third party skill training macro contains a trojan

[Ebodhisatva]

third party skill training macro contains a trojan
reported by CCP Wrangler | 2008.09.26 15:25:51 | NEW

A number of player have recently received an advertisement for a skill training macro, this macro is sent by Gold Harvest Macro Solutions who claims that the macro will let you create a skill training plan and have your character automatically train your skills. This macro has been tested and it contains a Trojan, so make sure you do not download any software from these people.

If you downloaded the program, make sure that you run a complete scan of your system and then change all your passwords!

http://myeve.eve-online.com/news.asp...nid=2384&tid=1

Now this dude:

http://goldharvestmacrosolutions.com/

This Trojan warning is a “false positive” virus warning that may occur while installing or using our software. This warning is caused by our programming language, Autohotkey, and is a problem with the detection of the virus scanners and not the program itself. The macro is completely safe and does not store or use your information in any way.

This warning can come in many flavors from Trojan-Spy.Win32.Agent.cya with Kasperspy or a more generic virus warning if you are using AVG. We invite you to contact your anti virus provider to receive confirmation that this is a false warning and ask that any proven cases be posted on our forums for other users to use...

Now this made me wonder, Who tells the truth and wtf is going on...

Sounds like CCP thinks this shitty since they didn't implement a skill que... On the other hand, what for is a 'bought' program for $14.99 giving me warnings that there truly are Trojans in there...

As far as I know AutoHotKey itself does not give any warnings about trojans...

[JesusJones]

This is exactly how bastards get their accounts compromised.

Of course the program maker would say that it was a false positive. He wouldn't come out and admit that it was keylogging.

Wasn't a program similar to this situation the thing that took down the Muffin factory?

[Berious]

Think I'll change skills the old fashioned way and maybe miss an hour here or there but keep my account. Thanks anyway goldharvestmacrosolutions

This is exactly how bastards get their accounts compromised.

No you don't understand they all get "hacked"

[milly]

This is exactly how bastards get their accounts compromised.

Of course the program maker would say that it was a false positive. He wouldn't come out and admit that it was keylogging.

This is in the disclaimers at the bottom of the page:

No matter how reliable the macro is, we cannot promise the safety of your account and you use this product at your own risk to other players and GM detection. Use safely.

If their macro has no routines in it to that send account details to third parties... surely they would be able to ensure the safety of the account.

Oh well!!! Me personally I blame WOW for letting people use Auto-Heal mods etc. and generally dumbing down what is needed to play games. Mind you... if only CCP would implement that skill queue.

[Otrion]

The disclaimer is because no one can guarantee you wont get banned - you could never guarantee safety.

The program does not steal any information and it certainly does not have a trojan. Beta testers and many others have already downloaded it and are using it fine. Downloadsofts.com even gave it a clean and safe seal. If you are unsure simply report the trojan warning to a virus scanner and they will confirm it is a false report. Soon enough proof will clear this situation up.

On a better note it will not skip and lose your training - it works through downtime, through disconnects or server timeouts. It will train your skills and it cannot be detected either. It also lets you login manually so your information would be IMPOSSIBLE to steal.

[BoB Spy]

On the one hand, I don't trust pretty much anything third-party to do with a game, but on the other hand, CCP seems to take a special interest in not only saying just "don't go to third-party tool sites, it could be bad...", but rather shit like this:

"OMG BUYING PLAT COULD RESULT IN ARMED GANGS BEATING DOWN YOUR DOORS AND SELLING YOUR WIFE INTO WHITE SLAVERY THEN TAKING YOUR ACCOUNT AND GIVING IT TO AL-QAEDA WHILE FUCKING NUNS IN THE ASS...AND OH YEAH, MACROS AND HELPERS SUCK TOO THEY CAUSE YOUR COMPUTER TO BECOME A THERMO-HYPER-CRYO-NUCLEAR-DICKGRENADE THAT WILL KILL MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND WILL RESULT IN THE NERFING OF GEORGE W. BUSH..."

i.e., they fucking dramatize like a political pro. Yeah yeah, buying ISKies is riskies and third-party shit is bad, we get it.

[Berious]

CCP seems to take a special interest in not only saying just "don't go to third-party tool sites, it could be bad...", but rather shit like this

To be fair there have been a few macro programs specifically targetted at Eve that had trojans in them. I'm sure CCP gets hundreds of retards petitioning their mysteriously compromised accounts each time one gets popular. Waste of time and resources but probably a guilty pleasure banning them.

[milly]

I take it from the tone and depth of your post you have something to do with the development of this so... let the bullets fly. Please feel free to shoot me down as thats something that everyone on this forum loves... people being shot down. Think of it as yet another aspect of PvP in Eve.

1.

The disclaimer is because no one can guarantee you wont get banned - you could never guarantee safety.

It will train your skills and it cannot be detected either.

Hopefully that has not paraphrased what you have said and missed the point. But how would a GM ban me if it is undetectable?

2.

It also lets you login manually so your information would be IMPOSSIBLE to steal.

Any key logger would let you login manually - surely that would be the idea of logging keys. You may well have had it tested, and I appreciate it is hard to prove a negative, but it doesn't even have to be a trojan... it could be part of the macro. It is NOT impossible to steal information from a computer just because you say so. I bet Bill Gates wishes that too.

As Berious said, people have had their fingers burnt, it's going to have to be for you to prove it - as there is not a cat in hells chance of me compromising my PC with suspect software.

