AMD Gaming Evolved, Raptr Service Hacked
PC gamers who are currently using the Raptr and AMD Gaming Evolved chat clients may want to change their passwords immediately, as Raptr founder and CEO Dennis "Thresh" Fong reported that hackers have compromised the service and may have obtained personal information such as email addresses, user names, first and last names, and hashed passwords.
"This means that although the passwords are hashed, users with weak passwords are vulnerable to unauthorized access," Fong said.
Fong reassured users that the potential risk of having their information stolen is minimal, but if they're using the same user names and passwords on other services, these may need to be changed as well. Naturally, Web surfers are encouraged to use a different user name and password for each website and service, and use a two-step authentication process if it's made available.
"It's important to note that our two-factor authentication system used for redeeming Raptr Reward Points ensures that even if your Raptr account was among those compromised, the points you've earned as a Raptr member are protected," Fong added.
The Raptr service was launched back in 2007 and is capable of connecting to a number of popular chat services such as Facebook Chat, ICQ, Yahoo! Instant Messenger, Steam and several others. On the gaming front, users can optimize their favorite titles automatically and download the latest drivers for their system. Users can also watch clips of other gamers on their list, rack up numerous achievements, share their accomplishments on social networks and more.
AMD Gaming Evolved is basically the Raptr client focused on AMD gamers. Users can allow the client to squeeze out the best performance possible for each installed title, broadcast live on Twitch, record and upload gameplay clips, earn goodies via a rewards system for playing games and participating in the community, and so on. This version of Raptr was made available to the AMD gaming community back in September 2013.
"We're extremely sorry about this situation and are committed to further improving account security going forward," Fong promised.
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Unfortunately, Fong did not provide any information regarding the number of accounts that have been exposed. He also didn't specify if the company has contacted those who have been affected by the hack. He only suggested that Raptr customers use a new password that's "reasonably complex."
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Quixit It doesn't actually say they weren't salted. I'm so glad my password was a complex mess of random junk, I've replaced it with another mess of random junk now.Reply -
junkeymonkey don't install it and theres no worries over things like this .. why would you want something like that to start with ?? I like how amd slips it into there driver package but theres nothing said in like there release notes or any infor for it ?? I had a thread on that sneaky spyware and what I found is once it got installed the uninstall part in the ccc is grayed out and shows it installed and up to date but never could find any file for it on the drive -- you can read on this also at amd forumsReply
and also it seemed that with driver 14.1 I think it did not have a check box to decline it installing or grayed out for that also ... all I want is the cards driver not all the extra crapware along with it .. just like with a intel build you will still get all the amd chipset drivers ??? why
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=491&threadid=171870&highlight_key=y&keyword1=%20Gaming%20Evolved
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=443&threadid=182585&highlight_key=y&keyword1=%20Gaming%20Evolved
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hobbsmeerkat In my previous experiences, Raptr is nothing but pointless bloatware, not to mention intrusive and annoying to remove.Reply -
Vlad Rose Reply15209485 said:In my previous experiences, Raptr is nothing but pointless bloatware, not to mention intrusive and annoying to remove.
Free points at least that gave me some free gems for Smite. Otherwise, I don't really find it that useful as their 'optimize' settings for games never seem quite right. -
bgunner Some may like this type of program but for me it seems useless when you have Steam and Origin. Other than the integration of Twitch there is little difference between Raptr and the Old Xfire. Both Xfire and Raptr require a good chunk of system resources.Reply
I had it sneek on to my PC with the first release of it in the AMD GPU drivers. Found it, removed it and paid attention from that time on for it being installed with newer drivers. This does not effect me :P nor any of the other hacks that have happened recently. -
junkeymonkey one thing I forgot to add to what I said above is I don't remember at any time there was a uela to read or to accept or decline ??? just install on you as is with out any terms so I assume that means you accept anything they want at any time ?????Reply