I have been on this site for quite a while, and there are things in the past few months that have concerned me…

Hacked accounts.

Hacked accounts used by spammers to spam stuff. Although they haven't just done that… they've doxxed hacked accounts. I have seen these attacks over and over again, and I have changed my password multiple times and have informed the ST about any attacks I see, but they aren't stopping. More accounts with evidence of previous use (for example, accounts and projects from over a year ago with a sudden lack of activity until the account hack) have been getting hacked and used.

And lately, they did an attack where every the majority of the accounts (if not all of them) were from previous users. And their message was that there was a data breach, accounts and emails were getting sold, and where to contact the seller. I'd normally think that they'd be bluffing, but given the constant use of older accounts for hacking, and the amount of accounts compromised is only increasing… I'm not so sure…

So, I ask this question:
Is Scratch still safe? Or do I need to quit the site for my own security? I know the Scratch Team is trying to combat the hackers' movements, but they haven't left, and I don't have the feeling this will stop anytime soon… In the meantime, I'll just keep changing my password and hoping that this all blows over…

blessingj100 wrote:

I have been on this site for quite a while, and there are things in the past few months that have concerned me…

Hacked accounts.

Hacked accounts used by spammers to spam stuff. Although they haven't just done that… they've doxxed hacked accounts. I have seen these attacks over and over again, and I have changed my password multiple times and have informed the ST about any attacks I see, but they aren't stopping. More accounts with evidence of previous use (for example, accounts and projects from over a year ago with a sudden lack of activity until the account hack) have been getting hacked and used.

And lately, they did an attack where every the majority of the accounts (if not all of them) were from previous users. And their message was that there was a data breach, accounts and emails were getting sold, and where to contact the seller. I'd normally think that they'd be bluffing, but given the constant use of older accounts for hacking, and the amount of accounts compromised is only increasing… I'm not so sure…

So, I ask this question:
Is Scratch still safe? Or do I need to quit the site for my own security? I know the Scratch Team is trying to combat the hackers' movements, but they haven't left, and I don't have the feeling this will stop anytime soon… In the meantime, I'll just keep changing my password and hoping that this all blows over…

If you get banned from saying bad stuff or smthg but was hacked, they can tell. And hackers don’t just try to guess passwords, most of the time they will send a fake email saying to give them your username and password, pretending to be scratch.

Okay, well, I'm by no means an expert, but:

Every website you use is going to have the same problem eventually - specifically the ones with accounts. Spammers & trolls are going to be everywhere - I'd like to think Scratch does a pretty decent way of managing it, this being a kids website. As for the hacked accounts - most likely they had weak passwords. You can read some password safety tips from the government here. Practice keeping good passwords and use Internet common sense, and you should be fine.

Again, this being a kids website - I don't see a good reason why numerous accounts would be hacked, so I wouldn't worry too much about it being hacked again. If there really was a data breach, the Scratch Team probably would have made an official annoucement about it in some form - and last I checked, there hasn't been one.

Besides your email, Scratch accounts don't have much personal information on it. I don't think security is a problem (as long as you're not posting/saving personal information on the website), but that's of course your opinion. As usual, it's always up to you what you want to do - use your own discretion when it comes to it.

pasta_enjoyer7 wrote:

Okay, well, I'm by no means an expert, but:

Every website you use is going to have the same problem eventually - specifically the ones with accounts. Spammers & trolls are going to be everywhere - I'd like to think Scratch does a pretty decent way of managing it, this being a kids website. As for the hacked accounts - most likely they had weak passwords. You can read some password safety tips from the government here. Practice keeping good passwords and use Internet common sense, and you should be fine.

Again, this being a kids website - I don't see a good reason why numerous accounts would be hacked, so I wouldn't worry too much about it being hacked again. If there really was a data breach, the Scratch Team probably would have made an official annoucement about it in some form - and last I checked, there hasn't been one.

Besides your email, Scratch accounts don't have much personal information on it. I don't think security is a problem (as long as you're not posting/saving personal information on the website), but that's of course your opinion. As usual, it's always up to you what you want to do - use your own discretion when it comes to it.

Alright, thanks. I generally try to keep a strong password, so you're right, I'm probably fine. I'd close the topic but it hasn't been open for long enough.

blessingj100 wrote:

And lately, they did an attack where every the majority of the accounts (if not all of them) were from previous users. And their message was that there was a data breach, accounts and emails were getting sold, and where to contact the seller. I'd normally think that they'd be bluffing, but given the constant use of older accounts for hacking, and the amount of accounts compromised is only increasing… I'm not so sure…

I'm pretty sure that's just a hoax and that they're lying just to create drama. I also have not heard of any such data breach. Report where you are seeing this information and move on and do not engage with the trolls.

blessingj100 wrote:

pasta_enjoyer7 wrote:

Okay, well, I'm by no means an expert, but:

Every website you use is going to have the same problem eventually - specifically the ones with accounts. Spammers & trolls are going to be everywhere - I'd like to think Scratch does a pretty decent way of managing it, this being a kids website. As for the hacked accounts - most likely they had weak passwords. You can read some password safety tips from the government here. Practice keeping good passwords and use Internet common sense, and you should be fine.

Again, this being a kids website - I don't see a good reason why numerous accounts would be hacked, so I wouldn't worry too much about it being hacked again. If there really was a data breach, the Scratch Team probably would have made an official annoucement about it in some form - and last I checked, there hasn't been one.

Besides your email, Scratch accounts don't have much personal information on it. I don't think security is a problem (as long as you're not posting/saving personal information on the website), but that's of course your opinion. As usual, it's always up to you what you want to do - use your own discretion when it comes to it.

Alright, thanks. I generally try to keep a strong password, so you're right, I'm probably fine. I'd close the topic but it hasn't been open for long enough.

No worries, I can close it.

FYI: it would be best to say “cracked accounts” here instead of “hacked accounts” because weak passwords (which are easy to crack) are exactly how the accounts got compromised, not hacking. So the routine advice of having a strong hard-to-guess password and changing the password regularly is sufficient enough to keep your account safe.