I was searching a bit and couldnt find some info on the forums, maybe i was searching incorrectly. Anyway im sure this has been posted somewhere but i was wondering,
How is one's account hacked? How exactly does this happen?
Is this just PC related, or is any console fair game too?
How can this be avoided?
Perhaps a sticky can be made on "How to prevent your account from being hacked"
The hacks change as quickly as the patches for them do.
PC related for them ost part, though 360 Users are almost as vulnerable, but that's an assumption.
Avoidance:
1) Knowledge: you will NEVER be 100% safe. But you can try to be 100% smart. If a thief wants in, they WILL get in.
2) Get a GOOD Anti-Virus/Anti-Trojan software. I personally reccomend Eset(NOD32)
http://www.eset.com/ they have an interesting settup. it's an Anti-Virus Suite developed form the ground up, rather than an aomeba that eats other companies that has components that are needed. The Program's footprint is small, and it's Heuristics are really good(Zero-Day Prediction(Finding viruses that ain't been found yet))
3) Don't visit Suspicious Sites.
4) Be Careful when Visiting Trusted Sites... Trusted Sites use Advertising, and Advertising is the gateway to Corruption. Sites use Ad "Brokers" they pack up a bunch of ads and sling em out. There's little filtering when it comes to them, especially when 'financially motivated'. Websited don't always use Up-to-date software... And a lot of Forums and such are exceptionally vulnerable...
5) Don't use Internet Explorer. The best you can do is use FireFox runnign ADDITIONAL ADD-ONS, they dont' come stock and iirc they don't come pre-configured.... so don't just run off and grab FireFox and think you're safe... Or Download Opera, it has everything FireFox and add-ons has already built in and configured.
6) Ex-post-facto: Know your rights. Know that there are growing industries and agencies that are taking this shit seriously. If you get hacked, there are actual severe penal and financial consequences to not only Hackers, Virus Writers, and electronic theives or vandals, but companies that don't take "prudent" actions. If a website harbors malicious code, they are just as responsible if they've been warned. There's a Caviot to this, You Yourself need to try your absolute hardest to be Prudent too...
As Far as FFXI goes:
NEVER give out your Passwrd or account to anyone.
Don't Store your password on your computer.
Don't Use Cheats, Bots or Hacks. Generally they are written by people that possess a native "Moral Flexibility" that doesn't denote a person of good character. People that Write cheats are generally more knowledgable of the game than you are, and if you accept those cheats on face value you are opening yourself for attack. If they can bypass the game to let you do things you want that the game wasn't designed to to, it's probably just as easy for them to bypass the game to do things that they want the game to do too. Hackers are not idiots, but they will most likely think you are, and if you resort to cheats, you really are. What more of a moral trigger do you need than "I hacked them because they were cheaters." (Think: Taj)
DO NOT CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD OFTEN Holy fucking christ, you got to be really fucking stupid.. Think about it, If you have a key logger on your system, what do key loggers do? They log fucking keys... If you change a password, what is the keylogger doing???
Change it only if you know with 100% security that you are clean of any virus software.
Little Tricks, Ultra Paranoid Version:
Store Half your password on your computer. Use the mouse keypad to fill in the missing parts.
Turn off your network and look for traffic, and know what traffic your computer should be having when. If you have windows update turned off and your computer's sending info out, chances are a trojan is using that to 'piggy-back' out(just an example). Eset is good wiht this, if it sees your 'normal routines' doing odd stuff it shuts it down.
There's a shit ton of good info out there, all you need to do is take the time to read. Everything in the world is as easy as making Mac 'n Cheese, it just takes time. Educate yourself, it's the easiest thing you can do.
