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Quick find code: 49-50-687-65554458

The It King
Feb Member 2023

The It King

Posts: 1,116 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The following is an account of my being hacked that I wrote last week for a college course. The essay prompt was regarding computer interactions. And although I've long since quit Runescape (despite having almost a year of gameplay), I thought someone might enjoy reading this -- so I'm posting it here.
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I rush home from school, dive for my bed, and open my laptop. As I log in, I am teleported to the land of Runescape: a land of wizards and warlocks, demons and dragons, spells and swords – a land of crowns and kings. It was a massive multiplayer online role-playing game with millions of players. Back on Earth I was Nathan, a mild-mannered sophomore in high school with an acne problem. In Runescape, I was the Hero of Gielinor. I slayed the dreaded dragon Elvarg in the pits of Crandor, settled the feud between the Moonclan and the Fremennik, and unlocked the secrets of an ancient magic. I was a knight of the Saradomin Temple of Falador, a warrior of the Dwarven Black Guard, and an agent of the Gnomish Elite 10th squad. I braved the evil swamps of Morytania to the east, the desolate unlawfulness of the Wilderness to the north, the unforgiving Kharidian Desert to the south, and the mysterious and untamed elven lands to the west. In short, I was someone with value and it felt more real than real life. To quote Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” While I had amassed a wealth in rare items that most players had only dreamed of, that wealth struck greed and envy into the hearts of others. And as I would soon learn, when consumed by greed there is no atrocity to which a man is incapable.

15-Jan-2015 07:30:14

The It King
Feb Member 2023

The It King

Posts: 1,116 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The day started like any other; there was a slight chill to the air as I powered up my computer and typed my Runescape username and P***word. Something sat in the back of my mind that made me uneasy, but I couldn’t quite place it. Then I remembered: I had been tricked into visiting a suspicious website the previous day and felt that there was some great evil at work. I opened up my anti-virus and deftly used a different computer to change my P***word. The anti-virus scan seemingly confirmed my initial suspicion as nothing more than paranoia and so I continued on with my day as normal. The next day seemed equally commonplace; that was, until I tried to login. “Incorrect Username/P***word” was plastered on my screen. “Must have been a typo” I quietly assured myself. I typed it again, only to be met with “Incorrect Username/P***word.” Sweat gathered at the tip of my brow and my fingers fumbled to retype my P***word “Incorrect…” Again, I typed – until I was met with “Login attempts exceeded, retry in 5 minutes.” Someone had locked me out of my own account.
I was petrified with terror. It was as if Atlas had abandoned his post and my world had crashed against the pillars of creation, toppling them to be forever consumed by the waves of eternity. My mind had shut down in a fit of self-preservation. For at least fifteen minutes I sat in that palsied state. A faint wheeze escaped my larynx and resonated through my lips, the only semblance of a scream I could muster. After continuing on like that for, perhaps, and eternity -- I began to recapture control of my motor functions. Slowly, and with purpose, I regained what composure was feasible and I knew what I had to do.

15-Jan-2015 07:30:54 - Last edited on 15-Jan-2015 07:32:40 by The It King

The It King
Feb Member 2023

The It King

Posts: 1,116 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Resolved to recover my account before unsustainable damage had occurred to it, I gracefully maneuvered the keyboard and mouse to the account recovery page. As I pleaded an appeal to the game moderators, I answered my security questions and filled out my account details. After all was said and done, all I could do was wait. Refresh the page. Wait. Refresh the page. Wait. *What could be taking so long?” I solemnly reflected that with each passing moment, my hopes of recovery were dwindling. So, with a blind apprehension: not unlike that of a baby bird left alone in the nest, I awaited something -- anything. After an hour or so of that terrible unknowing, I received a response. It read simply, “Your account recovery appeal has been granted.” With an impressive swiftness that stood in perfect juxtaposition to the stone-like grief I had previously been subject to, I re-opened the game menu and typed in my new P***word Somewhere in the universe there existed a solitary rogue star, a beacon of light in an otherwise lightless void – the remnants of my hope. The game took unusually long loading. My in-game bank account was empty; the star died, I had nothing.

15-Jan-2015 07:31:19 - Last edited on 15-Jan-2015 07:33:21 by The It King

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