Curse

licania · Jan 21, 2007, 09:56 PM // 21:56

hi just want to know if anyone has had this problem
I have been on Guild Wars all after noon and i very quickly logged out to change over to another character and when i got in 4 of my characters were gone

still had 4/8 but 4 had tottaly vanished so i logged in 1 of my characters and all my money is still there and my ecto's they noway i could of been hacked while ingame so this has to be a bug by arena net but they said they cant restore anything lost and sent numerouse reason how i could get hacked after reading through them i found nothing on how i could of been hacked i scan daily and only use this site to get info on items and i dont use any download programes at all.

Would like to hear if anyone else have had this problem and what can i do about it if it doesnt fix itself.

Smile Like Umean It · Jan 21, 2007, 10:52 PM // 22:52

Wow...
That more than sucks.
I have seen a couple threads about this happening to other people for one of their chars, but never four.
And to make matters worse for you, I haven't heard one story where they were able to get their char or anything on the char back.
I'm really sorry.

Free Runner · Jan 21, 2007, 11:01 PM // 23:01

This is a serious bug. To have 1 character deleted is bad enough. But 4?!. I have seen various reports about people characters suddenly vanishing and its getting me uneasy

Andyke · Jan 21, 2007, 11:46 PM // 23:46

Yeah I have heard of people loosing characters but there gold and ecto's were still in there vault, doesn't really looked like being hacked because thats the first thing I would visit if I was a hacker.

But then I guess Areanet would never admit to a bug that causes this ...

licania · Jan 22, 2007, 01:11 AM // 01:11

well emails recieved so far arnt looking good they just telling me how i can change my password and telling me how its possible to be hacked

but this had to be a bug it happend while i was playing the game

Andyke · Jan 22, 2007, 09:22 AM // 09:22

Sounds like Areanet has its support service located at Microsoft, they are also good at ignoring what the 'CUSTOMER' is writing!

Yeah I think sometimes Areanet forgets that we all are customers!

licania · Jan 24, 2007, 05:12 PM // 17:12

look at the times lol

Thank you for contacting Guild Wars Support. After further investigation, It is possible for characters to be deleted from your account whilst you are logged in on a character. The logs below show that a second person logged into your account and deleted 4 characters from your account.
Unfortunately we are unable to recover any characters lost in this manner. We would suggest that you change your Guild Wars account password to ensure that you do not encounter this issue in the future.

Timestamp Type Character Name Previous Name
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Uk M (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Dragon (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Licania Uk (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Uk (N/A)

Lonesamurai · Jan 24, 2007, 05:29 PM // 17:29

Ok, I'm a little disturbed by this...

ANet is honestly saying that it IS possible for someone to log in as you are actually playing and change your details???

ANet, deal with this NOW!

Andyke · Jan 24, 2007, 08:03 PM // 20:03

Actually I would ask Anet how it is possible to delete 4 characters at the same time, its simply impossible because you have to type the char name that you wishes to delete! So why does this logfile show that the 4 chars are deleted at exactly the same moment?

So my guess this is a bug in the game that might happen to all of us one day or another and all they will try to make us believe is that we are been hacked?

Barrett · Jan 24, 2007, 08:26 PM // 20:26

probly is some dumb a-net bug highly doubt would admit to it
4chars all delelted same time is v odd unless your super fast typer :P
and they are talking alot of C**p 1person can log onto a account at once
ive bought account with ingame money once when i didnt know much bout game the account was bein used by more then me everytime some1 else logged on booted me out also freinds list cudnt show 2chars logged on at once could it
all i say to anet is stop talkin c**p and get those chars restored!

Nextonex · Jan 24, 2007, 08:59 PM // 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by licania

look at the times lol

Thank you for contacting Guild Wars Support. After further investigation, It is possible for characters to be deleted from your account whilst you are logged in on a character. The logs below show that a second person logged into your account and deleted 4 characters from your account.
Unfortunately we are unable to recover any characters lost in this manner. We would suggest that you change your Guild Wars account password to ensure that you do not encounter this issue in the future.

Timestamp Type Character Name Previous Name
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Uk M (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Dragon (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Licania Uk (N/A)
2007-01-21 19:36:42.000 Delete Lic Uk (N/A)

This is without a doubt a bug of some sort. I would reply and ask them how you can delete 4 characters in less than 1 second (the log may only update once a second, that's why the .000).

They actually gave you the evidance that proves them wrong. Ask to be escalated to their managment.

licania · Jan 25, 2007, 10:44 PM // 22:44

this is also an email recieved from them on behalf of this matter they is 1 more what i will post up shortly.
Thank you for contacting Guild Wars Support. As we have advised previously, it would appear that your account was either accessed by someone who you have given your details to or it has been comprimised.

