. What i did was contact GW support (see te website). It took me 5 hours of mailing but i got it back.

You will need a picture ofyou're code and you're receipt.

A LOT of people are being hacked recently, I was hacked, another guild member just got hacked, there was a thread at TGH of people who have been hacked. Just contact support and they will require some proof that you own the account and then they will reset it.

I had a few secondary programs installed, most of them I got from this site. And I'm sure the gwonline staff members will be quick to say none of the programs they have available contain key loggers. None of my spyware/virus scanners picked up anything, so I have no idea how I managed to get hacked. I thought it might've been a dictionary hack, but the guy in my guild who was hacked had an alphanumeric password. Plus he didn't lose his e-mail and I did.

I've seen Gwfreaks or whatnot mentioned in a couple of hacked threads now. Not that it nessicarily means anything, but it does seem to be a common link if nothing else.

If I remember correctly, just about anyone can take a safe utility program and install unsafe things in it, then try and pass it off as the original program merely being mirror or hosted on another site. So the source of the download probably matters just as much as the actual program.

I'd put my money on a popular utility being "tainted" with a keylogger or worm though. I wouldn't put too much faith in a freeware, or trial, programs picking up such a thing either.

IMPORTANT
Guys, dont assume any of this is to do with keyloggers what so ever. And certainly do not take things like this so lightly. IT COULD BE YOU NEXT.
My friend hasnt downloaded a SINGLE THING. Since playing Guildwars. (all his done is play Guildwars!) And according to multiple virus scanners and spyware checkers, his PC is completely CLEAN. This is the first time for years that he's ever been hacked.
Now my guess is that it could be email hacks (e.g hotmail hacks) but then that other guy said he was using a gmail account.....gah

Be safe...................................

[Mahomet The Templar]

Thank you Guild Wars Online:
Unfortunately, with just about every online game, there are those sorry "#4%*&+" that will find a way to cheat you in some way. Some scams involve trading and not getting what you paid for, others can damage your guild's standing on the ladder and worse yet, stealing your account! We want your gaming experience to be a pleasant and enjoyable one, without falling prey to some horrible scams out there. The following is a list of known scams out there that you should be aware of. If you see or fall victim to a scam that we don't have listed, please feel free to email us at chantal@gwonline.net (and Mahomet@Knights-Templar.com). Confidentiality is assured, but we'd like for you to share with us so we can let everyone know.

* Bait and Switch: This is a common trading scam. Many icons for items in Guild Wars may look the same, but have different properties and values. When someone is trying to trade with you, be sure to mouse over the item and make sure it's exactly what you've bargained for just prior to accepting the transaction. Also, if you're trading for gold, verify the amount of gold hasn't been reduced either. Those that try to pull off this scam will often modify their trade a number of times, hoping you won't notice that they swapped it out for something that has the same icon, but of lesser value. (Updated May 20th, 2005)

* Guides on EBay: It was brought to our attention that there are "guides" being sold on EBay that are nothing more than copy-pasted pages from various fansites, including from ours. Nearly all of the fansites provide this information to you for free-there is no reason to purchase such guides on EBay. Not only that, but those individuals and 'companies' that are stealing content from the fansites are in violation of copyright laws. If there's a guide you are looking for and you aren't finding it, drop us a line at tarrantrahl@gwonline.net, chantal@gwonline.net or Mahomet@Knights-Templar.com as we're always welcoming suggestions. The simple solution is to NOT buy the guides and visit your favorite fansite for the latest and most up-to-date information. (Updated May 18th, 2005)

* Account Theft: This is perhaps one of the most serious of all scams. Typically, these people post in forums about some new program that supposedly benefits you in some way while you play the game. We have seen ones for added Health, running an attribute calculator prior to starting the game to mention a few. Be aware and suspect of any so-called program that requires you to run it prior to starting up the game. Quite often, these are scams that steal your account name and password. When you see posts like that, report them immediately to the moderators of the forums and do NOT download it. (Updated May 18th, 2005)

