Okay...I was working in Poser this morning. Closed it down. Then came over here. I do not have a firewall. I signed off Renderosity..went to open my Poser...GONE...DID a search...GONE. I did a system restore and didn't lose anything. But, my question is this..please don't think I am dumb to ask this....Is it possible for someone to "sneak" into my machine while I am online and either take, or erase a program? I hear so much about Warez, here and all that maybe I am just being paranoid. If I am....can someone tell me how my Poser could just disappear? I had not done a system cleanup, or even emptied my recycle bin. (I am so hoping it is some little glitch, cause paranoia is not fun.)

Is it possible for someone to "sneak" into my machine while I am online and either take, or erase a program?<<< Is it possible? Not only is it possible, but it is relatively easy. Now I am not saying that is what happened to your Poser. I am only answering the above question. DO NOT USE THE INTERNET WITHOUT A.) AN ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM AND B.) A FIREWALL. I am sure that there were those who were insulted by an earlier post I made. For those that did not have a chance to get their knickers in an uproar, I will repeat it. If you use the Internet and you do not use a firewall, you are either a fool or a sociopath... maybe both. The sad part is that after tests by some very tough people, one of the very best firewalls out there is free - Zonealarm. Get it.

Restart your computer?? May want to clear out your temp files and cache first though, then get back here and see what happens?? I have never heard of this ever, um, I have had poser burn out before, but the patch fixed this, but never where it disappears?? Let us know what happens please? (may want to see if it got "moved" elsewhere accidently?)

casamerica, I am not disputing at all what your saying cause I do have both a firewall and viruscan but this sounds kind of like an incredible feat? It would take a loooong time to "steal" this size a program, no? And how would they possibly do this?? I just can't see it at all somehow??

But nevertheless, casamerica is correct, get some protection, fast, for soooo many, many reasons!!

I can sympathize, Poppi. Windoze eats my Word Perfect on a regular basis. I'm constantly re-installing that one. sigh Darned if I know WHY it does that, though. Always has. For a while it was almost a weekly thing. Now it's down to once every few months. Kate (who does NOT understand these new software nutrition requirements)

Thanks guys. I do have the latest in antivirus. This machine is 3 weeks old and has been running just fine. For the life of me I cannot figure out where my Poser went. Will see about getting a firewall a.s.a.p. Casamerica...I appreciate your input. How could a person, if this indeed did happen, make my Poser go away? Also, do they now possess all that was my own, orginal stuff? Now, see, I am just not liking this one little bit. Rad...what you said...I already did that when my Poser disappeared. I did search for it as well. It was just gone...:*(. I guess it was somewhere, though, cause system restore worked on it.

Oh, oh, sounds like a windows thingy, them's bad! :(

On a T1 it wouldn't take too long to copy but but its real short time to just erase it all. Crackers do a lot of shitty things to people's computers. Have you actually done a file search for poser.exe? It could be the shortcut got erased. I've done stuff where I've accidently dragged my shortcut off my desktop and into a folder. Go get a virus scanner and run it. This maybe a virus. I had a virus once that tried to write documents but it chewed up so much resources and was so slow it was unusable. Oh wait, that was MS Word. Never mind. Running a system now a days without some protection is like running butt cheeks backward through a prison. Also, look under your file and print sharing settings. TURN THOSE OFF! Having them on gives anyone who can gain access to your machine instant rights and you don't need them on unless you run a local network. Also check what workgroup you belong to. Change it to anything (preferably something random like your cat's name) except WORKGROUP. You can buy Blackice defender and pcinsullin for like $60 combined. RADART, I've even seen Crackers take snap shots of victim's screens. Theres a site where they post them like trophies. They can hack into ICQ, Yahoo messenger, definitly AOL and MS Back Office affectionatly coined MS Back Orifice. Here's all they have to do: 1. Hit your machine with a port TCP IP probe. Basically request to get on with the standard WORKGROUP. This is fairly easy since all they need is your IP address. 2. If they can establish an IP connection the next thing is to find an open port. These ports are all documented for windows. MS Back Office opens a lot of these to general access as well as the file and print sharing. AOL opens even more. 3. Once they gain a port access they can then try and login as a user. Guess how many people have dorky passwords for their Admin? 4. Once logged in its like working an ftp site. Yeah haaa here are files to read, take etc. Its just like being on another computer. Imagine your computer is like an apartment building and I'm a burglar. I first find your address and get into the lobby which is rather easy. Next I want to get through the security door. Imagine all the mailboxes are ports. I just press all the doorbells and say "its me" when anyone answers the buzz. More than likely I get a buzz in. Now I go to your apartment. Here I can enter if I have a key (user name password). Imagine your super has a pass key in a room where every crook knows where it is (admin password and login). I take that key, open your door and voila, I'm wearing your underwear and drinking your beer.

Have you actually done a file search for poser.exe Yes. That is what I searched for. The manual and stuff was there...That was not, nor were some of the files within it, as I ran down real quick to see what search found. I'm on aol and where I live it is so hard to get connected, that normally when I do, i just leave it running...as opposed to 20 or 30 minutes of flipping back and forth between access numbers. I didn't have a shortcut to Poser on my desk..just go through the start menu. Oh, sigh. Don't much feel like pop...pop....poppin, now.