So, if you think you may have been comprimised you should take several steps to remedy the situation:

1) First get some sort of current anti-virus software and scan your system for virus and key-loggers.
2) Change all the passwords for accounts your may have accessed after installing any 3rd party software. This would include your Guild Wars account, email addresses, forums accounts, etc.
3) We also highly recommend you take a look at this Security FAQ that includes more information regarding keeping your Guild Wars account secure: http://support.guildwars.com/cgi-bin...hp?p_faqid=993

As far as items, characters, or gold that were lost due to your account being hacked, we are unable to replace any of those things. We highly recommend following the above steps to avoid such an inconvenience.

We will be unable to reply to you on this matter any further.

Kuldebar Valiturus · Jan 25, 2007, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Character bug? That's a tad bit presumptuous, eh?

Key logger activity explains the outcome. Blaming it on a "bug" and dumping on ANet solve nothing.

The time stamps could be explained by the polling rate/method of the deletion log activity.

It truly is a crappy situation, but I would get your PC scanned immediately.

-Virus
-Malware/Spyware/Adware
-Firewall

EDIT: running one program for the purpose of catching malware is usually unreliable. A layered approach is best. Also, these programs must be updated regularly to be effective.

The are many free and exceptional programs to use:

http://www.filehippo.com/

http://www.ccleaner.com/

My point is...run a scan and let us know if your pC comes up clean. Especially, before we start blaming ANet.

Additionally, consider that malware isn't the only way an account can be compromised.

And, lastly, consider the reasons that ANet might have coded their program to allow for another login.

licania · Jan 26, 2007, 12:04 AM // 00:04

My PC is clean and i dont just 1 programe when scanning either and i dont use 3rd party programes and dont DL from this PC. and the other email i still have yet to add states it was my IP that was responsible for it

licania · Jan 26, 2007, 12:21 AM // 00:21

last email to add now.
Thank you for contacting Guild Wars Support. After further investigation, we have not been able to find any problems with your account and there are no bugs relating to losing characters. It is not possible for characters to be deleted from your account whilst you are logged in on a character and if a second connection is made on the account, the person logged in will be disconnected.
Unfortunately we are unable to recover any characters lost due to accidental deletion from your own IP address. We would suggest that you change your Guild Wars account password to ensure there are no security issues existing due to any account sharing problems.
We are now regarding this matter closed.

Kuldebar Valiturus · Jan 26, 2007, 12:28 AM // 00:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by licania

My PC is clean and i dont just 1 programe when scanning either and i dont use 3rd party programes and dont DL from this PC. and the other email i still have yet to add states it was my IP that was responsible for it

Yet, your characters were deleted.

Let's consider what is more likely:

A. ANet has a "BUG" that deletes multiple characters and logs the information as a player driven deletion.

B. Your account was compromised and a malicious script/malware program that spoofs your IP (or simply runs from your own PC) deletes your characters.

C. Someone has your Username and Password and performed the deletion from your PC, no mal-ware required.

licania · Jan 26, 2007, 12:48 AM // 00:48

im going with A cause ive done the scans and my PC is clean if it was a hacker why would they leave 4 characters and leave my storage stuff also? and for C nobody knows the email i use for GW its only used only for this game and nobody knows my password i trust people but thats personal and should never be given at all.

Nextonex · Jan 26, 2007, 02:42 AM // 02:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuldebar Valiturus

Yet, your characters were deleted.

Let's consider what is more likely:

A. ANet has a "BUG" that deletes multiple characters and logs the information as a player driven deletion.

B. Your account was compromised and a malicious script/malware program that spoofs your IP (or simply runs from your own PC) deletes your characters.

C. Someone has your Username and Password and performed the deletion from your PC, no mal-ware required.

B and C are also out. even if the character deletes were done with a script, the server still has to process each of the 4 delete requests, I don't see how it's possible to delete 4 characters in 1 second especally since you have to type the full character name in before each delete. The delete's had to have been done server side.

Kuldebar Valiturus · Jan 26, 2007, 03:06 AM // 03:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nextonex

B and C are also out. even if the character deletes were done with a script, the server still has to process each of the 4 delete requests, I don't see how it's possible to delete 4 characters in 1 second especally since you have to type the full character name in before each delete. The delete's had to have been done server side.

If log entries are only appended every 30-60 seconds then this is not a factor.

licania · Jan 26, 2007, 03:54 AM // 03:54

if that were the case kuld then surely they would choose 0 seconds and then 30 seconds within the minuits and not 42 seconds =/