It’s the end of the school year.  A very, very busy time where getting a few minutes to yourself to even think is a serious challenge.  So naturally that is a prime time to fall under attack by people with too much time on their hands and too little to do.

I snagged a quick second to check email and get the latest batch of urgent questions and discovered that one of my accounts had been breached, and while this attacker had figured out the account name, s/he couldn’t get the password.  So s/he requested it.  It came to one of my accounts and changed the password.

This with the security software (all the bells and whistles) in place to fight off attacks.   <sigh>

So why do this?  I mean, I’m a writer, not a merchant.  To prove you can?  Annoyance?  Well, you somewhat succeeded.  But your intention was exposed along with your attempt to pretend to be me, and so this message is delivered:

If my articles or workshops or seminars or any other copyrighted information on my sites–yes, this does include my blogs–shows up in Spanish without the appropriate credit or permission, you are in big trouble.  Intellectual property theft is a serious crime and before it’s done, you could lose Internet privileges.  I promise I’ll do my best to see to it that all applicable consequences are levied.  Every single one.

You will not sell what I do free to help others.  You will not.

Expect to find yourself without a server, as well.  Yes, your footprints were in place and you’ve been tracked.

And from this, a lesson to others on the perks of not storing your passwords.  Even with all the protective gear in the world, some jerk is going to spend time trying to use you and cause you challenges.  If the passwords had been stored, more challenges would have been created.; no doubt about it.

The underlying message is one about truth being exposed.  It always is, though sometimes it takes its own sweet time.  This time was quick and the consequences will be just as harsh as law allows.  Not just for my sake, but to encourage this individual to not do this again.

Actions such as this make it easy to become cynical.  But on that front, this person failed, too.  I won’t.  There are far more people who appreciate my little efforts than who attempt to abuse me or them.

Well, this is one way to get going in the morning, now isn’t it?  It’s not yet 7 a.m. and people are hopping already.  You see, they too have accounts that could be breached.  And they too take exception to deception and fraud.

At least there are some good lessons to be learned in this.  And some verification of past decisions being good ones.

Have a great day!

Blessings,

Vicki

c2007