HACKER (READ PLEASE EVERYONE)

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[Kevinmcg_ships]

Just found out he accessed my files as all of my ship design files are missing now

Probably a silly question but do you have a firewall installed on your PC?

Also if I was you, I would change all passwords. Not just this shipsim forum, but other forums/websites (i.e. Facebook) just to be on safe side.

[Jake_Savage]

I've changed important ones like email and my website etc.

Ill probably change all the ones I remember over time anyway.

Thanks for the advice anyway

[Mr Robville]

Thanks to the provided IP address by BSR25, I have found one associating forum account which has SSE registered.
Before we jump to conclusions, I will try to seek contact with him. In the mean time if anyone else still notices this person on the MP servers, don't hesitate to report it here.

You'll all be updated on the situation.

So Mr Robville do you mean that he/she only hacks the game and not our computers?

Not SSE at least. The only way to 'hack' someone is when someone has the license key from the person he's hacking. This way they can connect their game with the wrong license key. But to my knowledge, if two people are online using the same key, the second person should automatically be kicked before entering. Besides, only one profile can register each key. As long as people keep their license keys to themselves, they should be fine.
Only if some master Einstein-programmer knows how to alter ShipSim's data, there's a very, very small chance you could hack it. But again, why would one put so much effort in hacking SSE's MP servers?

Of course keep in mind, anyone could enter any alias at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me if 20 different 'Mr Robville''s sailed the MP seas. Impersonating is not hacking, even though it's very annoying.

I'm pretty sure that the MP abuse stands aside to the missing files from Jake's computer. There is simply no way possible to access one's local files through ShipSim.

@ Jake, you are speaking of missing ship design files. I assume you are not speaking about the ShipSim vessels right? If your 3D projects are missing, are you certain you haven't accidentally deleted or moved these files?
As hackers are usually only after credentials, I cannot imagine one would be specifically after your project files.
How could one know you are working on that, and how would he know you saved those files over there and that they mean anything to you?

In the past at a very young age I once believed my computer got hacked. Some random files seemed to have dissapeared, and the PC became slower and slower, eventually not a single program could be opened. It turned out that the problem was my harddisk, which was simply too old and dying. I didn't even had internet at the time.

[Jake_Savage]

Thanks Rob

@ Jake, you are speaking of missing ship design files. I assume you are not speaking about the ShipSim vessels right? If your 3D projects are missing, are you certain you haven't accidentally deleted or moved these files?

Most of my files have gone but all my GCSE stuff is on my tablet and exernalhard drive/ so I can retrieve them.

[GeoP17]

The only way to 'hack' someone is when someone has the license key from the person he's hacking. This way they can connect their game with the wrong license key. But to my knowledge, if two people are online using the same key, the second person should automatically be kicked before entering. Besides, only one profile can register each key. As long as people keep their license keys to themselves, they should be fine.
Only if some master Einstein-programmer knows how to alter ShipSim's data, there's a very, very small chance you could hack it.

so Mr Robville if the hacker hasn't got my key, cannot hack the game or my computer?

[Mr Robville]

With or without a key, nobody can hack another person's computer just with his license key. you are perfectly safe.

The term thief would apply better if one would be using someone else's key as it isn't really hacking.
If someone else has your key, they can login on MP pretending to be you. And of course, all consequences for his actions end up at the wrong person. That's the worst and only thing that can happen.

Keep your key to yourself, and no one can use your account. 

[GeoP17]

With or without a key, nobody can hack another person's computer just with his license key. you are perfectly safe.

Ok, but how did he/she get in Jake's computer?

[danny]

Ok, but how did he/she get in Jake's computer?

He didn't. My best guess is that Jake accidentally deleted the files without realising it...

@ Mr_R - whilst its not possible to actually "log in" to multiplayer as another person without the key (as you said), it is possible to impersonate another user (which is what I think Jake is trying to say). I assume that because of the way the SSE multiplayer client & server handle ID's and users, you can trick the server into giving you another persons ship (myself, Stormforce and Eviss had an issue with this some time ago).

