Will Gummies be our downfall?

with contributions from [VE]ςђєzкιє♡

Lately, some Pico players have an abnormal a mount of Gummies. Very high amounts. They can buy all gummy items they want! It's nice to have a lot of Gummies that didn't come from cheating, isn't it?

Some people get millions of Gummies through cheating. Of course, they're very happy .... but they don't know that they might be banned.

Some  users with huge amounts of Gummies are so happy that they are taking photos of their balances to post to Facebook.

When I go to the GM Games areas I see long lines forming at the game stations. It's nice to see ... but not so nice to our Pico accounts. For more reason than one: if you lose or if the game makes you the victim of a hacker.

I assume that a lot of hackers entered Pico this year ... because hacking activity seems to be on the rise. More innocent Pico players are falling victim.

Some hackers have made a home in the new GM Games area. The hackers approach you in GM Games and say they will give you one-million to one-billion Gummies through game play. This is when they make their move. Somehow, they can give you a negative (-) amount of Gummies ... or a huge amount. Either way, this can draw the attention of Pico's community managers ... and you could get banned.

So dont play with strangers. Be careful. If you have an "abnormal" amount of Gummies you'll be in big trouble.

Much ado about hacking by Benry

Written by:


Okay, so everyone is paranoid lately, talking about hackers "stealing" favorites and clothes.

So, let's make this clear:
There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY a person can "steal" anything from you on Ameba Pico.

The only way to do that would be accessing Ameba Pico's server and stealing the information from the database, and then decrypting it and then ... well ... that's what a real hacker would do and real hackers don't waste their time with games like Ameba Pico.

Besides, a game like Ameba Pico is already protected against these kind of attacks.
The problem with the loss of favorites and the items is a bug. What's a bug? I'll quote Wikipedia:

"... the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways."

So, it's an error in the game, that hopefully they're working on fixing.

Did you lose any items? Just report the problem and I'm sure that you'll get them back.

Some people have been locking their rooms trying to prevent attacks from the imaginary hackers. Let's be realistic, a real hacker would find a way to get in your room anyway. And it doesn't even make sense that the hacker needs to be in your room to steal your stuff in the first place.

The Truth About Hacking
So, can someone steal your account? Of course they can! But in Ameba Pico, "hacked" is just a fancy word for "I'm an idiot; I gave my account information away."

What are the most common ways to steal your account?

• Confidence tricks. The trickster will deceive you into willingly giving out your account information. To get into your account they may tell you that they'll put AmbebaGold into your account, for example, or by giving you some other too-good-to-be-true story.
• Phishing scams. You will get a fake message, an email, or an URL for a fake website that will require you to to respond by providing your Pico account information. The message might say that your account will be banned, or that you'll get free AmebaGold and a magic panda. Most phishing websites make you fill a form with your account information, and then your account information will be sent to the perpetrator's email address and they will have all the information needed to log in as you and take over your account.
• Keylogger "spyware" software. It's a stealthy method of capturing and recording computer users' keystrokes, including sensitive passwords (and sometimes it even takes snapshots of your screen) and emails that information to the spyware owner. A keylogger must be installed by anyone who has an access to your computer or it can be attached to a virus from a file you download.

Protect Yourself With Common Sense
So, how can you prevent people "stealing" your account? Well, change your password every now and then.

If someone asks you for your password, don't be that stupid.

Did Chloe send you an email asking for your account information to give you a free pony? Ameba Pico will NEVER ask for your account information.

As for keyloggers. Just get a good anti-virus software for protection, turn your firewall on, and you'll be safe!

Sick of the Virus Talk
I have also heard some people saying that they got a virus playing Ameba Pico. Viruses are most often passed through files that a person downloads, which are corrupted. Flash games, like Ameba Pico do not download anything to your computer. Unless you're downloading files, and running/opening them on your computer you are not going to get a virus from playing the game.