* Ladder Tampering: This type of scam is very demoralizing and disheartening to guilds as it can cost them the ability to compete in various tournaments as well as their ranking on the ladder. What happens is that a player asks to join a guild and is accepted. That new guild member then challenges specific guilds to battle and deliberately loses, bolstering the opposing guild's ranking and damaging yours. Just be cautious about who you accept into your guild and take the time to get to know them before you do. Setting guild policies in respect to recruitment may help to weed some of these people out, but it's never a guarantee. (Updated May 18th, 2005)

* Guilds Accepting Members Just to Steal From: Sadly, some guilds will recruit members for the sole purpose of taking their gold and/or items. They offer membership and then state that each member needs to contribute some large amount of gold to go toward the purchase of a Sigil for a Guild Hall. As everyone knows, Sigils are quite pricey right now and most guilds are eager to get their hands on one, no matter the cost. Once that new member is accepted to the guild and pitches in some gold, they find themselves kicked out of the guild. Get to know the guild you wish to become a member of first and be wary of any 'pay upfront' requests. Any reasonable guild will be understanding of your wariness if you explain to them that you've seen this sort of scam before and would rather wait before you make a contribution. (Updated May 18th, 2005)

* Althea's Ashes Swap: Because this quest offers 2k experience, I felt it merits mentioning separately from the "Bait and Switch" scam, even though in essence, it is the same type of scam. The icon for the ashes looks the same as for the common crafting material Glittering Dust. Returning the ashes without doing the quest yourself will NOT net you the quest reward. Again, be sure to mouse over the item and make sure it's exactly what you've bargained for just prior to accepting the transaction. (Updated May 20th, 2005)

* Buying Armors: Since armors are customized for each character, no other character can wear them. Simply put, don't buy armor from anyone as it will do you little good at all. The best you can do with crafted armors is to salvage them with an expert kit in the hopes of getting a rune back (the armor piece's name will indicate if it has an armor upgrade) or some of the rare materials it cost. Starting armors and Collector's armors cannot be salvaged. (Updated May 18th, 2005)

* Buying Customized Weapons: Weapons that have been customized cannot be wielded by another character. Be sure you check that the item you are trading for hasn't been customized. You can still purchase or trade for them from another player, however about the only use you'll get from them is to salvage them for materials or upgrades, which the latter is not guaranteed you'd get. (Updated May 20th, 2005)

* Purchasing/Trading for Quest Items: This simply won't work as your quest log won't update. Even if you have purchased the appropriate quest item from someone without you obtaining it yourself via the quest, you can not return the quest item to the appropriate NPC to claim a reward. Don't buy or trade for any quest items. (Updated May 20th, 2005)

* Gambling and /Roll Games: Some of these are legitimate games that players have set up, but for every legitimate one out there, there seems to be another 50 that aren't. Typically, in a town or outpost someone spams about their gambling game and encourages players to donate a sum of gold (often 1k or more) to the pot and a partner nearby ready to vouch for them that they were a recent winner. Then they have players emote using the /roll command. The /roll command itself can be simulated by scrolling their text to the end of the line, making it appear that they /rolled, when it's actually regular text. A way to check this is to turn off emotes and see if their text disappeared. If it did, it was an emote and not someone trying to simulate one. Most commonly, however, once these people have collected your gold, they switch districts or areas and you're flat out cold. Don't participate in these games unless you know or trust the person sponsoring it. If you enjoy these types of games but don't want to wind up scammed out of large amounts of gold, see if you can arrange a friendly game with several guilds with whom you are friends or allies. (Updated May 20th, 2005)

Thank you Guild Wars Online
http://www.gwonline.net/page.php?p=141

[Anubit]

Well this is what our great race has come up to...damage honest ppl over the net...right inside your home....Wagh that makes me mad....hope this comment is apropriate for a sticky :)

[Rogue Viper]

whats odd is that once i sign off of GW my comp acts rather slow..