If I was sailing under the name of "Danny", and someone with the exact same name (bar capitalisation) joins - in this case "DannY", they would get both my ship, and the ship they had chosen to spawn with. I would then be kicked back to the lobby whilst the impersonator can merrily sail around with both ships, freely changing between the two. If a kickvote is initiated (and is successful) both myself AND the imposter would be kicked - as the game can't tell the difference between myself and the idiot.
Mad_fred knows more, as I've explained the situation to him in the past - and after some effort we caught the user...

Hope that helps, and sorry for sticking my oar in! (at least I'm not being stubborn this time )

[laganviking]

[Lopender]

A picture is worth a thousand words, probably none of them allowed on this forum

[Mad_Fred]

Hi everyone,

As Danny also has indicated, this has indeed happened before, unfortunately. Your computer is not being hacked. In fact, nothing is. It is just a very immature exploit of a multiplayer 'bug'.

This person uses the same name (capitalization doesn't matter) as another player. And due to an mp bug, this messes up the controls. What happens, is that the other player, is given control of the ship, because the game thinks this is in fact the same person. (I'm not sure on the exact details, my guess is it assumes that the player was timed out or disconnected and has come in again after that.)

So the game just gives the ship control to this (new) player that is doing nothing more than being a troll and ruining other people's fun. Hacking, it's not.

Twice now I've banned some accounts and all the relevant IP addresses and such after he/she/they was/were caught, but alas this person, or persons, problaby just think(s) it is worth buying another game copy for after a ban.

So all we can do is ban accounts after the fact, and until this opportunity for them is taken away by a fix of this bug, which isn't so much a bug as an unfortunate feature that sadly backfires, we cannot stop such persons from making a new account with a new license key to go on the servers again.

It's a shame that people get a kick out of this. But you need not worry, your pc is not being hacked and they indeed cannot get access to your pc simply by renaming themselves on a game server. That kinda intrusion would require very specific skills, and people with those skills don't waste time to merely be trolling on some game server.


Regards,
Fred

[Kevinmcg_ships]

This person uses the same name (capitalization doesn't matter) as another player. And due to an mp bug, this messes up the controls. What happens, is that the other player, is given control of the ship, because the game thinks this is in fact the same person.

Would it be possible for Vstep to issue a fix which will make letters case-sensitive for MP servers?

For example the MP server recognises "Danny" as the correct person. If someone tries to use "DannY" in an attempt to impersonate "Danny", then that would be rejected.

Some websites require you to use case-sensitive letters as an user name, and even my Windows log-in name and password are case-sensitive. If I type in a single letter or password which was in upper or lower case by mistake, then Windows will not let me log in.

What do you think? Would this be something that Vstep will be able to do without using up a lot of time and resources?

[Mad_Fred]

It might not be as easy as it sounds but anything is possible..

However, whether it will get priority, I cannot answer that.
I would like to think this would be something they'd look into at least, and if it's not too costly, fix.

[Mr Robville]

After my email to our suspected annoyance, his forum account conveniently dissapeared, and two other accounts were registered.
Too bad for him I saved his license key and other information. So I'm pleased to announce he has received a full ban on all items and I blocked his license key.
Also since I have sent him the email, I already blocked his key. There were no reports of MP abuse in the meantime.

Special thanks to boatsimrocks25 for providing his IP address.

[Jake_Savage]

Thanks to everyone especially Mr R and BoatSim!!!

[lakon]

Yes, Congratulations! on your good work and new found interest in fixing bugs.
 

[boatsimrocks25]

Yes, Congratulations! on your good work and new found interest in fixing bugs.
 

Well this seems odd, Lakon just joined the forums yesterday and picked this topic to say something on?

NP guys!
I am so glad that we finally got the guy who's been ramming and breaking all the rules for a very long time.

Mr. Robville, i'm not sure if maybe vstep temporarily removed the official server forums name when (right-clicking) on another player to fix it in the next patch because its showing as N/A right now?

Hopefully the Jumbo Javelin has stairs or the teleport function back in, and the Cartagena Delight(speed yacht) has her helm camera viewpoint raised. I feel like a little kid struggling to see over the gauges.

BSR25--(my new nickname)

[Mr Robville]

Bye Markus, or Lakon.



-Edit-
As this issue is kinda-solved (we know he will return somehow eventually), I will lock this topic.

@BSR25,
I can't say any detail about the patch notes yet unfortunately.