Hacking is not a game

[XiaroX]

Maybe I'm out of the loop, but it seems to me a lot of people think hacking is cool. Not just when it comes to corrupt organizations, but when it comes to individuals you don't know how to talk to.
So if you've got advanced computer skills, you can try to find out info about people who do not freely choose to share that info. That's violation. It's rape. It's not cool. And I know a lot of people over the years have tried to guess my passwords, but I haven't tried to guess theirs. To me, relating is not a game. Connecting is not a game. And I know that even if all my passwords have the green bar and say 'strong' - to a lot of people, especially those I've known, this is laughable. To say I should have tried harder is like saying I wore the wrong dress, or was asking for it.

Hacking and cyberstalking destroy trust. I don't know who to trust. It's like my earlier issues with sexual assault, combined with this modern form of violence have completely fucked any chance of connection for me,

 

[Forever Sleep]

Definitely. I suppose I do admire those who do it to expose corrupt companies or people but presumably- there needs to be enough suspicion that they are doing illegal and harmful things. Plus of course- law enforcement- if there is good reason.

But yeah- individuals doing it to stalk or doxx etc. that does just feel malicious or creepy.

 

[black money boys]

Jumping is not a crime

 

[XiaroX]

Jumping is not a crime

Can you explain? I am not quite sure what you mean in this context.

 

[black money boys]

Can you explain? I am not quite sure what you mean in this context.

 

[Rust]

It is kinda funny how a field that requires a bit of a predatory nature is looked upon so highly sometimes. But I think that's just because of the general enigma surrounding hacking and how it's performed. Movies probably don't help either.

But the people you're talking about seem to be doing what they're doing out of insecurity. I don't see many people finding it cool to attack an individual for no other purpose than harassment. It sounds like the people in this situation are just shitty. If there's a group of them, then I guess it makes more sense, since they'll spur each other on.

It's probably best to distance yourself a little and not give them the reaction that they'd feed on to continue doing what they're doing. If you can, setup MFA where possible. You can also maybe use passphrases instead of normal passwords. A password manager can also be used to manage different passphrases for all of your accounts.

I hope that helps and that you're able to get away from the terrible people.

 

[XiaroX]

It is kinda funny how a field that requires a bit of a predatory nature is looked upon so highly sometimes. But I think that's just because of the general enigma surrounding hacking and how it's performed. Movies probably don't help either.

But the people you're talking about seem to be doing what they're doing out of insecurity. I don't see many people finding it cool to attack an individual for no other purpose than harassment. It sounds like the people in this situation are just shitty. If there's a group of them, then I guess it makes more sense, since they'll spur each other on.

It's probably best to distance yourself a little and not give them the reaction that they'd feed on to continue doing what they're doing. If you can, setup MFA where possible. You can also maybe use passphrases instead of normal passwords. A password manager can also be used to manage different passphrases for all of your accounts.

I hope that helps and that you're able to get away from the terrible people.

I do very much appreciate you taking the time to write. This is probably going to be a disorganized, rantish reply.

I've seen a couple of documentaries in which a lone individual acquires many different accounts and types of accounts and impersonates various people the victim knows, or the victim themself and spreads false information which destroys all the relationships in a person's life. I've had someone threaten to impersonate me and spread hate in my name, and this freaks me out a lot more than insults (but I have received classic hate mail, too).

It seems to be about a need to have power over another person.

I think sometimes people might think it's touching if a shy guy with mad computer skills watches over someone he's in love with and maybe even saves her life somehow, but this is definitely not my situation. But I want to say that I do not find this sort of situation touching. Human nature is such that even really nice guys might feel they have a right to judge a person's actions, or those of people around them. This is about taking vulnerability and intimacy, without giving those things in return. It's not love.

I have known a few people with extremely high level computer skills, whereas when I took a 6 week computer course a very very long time ago, I was the only person in the class who couldn't figure out how to turn the computer on.

When I felt I could no longer dismiss certain things as coincidences or aberrations, I consulted all of these people, and no one really took me seriously. Is this because they didn't believe anyone would feel motivated to hack me, or because one or more of them was involved, or because of general attitudes about hacking - that it's no big deal?

