I'm unsure why this is relevant to a site like HN. People are compromised all the time. It's not news. It's not even helpful for avoiding the same mistake: the author does not tell the details of the attack and gives some pretty bad advice for avoiding "cyber hackers" (such as turning off your computer to prevent your email getting hacked).
My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
31–40 of 159 posts
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Moniker claims that they have never lost a domain. I've got several domains (over 50) registered with them and never had a problem in almost 8 years. Many of them belonged to high traffic sites that might be desirable to thieves. I also have many with Name cheap right now and haven't had a problem them either.
I use them as well and have had no issues; however just because two of us have had no issues, it's not much of a data point.
True, I'd be more interested in their actual resolution process and the steps they take to safeguard domain owners.
It works both ways though I think, the same steps they take to secure your domain are the same ones that will make it hard for you to get it back.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#33I'm unsure why this is relevant to a site like HN. People are compromised all the time. It's not news. It's not even helpful for avoiding the same mistake: the author does not tell the details of the attack and gives some pretty bad advice for avoiding "cyber hackers" (such as turning off your computer to prevent your email getting hacked).
I agree with you with the "bad advice," opinion. There's no glamour or valor with how she got her domain back. In reality...it appears from her article that she really just paid to get it back.
So I guess her suggestion is to have $30k stashed to make up for lack of security. From what I read...she's still out money, even though she did get her domain back.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#34The most unfortunate part of this story is that the site owner had to use underhanded tactics of her own to regain control of her site. She didn't get her site back by going through formal legal channels, she got it back by using tactics similar to those used by the criminal she was dealing with. Different intent and legal standing, but same methods.
It would be interesting to know what would have happened if she had instead waited for the legal methods to play out. Instead, it's a story of one trick undoing another trick.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#35I am curious: does anyone here on HN have a registrar to recommend who they know (preferably from experience) would actually be more helpful in this circumstance? Because from the sound of it, the unwillingness of the registrars (both of them) to take action here without being compelled to by a lawsuit is the root of the problem. The FBI's willingness to be helpful is nice, but doesn't solve the root problem, and as…
http://gandi.net - I have never had my domain stolen but in general Gandi.net are good people and they care about their customers.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Look at it from the GoDaddy's point of view: This woman is claiming she has rights to a domain in one of their customer's accounts. As far as they know it was legitimately transferred in by one of their paying customers. Her real issue rests with HostMonster and the ICANN dispute resolution system.
GoDaddy could seize the domain until the dispute is settled. If everyone recognized she was the previous owner, that should be enough to cause an investigation into the transfer. Not saying a claim from anyone should cause a seizure, but the legitimate previous owner should be able to dispute it for a time period. Domains are stolen all the damn time.
I worked in webhosting for nearly a decade so I'm quite familiar with the volume of fraud and stolen domains. But to play the devils advocate how would you feel if somebody claimed a domain you own was stolen just to freeze your account and waste your time. You'd be furious at GoDaddy for freezing your account over a fictitious claim.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#37I am curious: does anyone here on HN have a registrar to recommend who they know (preferably from experience) would actually be more helpful in this circumstance? Because from the sound of it, the unwillingness of the registrars (both of them) to take action here without being compelled to by a lawsuit is the root of the problem. The FBI's willingness to be helpful is nice, but doesn't solve the root problem, and as…
Look at it from the GoDaddy's point of view: This woman is claiming she has rights to a domain in one of their customer's accounts. As far as they know it was legitimately transferred in by one of their paying customers. Her real issue rests with HostMonster and the ICANN dispute resolution system.
The business goals of GoDaddy preclude them from giving a shit because they can't hire enough people to support issues like this.
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#38I am curious: does anyone here on HN have a registrar to recommend who they know (preferably from experience) would actually be more helpful in this circumstance? Because from the sound of it, the unwillingness of the registrars (both of them) to take action here without being compelled to by a lawsuit is the root of the problem. The FBI's willingness to be helpful is nice, but doesn't solve the root problem, and as…
Domeny.tv (http://www.domeny.tv/en) protects its login via 2FA: http://www.domeny.tv/en/two-factor-authentication
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#39Is there any domain register that offers 2 factor authentication to make changes that are detrimental to a site? I have Network Solutions, KVC Hosting, and have tried 1and1, but all of them...from a security standpoint...are lackadaisical when it comes to security. Network solutions WANTS their clients to bundle userid's into 1 account...that makes it easy. KVC, I emailed them to update my domain contact info, then I…
Namecheap.com uses 2FA.
http://community.namecheap.com/blog/2013/10/08/two-factor-au...
Re: My website was stolen by a hacker and I got it back
#40I'm unsure why this is relevant to a site like HN. People are compromised all the time. It's not news. It's not even helpful for avoiding the same mistake: the author does not tell the details of the attack and gives some pretty bad advice for avoiding "cyber hackers" (such as turning off your computer to prevent your email getting hacked).
I agree with you with the "bad advice," opinion. There's no glamour or valor with how she got her domain back. In reality...it appears from her article that she really just paid to get it back. So I guess her suggestion is to have $30k stashed to make up for lack of security. From what I read...she's still out money, even though she did get her domain back.
She retained the money.
And then I called the wire transfer company and placed a stop on the payment.
It's unclear to me how this works. At first, it seems as though she and Anthony pursued this action independently, which would seem quite risky: risk of the apparently-fraudulent stop payment not being processed in time, or at all, resulting in the loss of 30k; risk of legal action from the seller, however seemingly ridiculous and unlikely, is scary. Later it sounds like maybe this was done with the FBI's blessing (point 5 under "Here's what to do").