Hacked and hacked off

One of my friends who I play chess against on RHP had his RHP account hacked earlier this week. The hacker made some moves in my friend's active games (bad moves, at that!). When my friend discovered it, he immediately resigned all his games and now refuses to come back to RHP. What is past is past, but I was wondering if this has happened to others.

Originally posted by TenaciousE
One of my friends who I play chess against on RHP had his RHP account hacked earlier this week. The hacker made some moves in my friend's active games (bad moves, at that!). When my friend discovered it, he immediately resigned all his games and now refuses to come back to RHP. What is past is past, but I was wondering if this has happened to others.

He probably hadn't logged out and shares his computer, i seriously doubt anybody would put the time and effort in hacking a chess site account to make a few dodgy moves.

Since most of us never bother to log out, I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often.

As others have said, it is highly unlikely that this is a problem on RHP's end. Your friend just needs to be more careful.

I appreciate the responses. My friend is a very sophisticated computer user and only accesses RHP from his home computer and his iPhone. (And his wife and dog wouldn't sabotage his games LOL.) He even scanned his computer for viruses and spyware (all clean) to eliminate that as a possible source.

I am only posting this in the event it is helpful to RHP and the rest of us. I can understand that this all seems difficult to believe but it is not impossible. You guys are correct that these are not state secrets we are talking about, but if WikiLeaks can happen, I suppose RHPLeaks could too.

Thanks again for your input.

E

No chance that his iPhone has ever been out of his sight, I suppose.

I get hacked all the time. I'd be 2000+ if it weren't for all the bad moves somebody keeps making for me.

I'm not hacked enough. All my blunders are my own. 🙁 Anyone out there with a rating in 4 figures is welcome to make some of my moves.

Since I have a sense of humor, I find myself sitting here smiling at the additional responses. (And as a cat owner, I appreciate the profile pics!)

On a serious note, I'll drop this subject and assume that the purported hacking has a rational explanation, and was a one-time event.

I wish continued chess success to you all.

E

Same friend that I've known for over 30 years and who would not have decided to leave RHP without reason. How it happened would be interesting to find out, but I suspect having an undefeated score made our friend a target for mischief.

RHP should pursue the offender who apparently was discovered after the incident!

Originally posted by alleenkatze
Same friend that I've known for over 30 years and who would not have decided to leave RHP without reason. How it happened would be interesting to find out, but I suspect having an undefeated score made our friend a target for mischief.

RHP should pursue the offender who apparently was discovered after the incident!

Maybe it was his email account that was hacked, from there you can get almost everywhere, the security questions are usually lame and anybody who knows that person will probably be able to answer them.

Originally posted by TenaciousE
One of my friends who I play chess against on RHP had his RHP account hacked earlier this week. The hacker made some moves in my friend's active games (bad moves, at that!). When my friend discovered it, he immediately resigned all his games and now refuses to come back to RHP. What is past is past, but I was wondering if this has happened to others.

Can I use this, next time I make some bad moves?

Who ever heard of a hacker hacking a chess site, to make bad moves on someones account? 😀

Originally posted by leestatic
Maybe it was his email account that was hacked, from there you can get almost everywhere, the security questions are usually lame and anybody who knows that person will probably be able to answer them.

So, You figure an inside job. 😉 😀

Originally posted by Very Rusty
Can I use this, next time I make some bad moves?

Who ever heard of a hacker hacking a chess site, to make bad moves on someones account? 😀

I will assume that Rusty is trying to add some light-hearted humor to the dialog. If so, I have no problem with that.

Just to be clear, the "victim" in question has a 2000 USCF correspondence rating and is of good character, so I have no concerns that he fabricated this story to protect his chess reputation.

Rusty asks "Who ever heard of a hacker hacking a chess site...". Well, I did hear of it and I only mentioned it here in the event it may help RHP become a more secure site.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all.

Originally posted by TenaciousE
I will assume that Rusty is trying to add some light-hearted humor to the dialog. If so, I have no problem with that.

Just to be clear, the "victim" in question has a 2000 USCF correspondence rating and is of good character, so I have no concerns that he fabricated this story to protect his chess reputation.

Rusty asks "Who ever heard of a hacker h ...[text shortened]... event it may help RHP become a more secure site.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all.

You've been here some time, so have I. Has anyone 'hacked' you or me? NO. There is no way the folks from THE MATRIX want to get into an RHP user's account to make bad moves.

Your friend doesn't log on at a library or from a public place? Didn't have a few too many spirits one evening? I just don't see anyone wanting to hack a chess account.

P-