I can't get away. I don't have social media or a phone, and although my patterns aren't completely predictable, most of the time, I only go online once a month, and I dread it every time. There is nothing hooked up to the internet in my room. I don't own a computer. I live in a house where all the computers and phones have been hacked. This has been documented and shown to police. No resolution. The house isn't mine. There is a phone which used to be landline, but now goes through the internet, due to short-sighted government policies. I very rarely answer the phone - but one time when I knew my friend was calling, I did, and as soon as I said hello, pow, all the power in the house suddenly went out (this is not a usual occurrence, because the house is solar-powered and there are batteries, and so even if there's a small blip for a second, it's small). I am paranoid and don't know how to tell when something is a coincidence, or something more.

Well, at least I haven't had a death threat for 8 months or so. But it's so hard to shake off things that might just be coincidences. Usually, when I go into a virtual world, I keep to myself. In December, I was hanging out with someone for a while, and then for the first time ever, I was locked out of my main email. It is extremely difficult to dismiss everything as coincidence, but I suppose that one could be.

I think either an individual or a group of people with a high skill level might just find it fun or a game to scare me and people like me. But it might be more serious than that.

Even if not, it's a kind of mind game where you feel anything could happen at any time. I don't know how well I've ever known anyone. Fantasy could be something someone has no intention of acting on, but something certain people I've known have in common: they identify as sadists and are interested in suicide. One in particular fantasized about extreme BDSM, deathsex, murder-suicide sex, etc, and even when he might have appeared capable of vanilla, I suspect either in his mind or out of the corner of his eye, he was viewing gory images.

I do know there are people in the world who have a morbid curiosity to watch people's suicides, or material like in Videodrome. I do think there are people who would volunteer to be snuffed. I worry that there are organized people who spot isolated individuals, or who are 'collectors' of people like those who post here, just as serial killers have types, and certain people choose sex workers to enact violence on that they would not inflict on their wives.

OK, that's the end of my paranoid rant for today. Momentarily, I will try to post something about believability.



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When someone is ranting and might seem incoherent to others, I try to really look at what they're saying. They might just need to get something out of their systems, but they also might be so burnt out from trying to communicate something that they can't organize the material efficiently.

I can understand the need to be skeptical, but for someone who's been through trauma, when others are trying to question that person to find inconsistencies, lies or attention-seeking, or delusional thinking, it can feel like being interrogated by police who already decided you wore the wrong dress and drank too much or took too many drugs, or put yourself at risk by drinking one drink someone slipped something into.

I'd say you have a right to be skeptical, but try to be always looking at things from at least two angles. If a particular story were true, what might be the consequences of that, and how would it feel if authority figures, family, friends, society didn't believe you? How would that affect your mental health, your self-perception? Your communication abilities? If you feel it's already been decided, how easy is it to cope with the pressure, and the loss of self-esteem?

And what if a story has been made up by the mind for self-protection from something as bad, or worse? Usually, it seems like people want to shrink the story down to something more trivial, but I don't do that.

When I am anxious, or in the presence of authority figures, or if I don't take time to edit, I can make mistakes that aren't conscious lies - they are usually about something being complex with many layers, and I can only get out one in the moment. If I have time, I can go back and fix the mistakes, like correcting typos. Here I don't spend much time editing - it's just too difficult.

But, if a person is found to be inaccurate or inconsistent in one area, I think often there is a tendency to think in black or white terms - this person is a liar. Dismiss everything they say, or reduce it to: this poor, sad person believes this, I feel sorry for her, I must try to placate her.

In my personal case, I can't say I am sure about certain things, and I can't ask anyone to believe me. I can tell people what I've noticed, and I can note some correlations to the behaviour and psychology of various people I've known, but I know I don't know for sure who has targeted me, or the level of what's been happening.

If people want to dismiss everything I say because I am an alcoholic, it feels scary to me. Really look at my communication. Am I really that much more incoherent than non-addicts? What would my motive be? Is what I'm describing something you think could actually occur in the world we live in?

