Every so often, I hear about a certain type of harmful user: The "Hacker".
They are users who will either know how, or lie about knowing how to find your personal information and harm you. In this post, I'm going to attempt to educate users on this type of person, in hopes to help them feel less afraid.

Contents

Why should I not be afraid?

The IP Address

How can a "hacker" on Drrr get my IP address?

What can a "hacker" do with my IP address?

DDoSing

What can I do if I've been DDoSed?

Why do people do this?

More information on how to protect yourself while using Drrr

1. Why should I not be afraid?

Personally, I have used Drrr-like-chats for around 7 years. I have experienced this type of user often. Statistically, in my experience, it seems that most Drrr users do not have much knowledge about "hacking", even if they claim to. In the rare situation that they truly have some "hacking" knowledge, there is a limit to what they can do to harm you. Read below for relevant information on that!

2. The IP Address

What is an IP address? Here's a definition straight from Wikipedia: "An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication."

Your WiFi connection at home will have its own unique IP address. Your neighbors WiFi connection will have its own unique IP address as well, and so on. Every one is different.

On Drrr, you may see people pasting your IP address back to you, or saying they know where you live because they have your IP address. These statements are designed to make you feel fear. Have no fear--- They're probably lying.

3. How can a "hacker" on Drrr get my IP address?

Either by having you click a link with an IP tracker attached, or using web analytics in clever ways. Either way, the user will have no way to know which IP belongs to who in the room, unless they are sending it to a person directly in DM at isolated times.

4. What can a "hacker" do with my IP address?**

If a "hacker" manages to get your IP, what can he do to you? Simple answer: Not much.

The only information an IP can publicly give are details like: City/town, country, name of your Internet Service Provider, etc. Sometimes it is not totally correct. My IP, for example, says I live in a suburb 40 minutes drive away from me.

The IP address CANNOT pinpoint your actual home address. Users cannot have their PCs infiltrated by the "hacker" with an IP address, or anything else either--- And therefore, there is no reason to be afraid.

Other uses of IP grabbing would be to see whether or not you are logging in with 2+ different names. This is only effective if you are in 1 room with 2 usernames simultaneously, or if the "hacker" effectively grabs IPs in places you hang out frequently. (Pretty unlikely to happen, and only effective if the "hacker" knows which IP belongs to who, making it even more unlikely, almost impossible on Drrr.)

There is one more thing a "hacker" can do with your IP address, which I think is rather uncommon on Drrr. It is called DDoSing (a distributed denial-of-service attack).

5. DDoSing

A DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack will essentially make you unable to connect to the internet. Typically, performing a DDoS has become a (rather illegal) service which costs money. Because Drrr is mainly used by teenagers or young adults, I believe it to be very unlikely that a user on Drrr would be spending their money on a service like this.

Because it is a service which charges you by the minute, a DDoS attack will not be lasting a long time, either, so that's another reason to not be afraid of it. You will be wasting his money by getting DDoSed, isn't that funny?

If you found yourself in a situation where you are being DDoSed and would like to reconnect to the internet quickly, read below.

6. What can I do if I've been DDoSed?

Basically, you reset your router. No, don't turn it off and back on again.
Use a pen or safety pin to press a tiny button which should be in the back of your router. Beware: This will set your router back to default, so your SSID (WiFi's name) and password may not be the same, essentially shutting everyone out of using that WiFi connection.

To reconnect, there should be a sticker on your router detailing the router's default SSID and password. Use that to connect to the WiFi as normal. Optionally, to change the SSID and password back to normal, you will have to type 192.168.1.1 into your browser, which should bring you to the router's login page. Details of the login should also be on the sticker on your router, or perhaps in other documentation left for you by your cable guy. Using the router login will only work if you are already connected to your WiFi, or if you plug an ethernet cable directly from your computer to your router.

Some details may be different depending on the router, but if you find yourself stuck with this, call your Internet Service Provider (have the account holder and account number handy), and they will walk you through all of it.

7. Why do people do this?

In my own personal opinion, a lot of people, especially young people, will deem computer knowledge as "cool". They believe this will give them a leg ahead in the world of the internet. Some unsavoury people may use computer knowledge as a tactic to intimidate, scare, or take revenge on the people they think wronged them, or to simply feel power over other people. I find that not many users on Drrr-like-chats actually put effort into educating themselves on computers, so a lot of them are only bluffing to seem cooler or scarier than they really are.

If anyone on Drrr.com threatens you or takes action against you in this manner, please screenshot everything that you find incriminating, and send it with a report to us at: support@drrr.com.

8. More information on how to protect yourself while using Drrr

Or just in general!
Basically, be aware that they could be lying to you. Be wary of clicking strange links. Youtube and other popular sites are always ok, links ending in .jpg, .gif, etc are generally alright as well. If someone adds you to Skype or Discord, do not download any suspicious files (ending in .exe specifically). Make sure you have a decent anti-virus/anti-malware program. (Windows 10 comes equipped, and Mac/Linux distributions are typically ok without one, though caution is still encouraged.) Browse anonymously as needed.

I hope this has helped educate people, and improve their experiences on Drrr.
Thanks for reading!

Note: I put "hacker" in quotations because it seems wrong to apply the term "hacker" to people with very little hacking skills, i.e. using IP grabbers or "booters".