Im just curious are most of these problems just with Cable Modems, is it the same for people with a dial up connection?

Oh Poppi - I feel so bad for you... 2 years ago I learned how to 'Bind the Ports' in Windows. It's not hard, it works, and no one can ever get in. You'll find directions here http://grc.com Another thing that i've done is to set up a cheap 2nd system (the leftovers from upgrades), bare bones but with all my internet stuff on it. I use that to surf, so my main PC (with a fortune in software) never sees the internet. I don't use any MS products except windows, so there isn't much of an invitation to hackers. I use JAMMER to see who's scanning me, it records the ip so that you can send email to the isp along with the logs of who it is and what they're scanning for. I hope this helps a little, and I hope you find out what happened to your stuff. I'd be ready for a straight jacket if that happened to me.

What an uninspiring and scary thread! Goes to show just how vulnerable and nekked we really are or can be on the internet! :(

I really hate this day. Thanks, Billy. I guess this new machine with Outlook and then, me, thinking I would use the network and link my other machine. I do wish I knew who came in here. Gives me the creeps. Think about it. We have soooo much about ourselves on our computer. Not just our software...other stuff. Like where we live and our phone numbers, etc. (Not to mention those "fantasy" bits we do that we never share with anyone.) I hate this day. No pop...pop...poppin for me.

Poppi, you say the machine is only three weeks old?....When I got my first computer a number of years ago, I accidentally copied windows to another file. For some reason the machine would then open to the copied windows and it appeared that I had lost everything I had downloaded and uploaded. Once I realized that I was looking at a "fake" windows and removed it, there were all my programs. To this day neither I nor the Gateway people know how I managed to do this..... Scarab

I wasn't doing any Frankepoppi's this morning. Just was working in Poser...checked mail and came over here. I have, in the past, done so very stupid experiments. But this morning I didn't even empty the recycle bin. OH well, live and learn, I guess. Just need Rad to cheer me back up again, though.

Poppi--is this WinME?? I have flaky things happening with mine--altho' nothing THIS flaky--or spooky. I'm in the process of making sure EVERYTHING is backed up--and easily backed up. I've just done a long search on all my CDs for all related Vicky and Mike things, consoldated them and have put them on their own CD's. I'm going back to 98SE!! Hope its an easy fixable problem and not what you suspect.

Yeah...what picnic says...I here much nono's about WinMe....staying with Win98SE...it's wampum good! Poppi, here's hoping you'll be back to your pop...pop...popping self soon or I'll have to post another funny for you in the C&D.....

Yes, it is windows ME. I am, basically, backed up, as I had to back up to transfer to this one. I downloaded zonealert, and as soon as I can back here...the alarm went off...couldn't have been here but for a minute. Now, I feel like I must have had a sign on my head....ports open...nobody home. Thanks for the tip on win ME. I should run out and buy some cds and just back up everything. (Cause, the last 3 weeks are not backed up.) I have my lil zone alert, now. I feel a little safer. It is just...geeze, there is so much about me on my computer. It feels sort of like someone came into my house while I was gona and pillaged through my dirty laundry, unpaid bills, and underwear draw. Makes me want to run out, make sure the car is locked, etc. Got the parrot on high security alert, too. He will bark and yell the f word should there be a knock at the door. AND...my sense of humor is returning.

Good luck Poppi....hope to see you and your good work and your pleasant...pop....pop....pop....again very soon.......

It would take a loooong time to "steal" this size a program, no?<<< Depends. Is the system on DSL or cable? You wouldn't even know it was being stolen. Plus, maybe they weren't trying to steal it, but just wanted to wreck havoc by deleting files. >>>And how would they possibly do this??<<< There are numerous trojans out in the wild that are simply doorways for intruders to enter your system. >>>I just can't see it at all somehow??<<< It happens all the time. In fact, most of the recent DOS attacks were launched from private computers that had been compromised by vandals using the previously mentioned trojans.

How could a person, if this indeed did happen, make my Poser go away?<<< Once they gain entry into your system, they can do anything they wish. It would be just like sitting at your keyboard. They can delete, create, transfer, hide directories, hide files, etc. >>>Also, do they now possess all that was my own, orginal stuff?<<< Possibly. If that is, indeed, what happened. To be honest, I have a feeling it is a more innocent explanation.

You make me feel sooo nekked, I'm going to put on some more clothes now......really......sigh :(

You make me feel sooo nekked, I'm going to put on some more clothes now......really......sigh :( <<< Wait a minute... you mean we're suppose to wear clothes when online? I thought the Internet was suposed to eliminate all those inhibitions... oh, well.