Do you see anything in me that might interest a certain small group of people with very particular interests?

I needed to write this. I don't care if people think I'm delusional. I think people who don't think this kind of thing is at least possible, who will not even consider it, are delusional, and do not understand the world we live in.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Hackers are stalkers and scumbags. And usually poxy little scriptkiddies.

It is absolutely invasion of privacy and bullying behaviour. It is never justified except when exposing governments, corporations and similar mass-abuse control systems.

Every hacker I've ever met who uses their skills on individuals is a pussy little piece of shit who needs stabbing in the face for their anon abuse at arms' length.

I've endured these scum stalking me for years. I've fucked up a few of them with the old gangster ways, and will take some out with me when I go.

Cunts.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I consulted all of these people, and no one really took me seriously. Is this because they didn't believe anyone would feel motivated to hack me, or because one or more of them was involved, or because of general attitudes about hacking - that it's no big deal?

Add me to the pool of those people. Someone might have done something to you - and I'm sorry if that's the case - but the omnipotent hacker controlling the power grid and what not, does not exist.

You can prove this with a thought experiment. If rouge actors could do X, what would we see in society?
There are a lot of bad actors out there. Anything that reasonably can be exploited is actively being exploited.

What often happens is that a "hacker" finds a vulnerability - they might find you password in a data leak, and get access to something they shouldn't.
You'll have no idea what vulnerability they found, or the extent of the damage, and they'll take the opportunity to pretend to be omnipotent.
A hacker is very unlikely to be able to cause a power outage in your house, but very likely to opportunistically claim responsibility for it.

Tie that back to what others have said about bullies and stalkers.
Most vulnerabilities nowadays are through human factors - you sharing things, and people then leveraging it against you in various ways, profiling and manipulating you.
If you're targeted as a private person, you're better off thinking about them as bullies than tech wizards.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Add me to the pool of those people. Someone might have done something to you - and I'm sorry if that's the case - but the omnipotent hacker controlling the power grid and what not, does not exist.

You can prove this with a thought experiment. If rouge actors could do X, what would we see in society?
There are a lot of bad actors out there. Anything that reasonably can be exploited is actively being exploited.

What often happens is that a "hacker" finds a vulnerability - they might find you password in a data leak, and get access to something they shouldn't.
You'll have no idea what vulnerability they found, or the extent of the damage, and they'll take the opportunity to pretend to be omnipotent.
A hacker is very unlikely to be able to cause a power outage in your house, but very likely to opportunistically claim responsibility for it.

Tie that back to what others have said about bullies and stalkers.
Most vulnerabilities nowadays are through human factors - you sharing things, and people then leveraging it against you in various ways, profiling and manipulating you.
If you're targeted as a private person, you're better off thinking about them as bullies than tech wizards.

Bullies, stalkers, OCGs, fraudsters. Criminal service for hire. Old intimidation but from pissy little runts.

They're certainly not omnipotent, I've seen one of them have the crap kicked out of him for being a snide little shitbag. But they are burglars and professional hackers. So its not aout human factors, its about their behaviour.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I've seen one of them have the crap kicked out of him...

Assuming that you can identify and locate them, authorities can often deal with them. For most people, reporting it to authorities is the safer approach.
As you so eloquently put it, those are "pissy little runts". They won't hesitate to lie and deceive, and if they can present you as a perpetrator, they will.
The culture is such that cowardly deception tend to be seen as intellectual superiority. They often take pride in it.

its not aout human factors, its about their behaviour.

Even in high profile cases, the user tend to be the weak link. If you're not susceptible to manipulation it'll be very hard to get to you.
It'll be expensive and time consuming, and way out of reach for the vast majority of non-state actors.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Assuming that you can identify and locate them, authorities can often deal with them. For most people, reporting it to authorities is the safer approach.
As you so eloquently put it, those are "pissy little runts". They won't hesitate to lie and deceive, and if they can present you as a perpetrator, they will.
The culture is such that cowardly deception tend to be seen as intellectual superiority. They often take pride in it.

