Destructoid gets hacked, Portal guns and much more inside!

So I haven't done a proper blog in awhile, my last blog was more Moderator focused than anything personal or actually interesting. However I will make up for that by providing what I hope is an interesting blog for you, the community, to read. So lets bypass the introduction crap and get right into the gooey stuff shall we?

I was reading through Crispy Gamer today when I came across an article [LINK] stating that Destructoid had been hacked sometime on Monday and the hacker(s) had managed to successfully get away with the usernames and passwords of members of the site. Kind of shocking that someone would go to that length to gather all that information and I'm a little confused as to why someone would want to do that. I mean I guess there is a small chance some of the information stolen is used by members there on other websites and online accounts. But I imagine most people, like myself, use different usernames and passwords for separate accounts on the internet.

Then on ShackNews I came across an article [LINK] detailing a hand made replica of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device which looks absolutely fantastic if you ask me and it would appear the same person may have also made a replica dispenser from TF2 aswell [LINK]. The first thing I thought when I saw that Portal gun is I would definately drop some money on one of them if Valve started selling them in their online store. Seriously that Portal gun looks like the real deal, even if it doesn't create real portals, it still looks absolutely amazing. Awesome stuff I think you'll agree!

Also on ShackNews (if you haven't guessed, I'm sort of a fan of them) they have had some really interesting articles about the PC as a gaming platform recently. Two interesting ones simply list some games to look forward to in 2009 [Part1 & Part2] which was pretty handy. I haven't really been keeping up to date with whats coming out this year other than Burnout Paradise is mean't to hit the PC sometime soon I believe. Sort of looking forward to that just to watch those car crash animations.

EA DICE has also started taking applications for a new wave of beta testing for their quirky looking multiplayer shooter Battlefield Heroes [LINK] so if like me you have been keeping tabs on the game but missed out on every round of beta testing so far then now may be your lucky chance. I signed up earlier today for a beta key, need to check my email later and see did I get in. I know Kush has been just as excited over this game as I have and with all the delays it has recieved I have to admit my patience for it is becoming thin, I'd really like to just see it released or go into open beta already. Either way I'm still looking forward to playing this just to see is it as whacky and fun as trailers make it seem.

I think I'll finish this up here with a little shout out to SuperMooseman who I have been playing a lot of TF2 with pretty much each evening for the past week or more. We've had our moments relishing sweet victory as well as bitter defeat. But we've pulled through stronger than ever and found a mutual dislike for everyone who plays as a Medic. It feels like everyone who plays as the Medic lately is an idiot. So many times we found ourselves with a Medic that had a fully charged uber only to have them back out at the final moment before a rush to cap the control point leaving us at the mercy of a sentry gun or group of opposing players. Not cool folks, not cool at all. Anyway thanks for reading and be on the look out for a detailed insight into my love / hate relationship with Bioshock in my next blog!

So I haven't done a proper blog in awhile, my last blog was more Moderator focused than anything personal or actually interesting. However I will make up for that by providing what I hope is an interesting blog for you, the community, to read. So lets bypass the introduction crap and get right into the gooey stuff shall we?

I was reading through Crispy Gamer today when I came across an article [LINK] stating that Destructoid had been hacked sometime on Monday and the hacker(s) had managed to successfully get away with the usernames and passwords of members of the site. Kind of shocking that someone would go to that length to gather all that information and I'm a little confused as to why someone would want to do that. I mean I guess there is a small chance some of the information stolen is used by members there on other websites and online accounts. But I imagine most people, like myself, use different usernames and passwords for separate accounts on the internet.

Then on ShackNews I came across an article [LINK] detailing a hand made replica of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device which looks absolutely fantastic if you ask me and it would appear the same person may have also made a replica dispenser from TF2 aswell [LINK]. The first thing I thought when I saw that Portal gun is I would definately drop some money on one of them if Valve started selling them in their online store. Seriously that Portal gun looks like the real deal, even if it doesn't create real portals, it still looks absolutely amazing. Awesome stuff I think you'll agree!

Also on ShackNews (if you haven't guessed, I'm sort of a fan of them) they have had some really interesting articles about the PC as a gaming platform recently. Two interesting ones simply list some games to look forward to in 2009 [Part1 & Part2] which was pretty handy. I haven't really been keeping up to date with whats coming out this year other than Burnout Paradise is mean't to hit the PC sometime soon I believe. Sort of looking forward to that just to watch those car crash animations.

EA DICE has also started taking applications for a new wave of beta testing for their quirky looking multiplayer shooter Battlefield Heroes [LINK] so if like me you have been keeping tabs on the game but missed out on every round of beta testing so far then now may be your lucky chance. I signed up earlier today for a beta key, need to check my email later and see did I get in. I know Kush has been just as excited over this game as I have and with all the delays it has recieved I have to admit my patience for it is becoming thin, I'd really like to just see it released or go into open beta already. Either way I'm still looking forward to playing this just to see is it as whacky and fun as trailers make it seem.

I think I'll finish this up here with a little shout out to SuperMooseman who I have been playing a lot of TF2 with pretty much each evening for the past week or more. We've had our moments relishing sweet victory as well as bitter defeat. But we've pulled through stronger than ever and found a mutual dislike for everyone who plays as a Medic. It feels like everyone who plays as the Medic lately is an idiot. So many times we found ourselves with a Medic that had a fully charged uber only to have them back out at the final moment before a rush to cap the control point leaving us at the mercy of a sentry gun or group of opposing players. Not cool folks, not cool at all. Anyway thanks for reading and be on the look out for a detailed insight into my love / hate relationship with Bioshock in my next blog!

I actually got an email saying that my account was hacked. I never really used it, but it's still kind of scary.

go hamz

"I actually got an email saying that my account was hacked. I never really used it, but it's still kind of scary."

I really hope I get into the Battlefield Heroes beta...thanks again for the heads up! I'm usually more of a turkey guy, but tonight I love me some Hamz!

I SEE WHERE YOU ARE FAILING AND I CAN HELP

I am an excellent medic.


 

Quick bump to let people know images are now uploading so I've added some into the blog for your viewing pleasure!

Do not touch the operational end of the device. Do not look directly at the operational end of the device.

That's pretty awesome. Sucks about those Destructoid accounts though. :(

what i would do for a real portal gun... terrible unforgivable things

Nice blog man, I hate hackers even though I have tried my fair share of learning the complex techniques but it is a very long and tedious process, also what server do you play on TF2? you can pm me if you like.

"Nice blog man, I hate hackers even though I have tried my fair share of learning the complex techniques but it is a very long and tedious process, also what server do you play on TF2? you can pm me if you like."

"Bucketdeth said:

"Nice blog man, I hate hackers even though I have tried my fair share of learning the complex techniques but it is a very long and tedious process, also what server do you play on TF2? you can pm me if you like."

I tend to just look at my friend list and join someone who is playing TF2. Rarely do I ever actually save a server to my favourites."

Thanks for the beta heads up Hamz!

This really cheesed me off as the password I used for my Destructoid account was the same as some I used on some other sites, and while my username was different the email address in my profile could give it away. Certainly woke me up to the fact that I should be using different passwords, but still.