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-   -   OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=6816)

Atrocities July 30th, 2002 03:46 AM
OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Quote:
Today at 10:00PM the FBI broke into my computer, looked at all the software, and determined (of course) that some copies (and they were listed to me!) were illegitimate. The FBI pushed a script into my computer and it read "We have determined that some of the software installed in your computer are unauthorized or have been obtained illegally, as multiple Users have been reported to be using the same serial numbers. We are giving you a warning; You must properly register all software or remove it immediately from your computer. You may otherwise be punished to the maximum that law can allow."

It is ironic since recently there was a thread in this forum talking about why people pirate their software...First, you have to be careful when you post stuff in the web, in forums, etc...because everything you do in the web is recorded....your IP isn’t transparent to the people that want to hunt you down like the FBI and Software companies, and perhaps Gamespot might be also keeping an eye on people who stupidly state that they pirate games. Despite my hardware firewall and Norton internet Security the whole protection was nothing to the FBI. I had to uninstall virtually $10,000.00 worth of software in my computer that was obtained via Morpheus and other PTP sites. So now I am on their list....and it feels awful. For many of us this is kind of a game and we probably don't even think of the true consequences of such act. Be smart and stop pirating...I now realize how dangerous the game can turn out. Sad but true, a lot of the software I had installed, I own original copies from. However, all the Insert-CD in order to play has been annoying so I have modified them to NO-CD and so on. The same with Windows XP and Office XP, I own both but the fact that you have to call Microsoft every time you have to wipe your drive due to driver flaws or new hardware it is a pain in the butt. Thus I have disabled the need to call Microsoft to activate the products and so on. I will have to go back to the pain of dealing with Microsoft.

The FBI was able to point to me all the software that was illegal in my computer, thus it is not a random virus or script sent by a vicious kid or anything. This is a true fact and if you don't believe it you might be in danger of being caught. Bush authorized the FBI recently to go against terrorists and use all means to hunt them down...the problem is that anyone suspicious can be tracked by the FBI and not only foreign terrorists will be hunted down but also mainland criminals. I think for the first time our privacy is being hurted....we are no longer free in our own country.

Be smart and stay out of trouble....I hope my case doesn't get any worse than it got already. Just stay out of trouble and don't visit pages that might have to do with pirating software...remeber that child pornography is not the only thing they can track you for! So stop getting in trouble if you are.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Horse *Crap*! Whoever believes this is a moron.

This alleged FBI Hacking. It is utterly untrue. If you fall for this guy’s post, then I would strongly suggest that you send money to some guy in Africa and sit back and wait for him to send you a million dollars.

The most the FBI can legally do is monitor you instant Messages and email. That is called Carnivore. This hacking of a person’s computer is illegal. To "search" someone’s computer without a search warrant is a clear violation of that persons constitutional rights. So I say he is full of it. Believe him if you want, but understand this, even the FBI isn't above the law.

And why in gods name would they bother. I honestly think this is just a good method of scaring people into NOT pirating stuff. I wonder how many paranoid freaks went and F-disked their PC after reading this. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Oh great, no one is here any more....

[ July 30, 2002, 03:12: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

pathfinder July 30th, 2002 04:24 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Yikes....

I wondered what the h*** then I read your finale there Atrocities....

I thought that a warrant was needed but with 9/11 I wasn't sure what emergency powers MIGHT have been given....

I work for a goverment agency and while agency PCs ARE watched like a hawk, I hadn't heard of any extraordinary measures been taken against private ones....

Phoenix-D July 30th, 2002 04:32 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
"This hacking of a person’s computer is illegal. To "search" someone’s computer without a search warrant is a clear violation of that persons constitutional rights. So I say he is full of it. Believe him if you want, but understand this, even the FBI isn't above the law."

heh. Sorry, but you might be wrong on this point. There's a bill that was introduced in Congress to let *record companies* do exactly that. If Congress will let RIAA hack into people's computers.. the FBI isn't fare behind.

Phoenix-D

Trajan July 30th, 2002 04:34 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
BAH! This is a load of crap. I agree with Atrocities. If you think this is true then send some money to the guy in Africa.