Even in high profile cases, the user tend to be the weak link. If you're not susceptible to manipulation it'll be very hard to get to you.
It'll be expensive and time consuming, and way out of reach for the vast majority of non-state actors.

right, so you're saying if they have physical access (burglary) and hacking ability and are part of an organised crime group who hire out intimidation services then the user is the weak link, and if not weak, then very hard to get to?

With respect you're chatting shit. What qualifies you to do so?

 

[Hvergelmir]

so you're saying if they have physical access (burglary) and hacking ability and are part of an organised crime group who hire out intimidation services

That is straying rather far from the topic, isn't it?

If you're targeted by an organized crime network, I'd advice you to contact the police. They can help with protection, or getting you into hiding.
Those are not what's usually referred to as "hackers".

Hvergelmir, out.

 

[InevitableDeath]

The police can't find their arse with both hands. You're more likely to be stalked by the police than them prosecute a stalker. That's just statistical fact. Most OCGs aren't all that, they're generally local scumbags and gangs. Hacking's just a new part of their intimidation routines.

I'm not trying to show you up, but you shouldn't tell people that they are not in danger from hackers. Because they are and this is a new service for hire. Modern intimidation. Like people showing up at your shop and saying, oh isn't it a lovely shop, wouldn't it be a shame if it burned down. Now pay us.

Or an ex with a grudge hiring a local gang to break your windows, slash your tyres and kick your face in whenever they see you.

Like any bullies you have to fight fire with fire, the cops won't help unless you're a corpo, many local plod are on the payroll.

So, as I said, you kick the fuck out of the pissy little runts, or whoever's dumb enough to front as that. And when they push people to suicide, they have to expect victims to escalate to do or die.

I appreciate you're probably trying to help here, but don't talk about what you know nothing about. Its just not useful to anyone.

Anyway take it easy.

 

[XiaroX]

I realize it doesn't help my credibility to announce I am leaving and then come back. So be it. I think I am in the process of extracting myself and will manage, if my history can be trusted.

There are some details I felt were relevant, that I felt an urgent need to add.

I know a lot of people will need to play Devil's Advocate. It's difficult to feel raw and exposed and to address all details, and I probably can't, but after having a rest, I'll add what I can.

When I wrote that in a computer course I couldn't figure out how to turn a computer on, it might have given people the idea that I lack intelligence, that I don't think rationally or logically, and that I am quick to jump to the most extreme scenario.

I might have been the only girl in the class, or one of very few, and most of the boys probably had prior computer experience. It was intimidating, and I've always had trouble doing something new when someone is breathing over my shoulder watching.

Once I was alone with the learning disk, during the 6 week course I managed to complete all tasks and tests, and my grade was 100% on all. No one else in the class managed that. My final grade was 100%.

This was not the first or last time I achieved that grade in something or other.

The teacher gave us individual reports. I can't remember the wording exactly, but I could read between the lines. He was saying I was a little performing scholastic monkey with no real intelligence or potential.

It was almost 10 years before I ever went on a computer again. I think he was right, in that I didn't really understand a lot, and it didn't stick, whereas some subjects I have studied have stuck immediately and permanently. But, when I did go on a computer again,
I was always inhibited, and this worsened when I started to feel I was hacked by people who were judging me.

And hacking also affected my writing. I wasn't allowed to think things through on my own. I started to dread editing. I wanted to give up. I ended up settling for sending things out into the world in a state I wouldn't have before. But there was something in me that didn't give up completely. I wanted to die,but I wanted to fight back, I wanted to be understood.

When I mentioned the incident when the power went out, I know it could have been a coincidence, or there might be some unexpected explanation.

And it's true, I might have been especially prone to paranoia, for focusing on some details while filtering out others.

Long-term alcohol abuse, combined with long-term depression and extreme isolation might have resulted in changes in my brain.

Even now though, I will go through a list of possibilities and probabilities, and try to focus on what seems most likely.

But, in this case, something was niggling at me and scaring me.

The power had to be reset via a box outside the house. This is the way the solar is configured. This means that the power can also be shut off from outside the house.

It wasn't before this incident, but after, that I received a message saying 'I am in your neighborhood'.