You can, however, get a virus by clicking into someone's URL and downloading something (and you can also end up seeing some ... pretty nasty stuff). But again, if you have an antivirus software program, you're safe (just not from the nasty stuff people put in their URLs so if you don't recognize and URL don't open it).

The Final Word
So again, there are no hackers. You can't prevent the loss of favorites or items; let's just hope that Ameba Pico fixes that soon. If you don't want to lose your account, just follow my advice: keep your login information safe and private.

Want more of Benry's brutal honesty?
Follow Benry on Facebook.

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Many thanks to Benry for bringing some clarity to this situation, and to "hyoori" for alerting us to Benry's Facebook thread in which he discusses the truths and untruths about hacking in Pico.

Hacker Alert: Protect your fancy rooms and clothes

This week there has been much buzz (and rumor) about Pico hackers.

In one case, someone has, apparently, been cracking into the Hot 30 room list and manipulating the Favorite numbers - clearing the Favorite numbers of the top rooms to zero, zilch, nil, nada. Obviously, this has ticked people off. Many of the top Hot 30 rooms are now locked.



The second more insidious instance of whispered hacking can potentially affect more people. There's much talk about a Pico who is hacking rooms and accounts. Rumor has it that the person has the ability to somehow steal the Decor items set out in your room by simply entering your room. Scary, isn't it? It's also been said that the person can steal your clothing items by getting close to your Pico character.

How much if this is true and how much isn't, we are unsure, but we hope that you stay safe.

Over on her blog, Coffee Toffee suspects she knows who the hacker may be. Wanna know? Read more »

To keep yourself form being hacked, Coffee Toffee suggests that you:

• Lock your room
• Wear your newb Pico clothes that you wore when you first entered Pico
• Do not tell anyone your email or password for your Pico account login

Hey, why not just get free and natural? Get down to your unmentionables!

We've also heard some speculation (from Ora18) that the March 10 server maintenance will bump up security so that this type of hacking can no longer happen ... and possibly to sniff out hacking activity to reveal and ban the hacker.

What's fact and what's fiction? We don't know. But sacrificing a couple hours worth of props and getting back to clothing basics is no skin off your nose, as they say.

Ultimately, if you have 100% proof of this hacker or any other hacker - for example, the person directly tells you that they are the hacker and how they are doing it - report them to the Ameba Pico administrators using this handy form.

Keep safe.

Sincerely,
The Picostyle Team

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This has been cross-posted with permission at Pico Perfect.

How-to: prevent your Pico from being hacked

Lately I've heard many instances of hackers taking over popular Pico accounts and mucking with their stuff. Sometimes the hackers are generous and just mess up rooms, but most of them go as far as deleting inventory and changing passwords so that the owner can't log back into their Pico.

Yes, it's a sad world we live in. And unfortunately, Ameba can't do much to help you once it's happened. Why do hackers do it? Jealousy, spite, true evil, boredom... any reason really. Better to make it harder for them!

Don't let a horror story happen to you.

1. Never tell anyone your email login address or password.

You may trust the person you're giving it to, but you can't be sure that they aren't going to give it to someone else. Things spread fast around the internet, people!

2. Make your password secure.

Yes, it's hard to remember passwords; we have to remember SO MANY of them! But that's NO EXCUSE to make your password "abc123." Anyone can guess that and your account will surely be compromised. The strongest password will contain both capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers and can be as long as 15 characters long. For example:

ThisIsMyPassword8512635

(Don't use that one, okay? It's not mine, either! LOL)

3. Change your password (or e-mail address) frequently.

It's not a bad idea to swap out your password every few months or so. Lots of businesses that keep confidential information require users to change their passwords every 60 to 90 days in case of compromise. If you want EXTREME security, you can also change the affiliated e-mail address to your account.

4. Make friends you can trust.

This one is obvious, but just avoid shifty people. Don't let anyone trick you into doing something you don't want to.

If you've been hacked, contact Ameba immediately. The least they can do is give you access to your account again. (Maybe...)

Love,

Ayuhime xoxo