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I am a Club Pogo subscriber, please bear with me, I am 76 yrs old and have had 2 accounts taken from me. I did not realize the accounts were gone until I tried to pay for them to start up again. These accounts have been mine for years. I do not understand how Pogo changes my password without my authority.
My account that I use daily has been in effect over 8 years and I do not want to lose it. Two of my Pogo friends have also had their accounts taken. Pogo is losing out by letting these accounts go. I am in total shock that this can happen without one knowing. Does this mean they also have access to my personal information like my credit card number.If he/she takes my account that I have had over 8 years I will not join again.
Thank you for your time
Violated in Pogoland
Dear Violated in Pogo Land,Thanks for your letter and your concern. I understand that your situation has been handled and that you have had your accounts returned to you.But, for the rest of us, let’s talk about the importance of taking precautions, and what your risks really are on Pogo.So, grab a big ol’ cup of some calming chamomile and pull up a seat.First off, did you know that the number one way that people get their accounts hijacked is due to an insecure password? In your case, you had passwords that were very simple to guess. Unfortunately, there are ne’er-do-wells on every online social network. Some are satisfied with simple room disruption. Others target individuals. And then there are the folks who actually try to steal accounts and cause real problems for others.Most likely, the person who hijacked your account used what they call a “Password Cracker”. This is a program that runs through a huge list of common words, which include first names, popular pet names, often-used number combinations, and any letter combination that people use for passwords. For instance, did you know that the name “Ashley” is in the top ten list of bad passwords? It’s right up there with “password”, “welcome” and “1234”. These are not good passwords. Neither is any word in the dictionary.I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a super strong password. Everyone – and I mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON READING THIS RIGHT NOW – should take a moment to think about their password. Does it have a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers? If the answer is “no”, then I strongly suggest changing it. Here are a few examples of strong passwords that aren’t too difficult to remember:
You get the idea. Now make it a reality! To clear a few things up from your letter: Pogo did not change your password. The hijacker did. You should have received an e-mail from Pogo to let you know that your e-mail address and password had changed. If you didn’t, it might be due to your spam filter on your e-mail address, or perhaps the e-mail address you have associated with your account is wrong. As for your personal information – worry not. Let’s say you were on an online auction site and someone was selling you all the tea in England for $12.00. You were online, had access to Pogo, but you didn’t have your credit card. You would NOT be able to log into your Pogo account and look up your Credit Card information. You can see what type of card it is, and you’d be able to see the last four digits and the expiration date. You would not have access to the first string of numbers, nor the security code. So, you don’t really have much to worry about on that end. |
Dear Ms. Netiquette,
I have been an ongoing victim of harassment and I would like to say this type of behavior on Pogo needs to stop.
For reasons unbeknownest to me a couple of people have targeted me and created rumors. I was talking to some friends of mine where I was hosting a party and just because I said I wanted a certain Gem item but had not bought Gems lately I was accused of begging for Gems. I have no reason what – so – ever to beg for anything on Pogo nor in my personal life. I have an excellent paying job, I am responsible, and self-sufficient.
I play on Pogo to have fun and meet people to partner with on games. I have never, nor would I ever, harass anyone on this site, but I am a target for these types of people that do. People that do this sort of thing are the lowest kinds of human beings – to go around trying to hurt people that they do not even know. I would bet that if confronted in person for what these kinds of people do they would completely deny any wrong doing and that in itself would show just how lowly they are.
I ignore it, but a player who seems to take it upon herself to be the Pogo police has threatened to tell other hosts of forums that I am a bad guy. In reality I am one of the nicest people anyone would ever want to know and as a matter of fact I buy Gem items for quite a few of my Pogo friends.
Not Beggin’ For Gems
| Dear Not Beggin’ For Gems,You didn’t say whether or not you needed advice, but since you wrote to me, I assume you want some sort of help in dealing with these situations.It’s certainly upsetting to be accused of begging for something when you’re not. But guess what? You’re part of an online community and on occasion some wingnut is going to try to get your goat by doing just that. There are people who, for reasons we’ll never understand (thankfully), enjoy riling people up, and will look for any and every opportunity to do so. You make an honest statement about some petty little thing, and suddenly they’re all over you accusing you of something preposterous.While we’ll never know why they do it, we know what they’re after: attention. And once you give a reaction they can bite into, you better believe they’ll see that as an opportunity to continue. If they can get you riled up, they see it as a success and will continue to do so.So, what can you do? Don’t give them the reaction they seek. If someone accuses you of something outlandish, I advise you not to even give them the time of day. It’s truly not worth it. In your case, this person accused you of begging for Gems. What would have happened if you’d ignored them? Maybe, possibly at the very, very worst, that one person might have thought – hold on to your seat – that you were, indeed, begging for Gems. Does it really matter that someone you’ve never met, someone you’ll likely never meet, and someone you’d likely never want to be friends with anyway thinks for a second or two that you begged for Gems?Sure, he or she might make a stink about it, but the situation would have been over within a few minutes and by now everyone would have forgotten about it. Maybe he or she would have reported you, but if there’s no real Terms of Service violation, then you’re not going to get into any trouble. So, don’t give them the satisfaction of a reaction. Instead de-toot ’em and mute ’em! |
Ms. Netiquette,
I am not a fan of country music, but I do like Kenny Rogers’s music, and I could not agree more with how you took the words of “The Gambler” and made them work into a column for proper etiquette. The only thing I would have added, and maybe you can come up with a better way to say the following line:
“You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table”
by stating: “Don’t gloat when you are on a huge win streak, but be polite and wish your opponent well in a subsequent game. As it stands, it is merely that, a game, and people take some games to heart when they lose. It takes a bigger person to keep their “mouth” (or in this case keyboard) shut than to belittle anyone or bring someone down. Yes, everyone wants to win, but it’s not always going to happen, and until people realize that these games are solely for fun and nothing more (except a jackpot spin occasionally), feelings will be hurt. I’m not saying that someone who wins five or six games in a row shouldn’t be happy, by all means they should, but remember that someone could do the same to you and win five or six in a row as well. I call it the “put yourself in someone else’s shoes” analogy, but in all honesty, we all should do that from time to time.
Thank you for your words of wisdom and please keep them coming!
Knows When to Add ‘Em
| Dear Knows When to Add ‘Em,What a wonderful thing to keep in mind! Thank you so much for sharing. Most folks, thankfully, are pretty aware of what it’s like to be on the other end of a winning streak, and are respectful, but on occasion – especially after a particularly brutal losing streak – we might get a little boastful, and your reminder is certainly helpful.And on that note, after drinking that big ol’ cup of chamomile tea from the first letter- I know when to run! |
Have an etiquette question for Ms. Netiquette? Email msnetiquette@pogo.com