I could still see that possibly the incident could have been triggered remotely. I don't know enough, but possibly the software, which is connected to the internet,
that monitors the solar, is a weak point.

It is putting it mildly to say that my friend is extremely good with computers. He didn't really take me seriously for a long time, although he said yes, he could see how certain things I was noticing could be possible, it was like he thought it unlikely anyone would have the motivation or resources.

A couple of years ago, some things happened that he couldn't dismiss, and even he was scared a couple of times. He organized and printed up the data, and I helped contribute to the timeline. The police didn't seem to think the case was high priority, although I think they took him seriously. (They just thought I was a batshit alcoholic).

Since that time, things died down, and he went back to his usual life. They do not seem to be targeting him, and it could be that they are a bit intimidated by him, that in order to save himself, some latent abilities he's not using might kick in, and he'd bring them down.

Police would find him credible, because he's methodical, speaks like an intellectual/academic/lawyer type, and has had an impressive Big Brain career.

[Just as a sidebar: I felt it was logical to at least consider the possibility that he was responsible. For now I will leave that topic.]

If he went missing, people would notice. Family, friends, work colleagues.

If I went missing, he'd be the only person who would notice.

And here's the place where he'd lack credibility with the police: they might look at him and say 'the dude's a geek, she probably just went off in search of less cerebral
company'. Or 'she's an escaped mental patient, but she's an adult, and not high priority'.

[FYI: we are close friends, but not romantic or sexual partners.]

FWIW, I do not have a history of psychotic episodes or breaks, or contacting police. I usually avoid authority figures like the plague.

I think it's possible I have not been interfered with here because they find it enjoyable to watch me interact with more people who are
their type, but also others who are suicidal or close to it. Maybe I am wrong, but I think they'd be most interested in
females with a history of trauma/abuse/assault/self-harm, who are ignored, not believed or don't have a strong support system. The others would not be in danger.

This is one of the reasons I must leave here.

It's fine if people think I'm delusional, paranoid, or fear-mongering.

It feels necessary for me to say this. I don't expect people to read all of it, or any of it, or believe it.

I also want to clarify that the wish to die predates this situation by more than a decade. The two parts are part of the whole.

If they were just going to kill me, it's not that big a deal. Everything would be over. But they might torture me or make it very painful, and that does bother me.

The thing that scares me the most is that I might be taken somewhere and kept alive to be tortured over and over. So maybe that's unrealistic and I've seen too many movies, but I can think of people I've met who live way off grid, have a lot of land and possibly the brainpower to create a self-sustaining underground system. OK, I realize we now have a credibility issue again, but we do live in a world where sex trafficking and pedophile rings exist. There are probably many niche interests.

Most of the time, I do not get overt messages from them, and in a way that's scarier. It's like they're more sophisticated, and less likely to get caught. And it means I never know where or when something will occur.

I hope no one is flippantly thinking 'someone forgot to take her meds', but I suppose a lot probably are. I'm not sure, but I don't think antipsychotics actually make beliefs go away - I think they just subdue the person. I'm pretty subdued most of the time, so I'll pass, but other than that, there are too many logistics involved with getting any
meds. I'm just not functioning at a high enough level to go after something I do not think will work.

In the past, I've trusted 'professionals' and taken meds (not antipsychotics), but ended up actually feeling worse, even after the recommended time period, because there was no way to solve a scary life situation, and I felt abandoned and misunderstood by those who were trained to help.

In the last couple of years, I've acted desperately a few times, including here with the help me business, but it was a plea to authorities, not people here with problems of their own.

I was/am extremely lonely. Two sides of myself were at war. I knew that if I tried to communicate with others, it would go badly, or I'd feel guilt, either for writing too much, or for putting people in danger.

I want to finally say 'over and out', but if later when I'm going over something in my head I realize I've given yet more false impressions or I've omitted relevant details and need to clarify, will I feel compelled to keep going until I feel I've reached completion? Is that a kind of OCD, or is it conscience? I can't remember the term for when
someone writes excessively. Hypergraphia. Most people I've known on a personal level know that in situations like this, it's usually not long before I stop.