Yeah, well, not anymore, I feel like I'm getting peeped at now :-0

Pop...pop...pop....:)

If it was "stolen: it will be useless if it was installed on your PC because he would have to go into your windows registry and find all kinds of DLLs and other little tidbits that allow an installed program to run on windows Check the available space left on the windows partition where poser was installed and see if there is suddenly a huge amount of new space available. if poser really dissapeared from my Mac i would know immediately because i would suddenly have over a GIG!! of new freed up HD space i suspect its still there on a corrupt sector of your partition that can no longer be read Mocap

Mo...you could be right. i am clueless. I got the firewall, though. Thanks.

Open Windows Explorer Click on Views:Details Click on View(on the toolbar):Folder Options In the Folder Options Dialog Box click on the Show all Files radio button in the Advanced settings then click on the Like Current Folder button then click on OK See what's in the folder where Poser is/was If it is still there rightclick to check the properties, it may be hidden, if it is uncheck that box If not... Check the Recycle Bin(look for files deleted today) Restore if any are what you need. If you have Norton Utilities, rightclick on the Norton Protected and UnErase, follow the directions from there If it is still not there try scandisk, in Win first and then DOS... ...or if you have Norton, run WinDoctor

I'm on a dial up (hand cranked). Tried BlackIce. Computer died. Never could revive it. Now a doorstop.

I got it back...Thanks, guys. I did "restore"...windows..and what I didn't get there had backed up on CD. This was awful, though. Never will I come here without a firewall, again!!!

Also Poppi, if you login as one ID, set up poser then login as another user, poser may seem to disappear. The best ay is to search for poser.exe across all drives and folders.

I have zonealarm Pro and someone managed to get around it with some kind of trojan. I walked back into my den after getting a cup of coffee and my files were being deleted as I watched in shock. Took me two seconds to see what was happening and while I was hitting the reset on my computer I was turning off the dsl modem. I love Zonealarm and trust it but I now also use a hardware firewall as well. Mason is right about the trophy thing, they may not even be stealing a program, most of them don't have to...they are usually doing it just because they can. Sad lil lamers that they are. My system is now tighter than a nun's knickers, (no offense to anyone I hope). I don't trust anyone, don't open attachments and I make sure I have my coffee before I go online...lol...just kidding. 8^) Marque

Well, I installed Zonealarm due to this thread--been meaning to, but guess I was one of those 'idjits' Casamerica referred to LOL. Of course, now, after reading Marque's post, do I feel 'secure' ?????!!!?!? Nope!!. Now, my other question (unlike you, Poppi, I don't feel that anyone would know me very well after perusing my harddrive)--if these things disappeared, could you not just reinstall them?? I realize that your personal folders--images and the like, can't be restored, but if backed up, then you are still okay. I admit, I would be pissed and feel as though I had been invaded, but they wouldn't get much here that couldn't be put back the way it was before. I hate having to think about invasion and the such--same as I hate locking my doors, locking my car in the driveway (BTW--I don't do either much but live in the semi-country), all those things. Now, I would be VERY upset if someone screwed up my system--its bad enough as it is (I'm preparing for a reformat and back to 98SE for me). Marque, I haven't opened an attachment unless I knew what it was for a number of years. I don't even open those from my brother, the 'accountant/computer specialist' in Germany because he forwards me things--as I tell him, consider it like having sex with someone new--you don't know where they've been.

I have a firewall myself and look at the logs on a semi-daily basis. Several times a day, every day that it's on and connected, my machine gets hit by somebody trying to cast or activate a trojan, by somebody trying to do back orifice, by somebody just pinging me for exposed ports (I've got them all default "off" of course), or by somebody sending an incomplete IP in hopes of getting some response (a form of pinging). If I happen to go onto IRC, regardless of what channel I get onto, the frequency of assault goes WAAAAAYYYYYY up. Merely being online and having an IP address is enough to get hit. IRC is a bus station with bad lighting and lots of winding hallways from any location to any other location--mugger heaven. Unfortunately, nobody is willing to purchase my Ultimate Computer Security Package. It consists of encasing your computer in a pour of concrete and dropping it down a mine shaft.

Im just curious are most of these problems just with Cable Modems, is it the same for people with a dial up connection? < Tammy, I don't think anyone ever directly answered your question so I will. Yes, even through a dial-up, you can have problems. My husband and I got a cable modem last week, and in preperation for that, a week before, he downloaded and set up ZoneAlarm. And we got some pings on the computer through the dial-up connection, which was through EarthLink. Cable modems are just worse because as long as your computer is on the connection is on for a cracker to work his evil.

I'm on a dial up, likely to be for a while - locals afraid of 20th century, terrified of 21st - wiring installed by Spanish Inquisition. What are the choices for a fire wall for dial up cnx?

Huolong- Zone Alarm is pretty good, and free. Like BillyGoat said, Make sure you check out Steve Gibson's site, it has lots of info, and several tools to check if your firewall is working: http://grc.com/ regards- Lemurtek

I use Zone Alarm and it works fine for me on my modem. I'm on sometimes for 2-3 hours, and sure enough, you get several pings of various types in that time.

You know, you all talk about getting pings--I haven't had the first one since I've installed Zonealarm--now several days. I'm on a cable modem--you would think I would likely get one, but haven't had the first.