Maybe you could begin by explaining why your software triggers a warning?

[Glomp]

It all just comes back to the skill queue argument.

Peeps: CCP can we have a skill queue?
CCP: No get out you will just use it to go afk for months and not play eve!
Peeps: But but but we would still have to pay you moneys to change skills.
CCP: Yes but your well formed counter argument is vetoed under some part of the EULA that says we own your arse so nerr nerrr.

Maybe they will put all the development time into solving fleet laggkhgjhgjhflgjrhnopgihk hahahahahahahaha yeah right.

[theTwilitehour]

It all just comes back to the skill queue argument.

Peeps: CCP can we have a skill queue?
CCP: No get out you will just use it to go afk for months and not play eve!
Peeps: But but but we would still have to pay you moneys to change skills.
CCP: Yes but your well formed counter argument is vetoed under some part of the EULA that says we own your arse so nerr nerrr.

Maybe they will put all the development time into solving fleet laggkhgjhgjhflgjrhnopgihk hahahahahahahaha yeah right.

I always wondered if the skill queue thing was in part a fear that people could queue skills with inactive accounts, as it is when you transfer a character your already training character keeps training, and the transferred character keeps training, I have an inactive account training 2 over 30 day skills. But it seems like it wouldn't be that hard to have a queued skill check if the account is active.

[Berious]

Unlimited skill queues would make new characters too easy to train and they have to suffer because I suffered. Also it could reduce the resale value of characters if everyone with spare training time could pump out alts effortlessly.

A 2 slot queue would be pretty nice though. But they might use it as an excuse to end unsubbed training.

[wildcat84]

Unlimited skill queues would make new characters too easy to train and they have to suffer because I suffered. Also it could reduce the resale value of characters if everyone with spare training time could pump out alts effortlessly.

A 2 slot queue would be pretty nice though. But they might use it as an excuse to end unsubbed training.

They probably would love to end unsubbed training, but can't be bothered to write something that stops skill training when sub time runs out.

What I'd like to see would be a queue that allows you to start a skill and it automatically trains until that skill is L5, if you don't stop it. This would avoid the most annoying situation, ie: starting a new skill and have to babysit a client to start L2, L3, etc, and the inconvenience of that happening whilst you are at work or can't change skills.

That situation wastes game resources as you have people logged in basically for no reason than to change skills.

Another thing I'd love to see them consider is giving us a way to increase train speed by what we do in game. It doesn't have to be a lot, but someone who is actually PLAYING the game should be able to train faster than "set skill, log out, go to sleep" in some way. Perhaps this could be tied to the kind of space you are out in, say that being undocked, in space, in a NON NOOB SHIP gives almost no bonus for highsec, a good bonus for lowsec, and a similar bonus for nullsec. Tie it to actual activity, ie: you must log kills, or log ore mined, or other measurable activity, and that sitting cloaked nullifies it.

This would serve a couple problem areas, it'd give people incentive to be active IN game and the ability to feel that what they are doing affects their rate of learning skills, AND would give people incentive to move OUT of highsec and into lowsec/0.0, since pilots who lived there would train skills significantly faster (say 10-20%).

[bobtheknob]

it'd encourage me to sit at a pos instead of logging out

[wildcat84]

it'd encourage me to sit at a pos instead of logging out

My idea of training speed bonus would require you to do something, not sit at the station logged in, nor sit in space cloaked.

And a simple queue that only continued to train the skill selected until you change it or it reaches 5 would mean LESS sitting in a station watching the timer to 1 or 2 run out to change it.

[Berious]

That'd change Eve into a skill grinding game and nullify one if it's most unique features. Never mind even if the bonus was something tiny, people would still feel they have to "grind".

[theTwilitehour]

Another thing I'd love to see them consider is giving us a way to increase train speed by what we do in game. It doesn't have to be a lot, but someone who is actually PLAYING the game should be able to train faster than "set skill, log out, go to sleep" in some way. Perhaps this could be tied to the kind of space you are out in, say that being undocked, in space, in a NON NOOB SHIP gives almost no bonus for highsec, a good bonus for lowsec, and a similar bonus for nullsec. Tie it to actual activity, ie: you must log kills, or log ore mined, or other measurable activity, and that sitting cloaked nullifies it.

They used to have something like that, people did shit like fly afk in orbit around a station to grind up nav skills. Which is exactly what i'd do, sit in a +3 implant clone in an inty probably at a deep safe 15km from a GSC whipping around in circles somewhere like D4R. You know how rarely someone roams to D4R? Its like 15 jumps from nowhere, there's other systems in Eve that empty.

Haha oh god what if you could work on gunnery/missile skills that way.. shooting lasers at a GSC from 15k away.

[NotARealName]

They used to have something like that, people did shit like fly afk in orbit around a station to grind up nav skills. Which is exactly what i'd do, sit in a +3 implant clone in an inty probably at a deep safe 15km from a GSC whipping around in circles somewhere like D4R. You know how rarely someone roams to D4R? Its like 15 jumps from nowhere, there's other systems in Eve that empty.

Haha oh god what if you could work on gunnery/missile skills that way.. shooting lasers at a GSC from 15k away.

You'd want to use a Large Audit Log can instead, it's 10mil HP versus 500k.

[Vinata]

It'd be too easily exploitable and carrier-capable characters will have their prices drop big time.