For now, I will accept that I need to take up space in your space.

Hopefully, this is the last time.

Maybe I should consider channelling my thoughts into writing psychological horror/thriller stories. J/k, I know that truth can be stranger than fiction.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Here are the bits which resound with me, and I know are true because I have years of evidence from being attacked in this way in a post-separation abuse campaign, funded by an ex-partner and her associates.

I've seen a couple of documentaries in which a lone individual acquires many different accounts and types of accounts and impersonates various people the victim knows, or the victim themself and spreads false information which destroys all the relationships in a person's life. I've had someone threaten to impersonate me and spread hate in my name, and this freaks me out a lot more than insults (but I have received classic hate mail, too).

Exactly - this is cyberstalking, which is a criminal service for hire.

He didn't really take me seriously for a long time, although he said yes, he could see how certain things I was noticing could be possible, it was like he thought it unlikely anyone would have the motivation or resources.

A couple of years ago, some things happened that he couldn't dismiss, and even he was scared a couple of times. He organized and printed up the data, and I helped contribute to the timeline. The police didn't seem to think the case was high priority, although I think they took him seriously.

Yes, part of these new cyberstalking strategies are to make the victim appear crazy.

I think it's possible I have not been interfered with here because they find it enjoyable to watch me interact with more people who are their type, but also others who are suicidal or close to it.

Probably. Cyberstalkers are usually pathetic little runts who enjoy other people's pain.

This is one of the reasons I must leave here. It's fine if people think I'm delusional, paranoid, or fear-mongering.

Certainly worth considering leaving. You should restrict your social media if you're being targeted. I don't know if you're delusional or paranoid. But I DO know that this is how these scum work and protect themselves and their criminal groups. To make the victim APPEAR delusional and paranoid to authorities, who don't want to commit resources to it anyway. Police prosecute a fraction of physical stalking by a single abuser. Cyberstalking is ignored unless its corporate.

Its the perfect murder technique really. To incite suicide. Murder at arms' length.

You have to be VERY tough to put up with it. You generally lose everything first. Since I failed my suicide attempts and fought back they know what I can and will do to them. I have no limits now.

I can't remember the term for when someone writes excessively. Hypergraphia. Most people I've known on a personal level know that in situations like this, it's usually not long before I stop.

Writing excessively is just writing! Many on the spectrum do it - wall of text posts are generally autists.

As for your situation, log everything, record everything. Then the bullies and scum and cyberstalkers all reveal themselves. Then they can be reported to more effective organisations than the fucking police who do nothing to protect victims.

 

[InevitableDeath]

Here are the bits which resound with me, and I know are true because I have years of evidence from being attacked in this way in a post-separation abuse campaign, funded by an ex-partner and her associates.

Exactly - this is cyberstalking, which is a criminal service for hire.

Yes, part of these new cyberstalking strategies are to make the victim appear crazy.

Probably. Cyberstalkers are usually pathetic little runts who enjoy other people's pain.

Certainly worth considering leaving. You should restrict your social media if you're being targeted. I don't know if you're delusional or paranoid. But I DO know that this is how these scum work and protect themselves and their criminal groups. To make the victim APPEAR delusional and paranoid to authorities, who don't want to commit resources to it anyway. Police prosecute a fraction of physical stalking by a single abuser. Cyberstalking is ignored unless its corporate.

Its the perfect murder technique really. To incite suicide. Murder at arms' length.

You have to be VERY tough to put up with it. You generally lose everything first. Since I failed my suicide attempts and fought back they know what I can and will do to them. I have no limits now.

Writing excessively is just writing! Many on the spectrum do it - wall of text posts are generally autists.

As for your situation, log everything, record everything. Then the bullies and scum and cyberstalkers all reveal themselves. Then they can be reported to more effective organisations than the fucking police who do nothing to protect victims.

Got a load more of it today, here and elsewhere.
Xiaro, yeah, probably best to get off the site, its just another place these cyberstalking scum can attack their victims. I hope your situation improves. It is torture, there is zero support and death will be a fucking release. Take care.