I have worked in the IT info sec industry and have seen what they are capable of first hand. This is not representative of what they are even remotely interested in.

Anyhow...I had to respond since it appeared that the community was so quiet right now and I had a range check error on my SEIV game.

Cheers!
Trajan

Puke July 30th, 2002 04:44 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
okay, thats just like the difference between ALLEGED murder and REAL murder. lots of bills are INTRODUCED into congress. at no time has a bill been PASSED to allow the riaa to hack anything.

bah, i say. alarmism at its worst.

Baron Grazic July 30th, 2002 05:28 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Certainly a lot a crap but did Bush really "authorized the FBI recently to go against terrorists".
I thought the FBI working inside the US borders & the CIA worked outside.
And if you can't already tell, I am not a Yank.

Puke July 30th, 2002 07:19 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
heh. i heard an anicdote recently about an englishman visiting one of the southern states and making the faux pas of refering to someone as a 'Yank.'

Some of the good-old-boys are still a bit bent out of shape about the outcome of our civil war, you see. as the story has already degraded to a tertiary account, i will leave details to your imagination.

in any event, our federal agencies have been encouraged to take new measures but, as far as i know they have not been granted any wartime powers. indeed Grazic, your knowledge of US government agencies is commendable. the FBI is responsible for investigating interstate crime, and the CIA is responsible for toppling smaller governments that we dont like.

I myself know next to nothing about the AIC, or NOSIC. although NOSIC has a really cool logo.

ZeroAdunn July 30th, 2002 08:33 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
The FBI isn't above the law? News to me. People seem to think the government worries about "laws" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

This report is probably not fake. It is probably a hacker messing with someone. Trust me, me and my friends used to do this kind of stuff all the time. Not to this extent, but still similar things.

dumbluck July 30th, 2002 11:09 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
"This hacking of a person’s computer is illegal. To "search" someone’s computer without a search warrant is a clear violation of that persons constitutional rights. So I say he is full of it. Believe him if you want, but understand this, even the FBI isn't above the law."

heh. Sorry, but you might be wrong on this point. There's a bill that was introduced in Congress to let *record companies* do exactly that. If Congress will let RIAA hack into people's computers.. the FBI isn't fare behind.

Phoenix-D
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even if it did pass congress, that doesn't necessarily make it constitutional.

Trajan July 30th, 2002 02:46 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
&lt;Trajan get's out his checkbook and begins filling it in....&gt;

Pay to the order of Growlti......

!Wait a minute...I smell somthing fishy about this. Is the FBI or CIA involved watching me as I write this? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

&lt;Trajan rips up the check and goes back to work.&gt;

There is a product called "Overkill" that a chap at my former company developed. It is little more than a huge number of Harddrives run by a old low-rent pentium chip system that simply crawls the internet grunging all information it can find on information security, from BBS's chatting, web pages, and anything else it can find. It stores it all on those numerous harddrives then indexes it so that all of the information is searchable. Before I left the company the data was so enormous that it was unable to be indexed every day. I suspect that it has been upgraded by now though I bet it is still mostly unusable. The company had no idea what to do with it. We used it internally as a research tool but could never really productize it appropriately. THere were just far too many legitamitacy issues surrounding it. I know that when the FBi would come to our office seeking information on some particular hacker we would let them peruse the database to their hearts content.

Keep in mind that this thing only tracked Online conversation (of any form). Nothing on any persons home networks or desktop machine was ever captured. It was a cool tool, but utterly useless for anything other than research.

Cheers!
Trajan

disabled July 30th, 2002 03:26 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
The sad part is, people are taken in by these scams (fortunately this one helps some smaller companies).

I recall that 4 nigerians and an egyptian was arrested recently for convincing like 400 people to turn over thier bank account numbers then they promptly cleaned out thier life savings!

DirectorTsaarx July 30th, 2002 09:52 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Atrocities: where did the original message come from?

