Tuesday, April 29, 2003

RuneScape account hacked :-(

The thrill of getting level 99 Cooking in RuneScape was short-lived as my account got hacked.

The first sign of trouble was that my character was in an unfamiliar area. I checked my bank to find most of my valuables gone, including 33 Halloween masks and 52 Santa hats. The hacker also took my armor and weapons, all of my gold and lots of other items. I know it's only a game, but this really sucks ass.

Of note is that an online virus scan picked up a Trojan on my computer. I guess that explains everything. Though I'm pretty careful about downloads, I've heard some malicious websites can install viruses through browser vulnerabilities. On the other hand, this was probably partly my fault because I had a weak password.

It's also possible that I was specifically targeted. Being the 36th player to get 99 Cooking likely made me somewhat famous. But considering that Jagex doesn't return items, none of this really matters. Oh well, better start earning my stuff again...

Update: A bit of good news: my friend Sandman2002 gave me a green mask to help me get started again. There are no words to express my gratitude. Thanks, dude!

Currently listening to: "Sandstorm" by Darude

Wednesday, April 9, 2003

level 99 Cooking in RuneScape

I finally reached 99 Cooking in RuneScape after an eight-month grind. Here is a screenshot of me leveling up. I still can't believe this actually happened. Hell yeah!

Of course, this monumental task would have been much harder without the help of friends. I'd like to thank Vera02 and Jeboy for swapping their raw lobsters for my cooked, and Cbkmy for letting me cook his swordfish. The same goes for everyone else who sold me supplies. There are too many people to name, but you know who you are.

In my opinion, the biggest problem with RuneScape is that training is too repetitive. Doing the same thing over and over again quickly gets old. For the Cooking skill, I'd probably be in the top 10 on the leaderboard had I really tried. That said, being the 36th person to reach 99 Cooking certainly gives me bragging rights. :-)

In other news...

On a related note, good luck to fellow RuneScape player Thehate as he is also getting 99 Cooking soon!

Currently playing: RuneScape