Stupid hacking question

Nate tha\\\' Great · #1 02-24-2007, 11:08 PM

From the standpoint of avoiding hacking, are you better off leaving your poker clients open or closed (when you're not using them)? Does it matter?

SpaceAce · #2 02-24-2007, 11:30 PM

In general, you are better off with FEWER things running on your computer, at least things that access and can be accessed from an external network. So, close your poker clients when you are not using them.

Mind you, the risk is pretty slight either way, but there's no point taking unnecessary chances.

SpaceAce

JayA · #3 02-25-2007, 05:12 AM

How would leaving it open make it easier for a hacker? They wouldn't be able to log in right?

pathogen · #4 02-25-2007, 05:42 AM

essentially by leaving poker clients open you are leaving ports open.

If a hacker would know how to exploit these open ports you could be in trouble. However, they would have to have your IP address in the first place and all of this is very unlikely

NL Newbie · #5 02-25-2007, 07:40 AM

All the good hackers have bigger fish to fry.
All the bad "Hackers" cant hack, they just send you a lame trojan or the victim in question downloads lots of pirate crap and then crys to stars about his money going missing.

In general, if your not dumb... you wont lose money. Consider it 'Stupid tax'.

keikiwai · #6 02-25-2007, 07:45 AM

after reading the threads where people left their client open, left the room, and when they came back someone was playing on their computer (remotely), i think it's better to close it (few months ago)

TomR · #7 02-25-2007, 08:15 AM

[ QUOTE ]
From the standpoint of avoiding hacking, are you better off leaving your poker clients open or closed (when you're not using them)? Does it matter?

[/ QUOTE ]
I cannot think of any reason that you would be more secure leaving them open. There are minor reasons that leaving them open could be less secure. Personally I close them.

Dave I · #8 02-25-2007, 09:02 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
From the standpoint of avoiding hacking, are you better off leaving your poker clients open or closed (when you're not using them)? Does it matter?

[/ QUOTE ]
I cannot think of any reason that you would be more secure leaving them open. There are minor reasons that leaving them open could be less secure. Personally I close them.

[/ QUOTE ]

One reason is that nobody can log in from another computer if you have the client open and logged in on yours.

That said, this is only desirable if your reasonably sure no one can control your PC either physically or remotely.

Dave I · #9 02-25-2007, 09:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
In general, you are better off with FEWER things running on your computer, at least things that access and can be accessed from an external network.
SpaceAce

[/ QUOTE ]

As a general rule this is true. For poker clients (all the ones I have seen), they are not listening on any ports. They establish a connection to the poker sites servers when needed, not the other way around. IOW, nobody could connect to your computer simply because you have a poker client open unless it is very poorly designed.

dixion · #10 02-25-2007, 02:29 PM

Yesterday, on the $11.50 PLO H/L Tourney at 11:30 Pacific, I was locked into the "sit out next hand mode" while I watched my hands being dealt to me in very, very rapid succession. My chips were bet for me and blinds posted. Finally I was able to unclick the "sit Out" feature and got back to normal after fifteen or twenty hands. Does that mean I got hacked?

I sent an email to Stars and they requested that I send them certain files, which, according to them, they are looking at right now. I have never had that happen before.