Just a word of warning to everyone - Zero's right, it's likely a hacker (or group of hackers) messing with someone. Given the usual origin of "illegal" software, it should surprise no-one that many warez Boards are run by hackers; it should also surprise no-one that some of those warez Boards are run more to find new victims for those same hackers than to distribute software. There may be a few Robin Hoods out there trying to steal from the rich (software companies) and give to the poor (private citizens), but there are many more "Robbing Hoods" looking to steal from everyone & give to themselves...

So the original post could be some wannabe who talked a good game on the 'Boards, bragging about his "pirated" software, and some real hackers decided to take him down a peg; or it could be a typical naive user who visited the wrong 'warez site to find "no-CD programs" and how to prevent WinXP from calling the mothership.

Or it could just be a scam sent out by a company looking to sell a new program that's intended to prevent these supposed scans. I recently read about something like that, but I forget where...

geoschmo July 30th, 2002 09:59 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Of course DirectorTsaarx, you could be just a narc planetd by the F.B.I. to monitor our activities and to throw us off the topic when we get to close to the truth. What kind of a nick is "DirectorTsaarx" anyway. Anyone else notice that the head of the F.B.I. goes by the name of "Director" too? Coincindence? Really? Or is it so coincidental that it has to be the truth? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ July 30, 2002, 21:00: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

DirectorTsaarx July 30th, 2002 10:10 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Quote:
Originally posted by geoschmo:
Of course DirectorTsaarx, you could be just a narc planetd by the F.B.I. to monitor our activities and to throw us off the topic when we get to close to the truth. What kind of a nick is "DirectorTsaarx" anyway. Anyone else notice that the head of the F.B.I. goes by the name of "Director" too? Coincindence? Really? Or is it so coincidental that it has to be the truth? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, actually, I'm the Director of the TIB (Timecops In Black). And yes, before you ask, we PURPOSELY created that Van Damme movie a few years ago; good disinformation, plus the low production values served to further reduce people's belief... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Anyway, here's a link to the site I mentioned in my previous post, about scammers trying to "scare" up business with postings (and fake webpages!) similar to what Atrocities posted:
LINK---&gt;Consumer Warning: Robin Hood Software&lt;---LINK

Atrocities July 30th, 2002 11:54 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
I got the message from www.gamespot.com forums. I post there under Advocate.

Baron Munchausen July 31st, 2002 12:52 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Meanwhile, the RIAA is getting a taste of their own medicine from script kiddies who heard about their efforts to get 'legal sanction' to hack music downloaders...

http://slashdot.org/articles/02/07/3...2.shtml?tid=99

Slashdot is fun to read sometimes. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Growltigga July 31st, 2002 01:02 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Greetings to everybody on this forum. I am 'the guy in Africa' you are referring to (using my cunning alias of 'Growltigga') and if you all wish to send me your money, please do so.

I will accept cheques send to 'The Guy in Africa Appeal' at Bank of Mombasa, 20 Broad Street, Monrovia, Liberia or you can telepgrahically transfer cash to me at SWIFT number 733-435-654, sort code 20-00-03-043

Of course, all the major religions on this planet advocate the joy of giving so if you give to me, your karma will be such that I am sure each of you will get a million

Shadowstar August 2nd, 2002 07:22 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
I've always believed the best way to throw people off the truth is to make B-grade movies about the subject.

Yes, that's right, hot dogs are PEOPLE!

Saxon August 2nd, 2002 02:02 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Here is another non-American talking about American agencies, but the FBI certainly works outside of the US. They are routinely used as liaisons between local police forces and the US government. They also have an active program of recruiting good cops from foreign countries, running them through the FBI academy and then sending them back to the country they came from. These cops then turning into “contacts” for the Embassy, as well as getting assigned to any cases where the Embassy has an interest. They also end up nosing around the sites of terrorist attacks and so forth. The US Embassy bombing in Nairobi was certainly not interstate crime, but somehow a lot of FBI ended up here. I am not complaining, I lost friends in that attack, but I just wanted to point out that they are quite active internationally.

