A close call

[NiGHTMARE]

Two nights ago, someone managed to hack into my laptop. How they achieved this I'm not sure, considering the wireless network it's on is both firewalled and password protected, and my hard drive is set to only be readable by other computers on the network. Anyway, whoever it was decided it would be fun (and what sort of pathetic life must you have to gain enjoyment from upsetting others) to delete almost half the contents of my hard drive. Fortunately I noticed while they were doing it, and managed to stop them from deleting everything.

 

What they did managed to delete totalled over 10gb, including almost all my applications, movies and games, including both Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2... but for some reason all the BG2 mods (including my own) were left untouched. I've been posting all my LoI code and dialogue in the workrooms and a lot of stuff is backed up on my desktop system, but there's some graphical stuff that's not so I guess I've been rather lucky.

 

So if anyone else out there is on a wireless network, be careful. Make sure anything that can't simply be re-installed is regularly backed up, and try to change your password(s) often. And for goodness sake if the network isn't password protected (which far too many aren't), make it so ASAP!

[jester]

Sorry to hear that, but it is good that the work is not lost.

[Domi]

Gods be good. What idiots! If some people have too much time and energy on their hands, why the heck they can't do something constructive instead of something harmful. I am glad that your mod information remained untouched though, Nightmare. That would have been debastating.

[Bri]

Sorry to hear about that Nightmare. Unfortunately, even with the proper protection, sometimes people still get through.

 

And this is also a good reason to make copies of essential material every so often (back up CDs and the like).

[Andyr]

Ah, sucks. Hope you didn't lost anything you can't get back.

[NiGHTMARE]

I lost a couple of add-on levels for another game, but that seems to be about it as far as completely unrecoverable stuff goes. Why they left some (not all, as I had originally thought - for instance, they deleted Sim's Quest Pack) of the BG2 mods I had installed alone is a bit of a mystery.

[BigRob]

Ouch! Maybe you kept all your BG2 mods because they hadn't got around to deleting them before you stopped 'em.

[NiGHTMARE]

When I blocked their access, they were halfway through deleting my downloads directory.. besides, I'd have thought they'd simply select the directory and hit 'delete' . Oh well, guess I shouldn't really be complaining about this part of the tale .

[Fallen_Demon]

Sorry to hear about that, makes me sick that people are skilled enough to break through these security systems then use it for such destructive porpuses. Glad to hear not much irreplacible has been lost though.

[SÃ¥m]

some people really do take the biscuit, or half the hard drive...ych, it's like neds who break into stairwells to strip the brakes and saddle off your bike...pointless!

[Taza]

I'm a hacker.

 

igi's a hacker too.

 

Get your jargon straight.

[SimDing0]

hack·er

n. Informal

1. One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff.

2. One who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file.

3. One who enthusiastically pursues a game or sport: a weekend tennis hacker.

 

 

crack·er

n.

1. A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough.

 

 

 

(It goes on to talk about the use of "cracker" in place of "hacker", but I think the above example alone serves to illustrate that people who try to be clever by denying the usage of the latter are ironically incorrect in doing so. However things may have worked back in the 80s doesn't interest me-- these days, "hacker" can mean somebody who gains unauthorized access to a computer.)

[the bigg]

From dictionary.com:

hacker

hack·er1

n. Informal

 

  1. One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff.

  2. One who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to a computer network or file.

  3. One who enthusiastically pursues a game or sport: a weekend tennis hacker.

 

 

[Perhaps from hacker, amateurish or inept golfer or tennis player (possibly from hack1), or perhaps from hack, practical joke, clever scheme (from dialectal hack, to embarrass, confuse, play a trick on).]

 

cracker

crack·er

n.

 

  1. A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough.

  2. One that cracks, especially:

        1. A firecracker.

        2. A small cardboard cylinder covered with decorative paper that holds candy or a party favor and pops when a paper strip is pulled at one or both ends and torn.

        3. The apparatus used in the cracking of petroleum.

        4. One who makes unauthorized use of a computer, especially to tamper with data or programs.

  3. Offensive.

        1. Used as a disparaging term for a poor white person of the rural, especially southeast United States.

        2. Used as a disparaging term for a white person.

Ouch.

 

Since their phrasing and word choice is the same as your post, I'm just questioning why did you remove the second part of the dictionary entry. Or if it's just you took your definitions from somewhere else?

[SimDing0]

I took it from dictionary.com. The fact that "cracker" shares the same definition is irrelevant-- I simply state that "hacker" is equally valid, contrary to Taza's objections (although ironically the definitions you give make "hacker" MORE appropriate than "cracker" for the scenario NiGHTMARE describes, not equally). The cracker definition was for comedic effect. You may laugh if you wish.

[NiGHTMARE]

So basically, if someone claims 'hacker' only means "one who's proficient at using or programming a computer", point out to them that by the exact same logic, 'cracker' only means "a thin wafer or biscuit".