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Hijacking Prevention/Solutions

Discussion in 'SteamRep Guides' started by KillaExertion, Apr 15, 2012.

  1. KillaExertion

    KillaExertion New User

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    HIJACKING- The situation of being hijacked is the greatest fear in the minds of many traders. Hijackers seem to be unstoppable- they have already stolen thousands of dollars worth of items from their victim's backpacks. Not only that, they can take total control of an account, using the trader's previously earned reputation against innocent traders who think they are trading with an honest person, spreading the damage of hijacking everywhere in the Steam trading community. In order to stop this from spreading, every trader should take certain precautions in order to stop those people cold.

    HOW TO PREVENT HIJACKINGS!

    The easiest way to not get hijacked is simple, BE PREPARED! There are a couple of steps you
    can take against hijacking:

    1. NEVER TELL ANYONE YOUR PASSWORD FOR ANY REASON! - This is obvious, but some people will forget this. Don't even tell your best friend, you never know if they will betray you.
    2. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING THAT IS SUPPOSED TO GIVE YOU A "BOOST" IN TF2 OR ANY OTHER GAME! - This is bad for a couple reasons: First, Valve has a state-of-the-art hack-shield that detects hacks in almost an instant. I had to learn that the hard way. I experimented with hacking in MW2 and got banned instantly. Second, the "Experience Enhancing" software that you download could potentially be a home to a load of computer viruses. Many traders have been hijacked by a keylogger- which records every single key you tap into your computer and records it. People use software such as keyloggers to gain access to an array of accounts. IF YOU DOWNLOAD A COMPUTER VIRUS BY ACCIDENT, EVERY SINGLE ACCOUNT YOU OWN- PAYPAL, STEAM, OR EVEN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, CAN BE COMPROMISED! BE EXTRA CAREFUL WITH WHAT YOU ARE DOWNLOADING FROM THE INTERNET!
    3. MAKE CREATIVE PASSWORDS THAT ARE LONGER AND HAVE LETTERS, NUMBERS, AND SOMETIMES SYMBOLS! - The #1 way for a hacker to get into any account is guessing the password. The most common password? "password1". If that is your password, change it right now. A hijacker could be on your account any second. A six character password of letters (upper and lower), numbers, and symbols has 782 billion combinations. A seven character password in the same manner? 75 Trillion. A LOT harder to guess = less chance of getting hijacked. Look at this article for more information about password combinations: http://www.lockdown.co.uk/?pg=combi#classF
    4. YOUR EMAIL USERNAME AND PASSWORD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOU STEAM ACCOUNT! PROTECT IT! - This is the golden rule because a hijacker can not access your account without your email username and password. This might seem easier to protect, but hijackers can get into your email like a knife through hot butter if you don't properly protect your email.
    A HIJACKER ONLY NEEDS YOUR EMAIL USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO GET INTO YOU ACCOUNT! THEY CAN USE YOUR EMAIL TO INSTANTLY FIND OUT BOTH YOUR STEAM USERNAME AND PASSWORD. NOT ONLY THAT, THEY CAN ALSO GAIN ACCESS TO THE VERIFICATION CODE STEAM REQUIRES TO LOG IN INTO FROM A NEW IP ADDRESS!
    I JUST GOT HIJACKED, WHAT DO I DO?
    There are a couple of steps you will need to take in case you are hijacked in order to regain control of you account and guarantee the safety of other traders as well as yourself. Even if your backpack is stripped of all of your valuables, you MUST take these steps in order to keep the community as a whole safe.

    1. YOU, OR A FRIEND, MUST REPORT YOUR HIJACKED ACCOUNT ON STEAMREP! - The sooner you can get marked as a hijacked account on SteamRep, the better. A scammer mark will help prevent the scammer from being able to trade out the items off of your account. A scammer will not trade all of the items to his own account, that would give SteamRep a lead on the hijacker.
    2. CHANGE BOTH YOUR EMAIL AND YOUR STEAM ACCOUNT'S PASSWORDS, AS WELL AS ANY ACCOUNT THAT SHARES THE SAME PASSWORD! - No one wants a hijacker back on their account a second time, make those changes as soon as possible.
    3. ATTEMPT TO GIVE ANYONE A HINT THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY BEING HIJACKED! - There are a couple of ways you can do this, you could change your name to "_____ (been hijacked)" or in my case "KillaExertion (been hijacked)". Another way is to message your friends saying that a hijacker has been and might go on your account. The more people know, the better, and the less likely that your items will be sold off your accounts.
    Be careful with your account and have a nice day! :)
    Jmcmλtrix likes this.
  2. Jmcmλtrix

    Jmcmλtrix New User

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    Hi, thanks for the guide. Will sure help alot of new people! ;)

    EDIT: also contact support if you're account is hijacked!
  3. KillaExertion

    KillaExertion New User

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    Steam:
    STEAM_0:1:36513015