Further, I would add that most of us have more to fear from our network administrator trolling through our computers than the FBI doing so. The network admin has fewer legal restrictions on them and almost no logistical problems to overcome. The FBI has bigger legal and computer challenges to get over.

tesco samoa August 2nd, 2002 09:49 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
If the Ramones were making music today... The FBi Hacked my computer today....

way

ho

way

ho

today....

Puke August 3rd, 2002 01:31 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
this looks neat:

http://www.introVersion.co.uk/

Baron Grazic August 5th, 2002 08:07 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Saxon, I wouldn't worry about your Network Admin spying on you, he is probibly checking out this forum to much to notice.

dogscoff August 5th, 2002 10:18 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
In further 1984 news, check out the firrst item in this week's http://www.ntk.net

UK ISPs are now required by law to keep logs of all websites visited by each of their customers. These logs can then be accessed by the police, the UK secret services, foreign secret services, and we're not sure who else. Oh, and apparently it's illegal to talk about it too much as well...

At least they managed to quosh the measures they were considering Last month, where agencies like the post office and the food hygiene standard ppl would have been able to access your records...

Growltigga August 5th, 2002 11:11 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Yeah, the measures being spoken about a couple of months back in Parliament were hysterical - imagine allowing the Post Office to have access to a record of all the websites visited, I can see it now 'Hmmm" says postman, "this parcel marked 'do not bend - naughty videos from Holland' must be for Mr Dogscoff as we know he was surfing certain, ahem, sites Last month"..

or what about allowing the Health & Safety people access to your internet records, "hmmm, we should go and check out Mr Wong's takeaway as we are aware he has been visiting the Asian Cockroach breeders web site"

PLLLUUUEEEEEAAAAASSSEEE

dogscoff August 5th, 2002 02:06 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
I agree, it's insane. I mean, what's next? Now that the thin end of the wedge is in, how long before every letter and parcel we send is opened and scanned at the sorting office? How long before we're all required to have mini-GPS locators implanted? How long before the police kick down your door because they found "criminal" genes in your DNA?

People just don't seem to care though: The amount of brainless morons I see on TV reacting to news like this with comments like "Well if you've got nothing to hide then you've got nothing to worry about" ... Yeah, that's fine as long as you have complete and utter faith in every single individual and organisation with access to these powers. Jeez, what if some nazi like Jean Marie LePen got into power here? ****, imagine if Hitler or Stalin had had the technology to monitor every bit of correspondance, every request for information...

I just wish the majority of the general public (in this country and, I suspect, everywhere else) wasn't so damned ignorant. Literacy and numeracy is all very important, but I really think schools should be obliged to teach things like philosophy and citizenship (ie rights/ justice/ responsibility). Of course if the government did that, they'd probably never have gotten this law passed. Maybe apathy is the price we pay for affluence: Bread & circuses...

The really sad thing is that the government can't even be honest about their reasons for bringing these laws in. Do you really think they'll catch any more pirates, terrorists and paedophiles this way? All the criminals have to do is use coded Messages rather than plain language. Hell, they probably do already - so what is the real purpose of this legislation? If they said "We want to snoop on your 'net usage because we're a bunch of paranoid, voyeuristic megalomaniacs and we're scared that the internet might actually bring about a change in society that reduces our importance in some way" then at least I might have a tiny bit of respect for them.

*Bastards*

&lt;/rant&gt;

I'm really depressed now. It's enough to turn you into a conspiracy theorist. I'm off to the cantina to drown my sorrows...

[ August 05, 2002, 13:10: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

Mephisto August 5th, 2002 02:59 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Dogscoff, I agree 100%. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

tesco samoa August 5th, 2002 03:23 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
And who is to say who will be incharge in the future. This information gathering will grow and grow... Maybe one day there will be another Stalin in power.

Also.... I do not like the fact that this information will be used more for Marketing than catching terrorists....