[Sir Ention]

Well this is what our great race has come up to...damage honest ppl over the net...right inside your home....Wagh that makes me mad....hope this comment is apropriate for a sticky :) im sure it is, this is a very good guide and it should be a sticky. But I never download ANYTHING from ANYBODY without reading fine print, conditions, and the manufacturer. I think the last thing I downloaded before gw itself was norton lol, but there are alooooooooot of weirdos out there who would be happy to ruin a perfectly innocent player's gaming experience.

[Mahomet The Templar]

It is not every day we are reminded to be concerned about potential for site and or PC hacking, however my tickler calendar file hit me to remind me of our sicking event of last year about this time last year. Our valuable resource for KT, Guild Wars, and the KT Community, these forums got hacked!

Getting hacked not once but twice brings a certain humble humiliation to the table! I write this to again (bump this topic) remind each of you of the real dangers and threats out there in our vast cyber world....not everyone is friendly, and some people get their kicks out of making other's life's misserable.

A very fine "Official Guild Wars Fansite", Crossing Tyria was hacked last week. As you will note on their new front page May 15, 2006: Hello everyone and welcome back to Crossing Tyria. As you may or may not know, our site was hacked last week and we lost a lot of data. I salvaged what I could and created this new site. Things work a little differently here than they did in the old site, some things are better... some are confusing! But I'm sure as the days go by we'll all become acustomed to the changes.

Crossing Tyria:http://www.crossingtyria.com

Please be careful, and re-read this entire post subject as it contains important advice! http://forums.knights-templar.com/viewtopic.php?t=1133


Enough said! Be careful....
-Mahomet

[Mahomet The Templar]

Check your PC for Keyloggers OFTEN!

http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/keyloggers.php?ref=google_keyloggers

Keylogging programs are the epitome of online stealth, and they're also a mushrooming problem on the Internet, where identity and intellectual property thefts are fueling an explosion of key-capture tools. Reports of new keylogging programs soared higher this year, as part of a wave of multifunction malware with integrated keylogging features, according to VeriSign Inc.'s security information company iDefense Inc. The programs often evade detection by anti-virus tools and can be difficult to detect once installed, experts warn. However, at least one anti-spyware company believes that reports about the danger posed by keyloggers are overstated.

More than 6,000 keylogging programs will be released by the end of this year, according to projections by iDefense. That's an increase of 2,000 percent over the last five years, company officials said.

Keyloggers have been around for years and are also sold as legitimate applications—often as monitoring tools for concerned parents or suspicious spouses.

Malicious keyloggers are increasingly part of modular programs that contain Trojan horse, spamming and remote control features, as well.

A keylogger program does not require physical access to the user's computer. It can be downloaded on purpose by someone who wants to monitor activity on a particular computer or it can be downloaded unwittingly as spyware and executed as part of a rootkit or remote administration (RAT) Trojan horse. A keylogger program typically consists of two files that get installed in the same directory: a dynamic link library (DLL) file (which does all the recording) and an executable file (.EXE) that installs the DLL file and triggers it to work. The keylogger program records each keystroke the user types and uploads the information over the Internet periodically to whoever installed the program.

Hackers exceeded their target to release more than 6,000 keystroke loggers in 2005, a 65 per cent increase from the 3,753 keyloggers released lin 2004!

-Mahomet

[Roxianna]

...many people are under the assumption that people running these keylogger sites are just a bunch of kids trying to log into your game accounts. Wrong.

These are rings of internation crimals operating in countries where the law is barely enforced right now, such as the Ukraine. It's not your GW account they want, its your bank account and credit identity.

Stay away from links in off topic posts: One of the things these criminals are doing in running programs that automatically open accounts on older phpBBS and vBulletin systems (albiet, this one looks clean to my cursory glance) From these new accounts they generally post some kind of advertisment for porn, viagra or low mortgage rates. If you click on the link, you will be given an error message saying you need to upgrade your Flash, Windows Media Player or some such. If you click yes, they gotcha.

If you have been to one of these sites, you must get an uber virus program. I recommend Kaspersky or StopSign and clean. Then change all your passwords.

[Mahomet The Templar]

thx Roxianna, yes we try to caution each player to the dangers of internet criminals stealling your identity, passwords and money! Beware...re-read the advice offered in this thread.

-Mahomet