5 ms·

Hacker Steals MakeUseOf.com Domain, Blackmails Owner

16 points by loowee 18y ago

huhtenberg 18y ago
It would've been very impressive if this incident were a staged PR stunt.
- thenextweb 18y ago
  Don't think it is and it would be a major PR fiasco if that turned out to be true...
- ashleyw 18y ago
  Maybe, but it could turn into a nightmare with search engines, I don't think they'd risk that. Hope they get the domain back, people like the guy who hijacked it makes me sick.
PStamatiou 18y ago
Changing my gmail password right now.. k thanks.
jrockway 18y ago
I think I would pay the $2000. With hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue on the line, it seems like a good investment. Plus, once the hacker cashes the check, he is that much easier to trace.
- PStamatiou 18y ago
  he probably wouldn't want a check.. likely they want a western union wire or something.
  - Hexstream 18y ago
    Actually he very well might prefer a check... http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/news08.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/news08.html
- olefoo 18y ago
  Giving in on something like this means you will be victimised again later on. Once you start paying the danegeld it's hard to get rid of the dane.
  - jrockway 18y ago
    The idea is to make it easy for this guy to be arrested, not to make a habit of sending random people money. I don't buy things advertised in spam, but I keep getting it anyway. This sort of scam is like spam. It is easy to perpetrate the scam and hard to be penalized for it, so it isn't going to go away. Send a few emails and you have a chance of someone mailing you $2000 and probably not getting caught. Not a bad deal for the criminal.
    - Hexstream 18y ago
      "it isn't going to go away" With people like you who give in swiftly, no, it isn't going to go away.
      - loowee 18y ago
        I agree with you HexStream.
  - Hexstream 18y ago
    It also mean "I" will be victimised (whether or not I give in).
- alex_c 18y ago
  How would you know you'll actually get the domain back if you pay the $2000? I doubt the hacker would be willing to use escrow or anything like that.
- jrockway 18y ago
  Wow, is this Reddit. I like how I am being downmodded for posting something that people disagree with. I will keep my thoughts to myself in the future.
paul9290 18y ago
That sucks... it seems if you are featured on their great site it funnels to larger tech sites. HOpe they get everything straighten out. A PR stunt ...anything is possible..maybe, but I doubt it!
jws 18y ago
This is not blackmail. Blackmail is when the villain demands money to refrain from releasing injurious or compromising injurious information. This is better described as stealing and ransoming the domain name. If it becomes popular, then perhaps we can coin the term "namenapping". But it isn't blackmail. (Well… arguably the revelation that they use GoDaddy as their registrar is pretty embarassing, but that was public information already.)
- jamesbritt 18y ago
  "This is not blackmail. " Nor are the people involved hackers, "Criminals" would be correct.

16 points by loowee 18y ago

huhtenberg 18y ago

It would've been very impressive if this incident were a staged PR stunt.

thenextweb 18y ago
Don't think it is and it would be a major PR fiasco if that turned out to be true...
ashleyw 18y ago
Maybe, but it could turn into a nightmare with search engines, I don't think they'd risk that. Hope they get the domain back, people like the guy who hijacked it makes me sick.

PStamatiou 18y ago

Changing my gmail password right now.. k thanks.

jrockway 18y ago

I think I would pay the $2000. With hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue on the line, it seems like a good investment. Plus, once the hacker cashes the check, he is that much easier to trace.

PStamatiou 18y ago
he probably wouldn't want a check.. likely they want a western union wire or something.
- Hexstream 18y ago
  Actually he very well might prefer a check... http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/news08.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/news08.html
olefoo 18y ago
Giving in on something like this means you will be victimised again later on. Once you start paying the danegeld it's hard to get rid of the dane.
- jrockway 18y ago
  The idea is to make it easy for this guy to be arrested, not to make a habit of sending random people money. I don't buy things advertised in spam, but I keep getting it anyway. This sort of scam is like spam. It is easy to perpetrate the scam and hard to be penalized for it, so it isn't going to go away. Send a few emails and you have a chance of someone mailing you $2000 and probably not getting caught. Not a bad deal for the criminal.
  - Hexstream 18y ago
    "it isn't going to go away" With people like you who give in swiftly, no, it isn't going to go away.
    - loowee 18y ago
      I agree with you HexStream.
- Hexstream 18y ago
  It also mean "I" will be victimised (whether or not I give in).
alex_c 18y ago
How would you know you'll actually get the domain back if you pay the $2000? I doubt the hacker would be willing to use escrow or anything like that.
jrockway 18y ago
Wow, is this Reddit. I like how I am being downmodded for posting something that people disagree with. I will keep my thoughts to myself in the future.

paul9290 18y ago

That sucks... it seems if you are featured on their great site it funnels to larger tech sites. HOpe they get everything straighten out. A PR stunt ...anything is possible..maybe, but I doubt it!

jws 18y ago

This is not blackmail. Blackmail is when the villain demands money to refrain from releasing injurious or compromising injurious information. This is better described as stealing and ransoming the domain name. If it becomes popular, then perhaps we can coin the term "namenapping". But it isn't blackmail. (Well… arguably the revelation that they use GoDaddy as their registrar is pretty embarassing, but that was public information already.)

jamesbritt 18y ago
"This is not blackmail. " Nor are the people involved hackers, "Criminals" would be correct.