Lord_Shleepy August 5th, 2002 08:32 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
"...Further, I would add that most of us have more to fear from our network administrator trolling through our computers than the FBI doing so. The network admin has fewer legal restrictions on them and almost no logistical problems to overcome. The FBI has bigger legal and computer challenges to get over. "

Oddly enough I happened across an old "Newsweek" in the break room today containing an article discussing possible oversights made by the CIA/FBI prior to 9-11. Amongst other leads that the FBI did not use to avert the 9-11 tragedy was a militant islamic Moroccan who was making odd inquiry's about how to pilot jet planes. Apparently, the feds had been investigating him from some time (monitoring email and the like) but were unable (before or after 9-11) to acquire a search warrant to allow them to snoop through his computer files. And these guys are supposedly raiding random people's hard drives for pirated copies of "Space Invaders"?! Hmm...I think not.

Lord_Shleepy August 5th, 2002 08:43 PM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
*struggles back to consciousness...

On the same note...why would they waste their time and money digging through millions of parcels of fruit cakes, boring personal letters, and nudie flics? Sure...governments have never been particularly careful with their money...but really...it sounds a tad boring doesn't it?

They'd be bLasted to heck by pizza delivery bombs while searching through my dirty laundry (which is only slightly pewie at best). best of luck to em if they wanna try is what i sez...

ahem...i mean

*resuming character

Our glorious citizens will never be intimidated by these humiliating searches of our personal artifacts. We will persevere, overcome, and generally surmount all obstacles in our quest for glory and... splutter....snnnzzzzz....

Atrocities August 6th, 2002 01:09 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
*Just my two cents worth*

What would you settle for? I mean think of it, a world free of crime and terrorism and all we would have to give up is the information about what web sites we visited? Hell most web sites would consider that advertising. I will admit that I don't like the idea of someone knowing every move I make on the web as I find it as appalling as I would if they tracked my car's movements with a Lojak. Freedom is inherent with privacy. Where you go, what you read, what you do is your business, and not some over zealous pencil neck geek bucking for a promotion off of reporting your transgressions to his boss in hopes that one day you will screw up. That is in my honest opinion, assuming every one is guilty, it’s only a matter of time before they are caught. No do process, just wait and bust'em heres Big Brother.

It seems to me that if we do not take measures to insure our right to privacy on the web, free from government snooping, or private company snooping, then our rights as a free people, are being limited more than they already have been in the name of security.

Truly your freedom is limited by your economic ability. If you’re a terrorist, you’re not going to be buying super expensive cars, your going to be buying bomb-making stuff. Visiting bombs how to web sites, and talking anti-life trash on forums and instant messaging. Those are the areas that I feel the government should be vigilant in. Not weather or not I visit a site with questionable or objectionable material. Branding me a criminal, Uber bad guy, evil doer, or terrorist all because they have records that I once visited a porn site, most likely by accident, but never the less I was there, therefore I am evil and will burn in hell as a Satan worshiper, is just sick and wrong IMHO. However, that is what it is coming too.

Having my email, IM, web activities, and computer monitored all because I used the words: the President is the bomb when it comes to terrorism and chemical weapons of mass destruction that could kill people visiting the white house while on vacation from Iraq.

That should raze a few flags. Let’s see how long Shrapnel will be done for now.

"Big Brother Is Watching You."

Seriously though, I do feel that some monitoring is necessary for our, and indeed, everyone’s own best interest, but monitoring everyone activities in the hopes that an occasional auditing of the records will yield an occasional bad guy, is absurd at best, and openly ripe for corruption.

"I don't like this mans political views, pull up his ISP records and see if he has done anything illegal. Oh he once visited a porn site that was shut down for having under aged people, arrest him for being a child rapist. Doesn’t matter if he is innocent or not, we will crucify him in the press, and ruin him."

That I do think would become the norm, and that I do honestly believe would reduce what little ideals we have left to ruble. So no, wide spread blanket monitoring of all ISP Subscribers is utter bull *poop* is a really bad idea.

Instar August 6th, 2002 07:54 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
Well, the world will be a better place when I conquer it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Atrocities August 6th, 2002 08:15 AM
Re: OT: The FBI Hacked My Computer
 
The answer is, all it takes is ONE fruit cake to make it through. The President eats it, and the gig is over. "Game over man."


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