I’ve received this message a few times so far in my short Facebook life – so I thought I’d write about it. Deep breath now:
if somebody called bm_toon7@hotmail.com adds you to their facebook account/invites you to be their friend DON’T accept it because it’s a hacker. Tell everyone on your list because if somebody on yours adds them, you get them on your list and he’l figure out your ID computer addesss. So copy and paste this message to everyone even if you don’t like them and fast..because if he hacks their mail, he hacks yours
If one more person sends me this horse shit I’m going to be the one in their inbox hacking their mail!
Seriously, just look at the facts for a second:
- It’s a hotmail address so you can’t check if it _actually_ belongs to someone
- You don’t get “Friends of Friends” stuff on your profile otherwise it would be rammed full of bits of other peoples frankly worthless lives and statuses (John is angry)
- “he’l figure out your ID computer addesss” My WHAT?, what? w-h-a-t! My computer ID address, which (yes I do mean which) mentally inept son of a bitch thought that up? What the fuck is a computer ID?
- It can’t be my [MAC address] cos that’s useless unless you live next door and want to get in to my wireless network
- It can’t be my IP address because despite being sticky it’s still going to change and it’s more than likely not my IP because it’s been [NAT’ed]
- “if he hacks their mail, he hacks yours” Oh. My. God. So if Dave gets hacked and he’s using Hotmail, and Dave is my friend, he can hack my mail even though I’m using [Hushmail]. No. Just no. Brains in gear people, BRAINS IN GEAR!
Right I think I’ve calmed down a bit now. Thanks for reading, and remember, if it sounds like shit (I’m not sure what noise shit makes but you’ll know it when you hear it) it most certainly is.
Trace the IP:
IP Address Locator
???? Trace the IP? Maybe I should have added a bit explaining that even doing that is pointless. If your Windows computer already has ports open then there’s a 100% chance it’s already been compromised by a botnet anyways.
On a slightly different note the trace ip tool is wrong by about 50 miles.
I think there are problems differentiating between what computers can do in films and what computers can do in real life.
John – I just read these sorts of messages, laugh out loud for a few seconds, then get on with my life. I have enough real computer security/maintenance based hassles without worrying about the frankly impossible ones.
PS the brilliant “IP address locator” says I work in High Wycombe (40 miles out) and I live in the Yorkshire Dales (150 miles out) – very accurate!
lol
Every PC have a computer ID. Windows use it when checking your rights when installing OS. The ID is in your motherborad i your PC-box
OK lets go through this bit by bit:
“Every PC have a computer ID” – No. no no no. No.
“Windows use it when checking your rights when installing OS” – No. They create a hash from all the serial numbers from parts of your machine to create a unique key so that you can’t install using the same windows key on a different machine. If you change too much hardware Windows thinks you’ve stolen it :(
“The ID is in your motherborad i your PC-box” – No, like I said before, it’s a hash of component serial numbers.
In general I think you’re talking about the much maligned Windows Genuine Advantage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage). But I see no advantage to getting this info or how Facebook is related to it. Facebook doesn’t use WGA or make you install an ActiveX control to access it.
i appreciate your having your brain in gear. i received the aforementioned warning on my facebook wall and checked it out before reacting. do you know that googling the supposed hacker’s email address returns exactly one hit — yours?
well done!
Wooo!! \o/
Thanks Stuart for your kind words – I seem to have found the ultimate niche market :D
Who wants to touch me?
Ha! That’s how I found my way here, too! Whenever I get chain mail (virus hoaxes, free stuff hoaxes, UL hoaxes whatever) I do a check, usually find something (disclaimers from companies said to hand out free stuff for example), write something short sweet and stern about it, and send it off to everyone who received the chain mail along with me (people who send chain mails usually don’t use blind copy, do they?). This time, just one hit on Google :)
Maybe it’s time to start another Facebook Group to keep up the Fight Against Grown-ups Not Using Their Brains. Or a cause..
One reason that only ths blog comes up when you Google the email address is there’s quite a few variations in spellings in the various messages. Try bm_tnoo7 and you’ll get quite a few.
Thanks. I, too, found your entry when checking after reading it on my daughter’s Facebook messages. It sounded unlikely and I’d already posted that it reads like a variation on the chain-letter spam we used to get on email.
Nice work team – keep up the good fight for thinking before acting!
Thank you.
I rest my case.
“do you know that googling the supposed hacker’s email address returns exactly one hit — yours?” (STUART)
Sorry to say that you have moved down to 2nd now ! Still not bad, though, especially as there are quite a few other hits returned now, so it’s getting crowded out there. A YAHOO ANSWER is the number 1 hit but maybe that’s no surprise…
Anyway, thanks for the info and for the explanations yuu have given to others above.
By the way, I forgot to say that I have just received the bm_toon7@hotmail.com email today, via FACEBOOK.
And I received the other one this week warning me about the ‘Osama captured/Olympic Flame’ email.
Still plenty of numpties out there…
SECOND!? CURSES! You’re welcome for the info, though I really can’t believe anyone takes that Osama message seriously – lol :)