What's Going On With The Forum

[Pugsy]

Why do these spammers do this crap?
I mean what do they glean from pulling this shit?
Just the satisfaction of accomplishing it for so and so period of time?
The thrill of beating the system even for a short period of time?
Do they get paid by someone for posting all the bullshit stuff about an online casino that I wouldn't even attempt to find and go to because no telling what other creepy crawlies hide in that website...might make the porn websites look tame for malware risks.
Why go to all the trouble to set up the bots and spam the hell out of a website with something we can't even read?
It makes no logical sense to me unless they are getting paid X amount of money per post and then I guess 20,000 posts might be worth a few bucks.

I just don't understand it because I can't see anything logical to gain from it.

[chunkyfrog]

It is just practice.
Who will be next?
No doubt, someone with deep pockets.

[amenite]

I'm not sure what was done, but it appears to be under control.

What was done to this forum is a fairly classic case of a "Denial of Service" attack.

No it's not quite the same thing as a DoS or DDoS attack. If it had been a successful DoS attack you would not have had a site to load at all. But if re-defining the term "Denial of Service"allows you to wrap your head around it then so be it.

[Guest]

Could it be vengeance by someone who lost their spam delete button? Who knows.

[Gryphon]

Ya not a true DOS attack... That would have been a lot different for us. No spam would have shown up. The site it self would have loaded slower and slower and slower till finally it wouldn't load for any of us at all. Though it would have been really really exciting for our hosts they would have been seeing a network fireworks show.

I do think there is a good chance that this kind of crap... because it made no sense and there really wasn't anything to gain from it. It could be a simple issue of Trolls.

Let's just say there people out there that really need to take up a less annoying hobby. Like maybe knitting or base jumping with out a parachute. Life would be less stressful for many of us who spend time online with out people in the world who gain joy in causing other people frustration and misery. I mean I get bored but when I need something to do for fun I read a book or play video games. I don't try and take out a public support web forum that provides help to people in need.

Not to be mean about it but I've seen countless examples of people who like to ruin any online experience they can for nothing more then the fun of being an ass to other people and watching them all get upset about it.

A place like this shouldn't have to have the latest in security and stronger measures to prevent abuse. But we live in a world were every tiny little vulnerability is exploited sometimes for no other reason then because it can be.

I'd like to thank our hosts for all their hard work cleaning up the mess. I wish them luck with any choices they have to make in future to help combat this problem.

Thanks again for everything you do and for providing this place for us to meet and support each other. It has been a wealth of information and means a lot to me that it's still here going strong.

Take care all. Sweet dreams.

Gryphon

[Holden4th]

Thank you forumadmin for attacking and solving the problem. Now that we appear to be back to normal and while you have the ear of the IT gurus can I make a few suggestions to make this site far more secure.

Pleased to see that I had to log in again (I'm assuming that you deleted part of my cookies). Could we take this a step further and reregister. It will get rid of all those users whose OSA problems were solved (or not) and haven't posted in a long time. The reregistration process should definitely include email confirmation. If this had already been in place then the spambots would not have been able to post.

Some users seem to have multiple posting names that are really the names of other users. The post usually says "also posted as...". My handle has been there as well. My research suggests that this is possibly another area that could be exploited by those who want to do the forum harm.

Guests should not be allowed to post under any circumstances. It's not too hard to join an online forum.

Can a couple of the more experienced members here be appointed as moderators and with admin privileges. While the report spam button can allow those with the right to do so to delete posts or threads, with so many having this right it could be exploited. Leave it to the moderators.

This might mean that a set of forum rules are drafted. Yes, there will be a few members that would not be happy about any form of moderation but I feel that the majority would support this move.

The experience we've had gives us a golden opportunity to make this an even better place.

[Guest two]

...I feel that the majority would support the move.

And I disagree

[Gryphon]

I don't think we need official rules regarding day to day moderation of say forum content or general behavior. I think that is one of the things about this site that is unique and that it has it's drawbacks and benefits. I'd hate to see new rules drawn up that create an environment where people can't be them selves both good and bad. This site to my knowledge has always been un-moderated/self moderated in that you take the good with the bad just like in the real world. That gives everyone the freedom to post what they like and brings about opportunities for lots of discussion. We have our fair share of flame wars and arguments and sometimes general pettiness but as a whole that isn't something we should be changing. I think that overall we work through our problems and when some one goes way beyond the realm of what is acceptable I think there are already things in place to deal with that sort of issue.

I do think we should have a few seasoned members upgraded and given special powers strictly for protection of the site. The ability to delete spam accounts or posts much more quickly then just the delete spam button given to long time members. Any site should have a method of logging the use of those tools so on the off chance that those tools are abused for personal reasons for for any other action other then the defense of our site those tools could be taken away.

I just think it's not fair to our Hosts or to the few people they've chosen to have stronger privileges to make them the only ones who can respond in the event of a major issue. I manage several game servers and I've set aside people I trust in multiple time zones who have the ability to manage the server. Restarts or updates for example can be done by others so that the general public who plays on our servers don't have to wait till I'm awake or available. If the game is patched at 3 am but we have players in Australia who can't play we have a manager in Australia who can reset the server. Before that, those players would have to wait 8 hours or more until I was awake or back from work before they could access the site.

In that same line of thought - having seasoned and trusted members with the ability to help in the event of a repeat of what happened this weekend would help take some of the stress away from Johnny and his IT staff. Ultimately the big fix may still have to come from them, but giving a few people who have the extra time the ability to respond would help I think.

I don't say this as a disrespect to our hosts. I can't look a gift horse in the mouth after all. They've given us this amazing place to come to to learn from each other. This site has been around for so long and is a huge wealth of information. I've even heard of doctors recommending their patients come here for advice. I just think that it would be better to have a few extra people with the ability to really respond in the event of a major problem like we had this weekend.

If your barns on fire you want some ranch hands to have the keys so they can let out the horses. You don't want to have to wait for the owner to open the door. That's not to say the owner doesn't love his horses any less, he just may not be home all the time. Having more people with elevated privileges would help to make sure some one with the ability to respond was always right there ready to fight back.

That's my two cents on the mater anyway.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Gryphon.

[EdNerd]

...I feel that the majority would support the move.

And I disagree

And if you posted under a registered username, your opinion might even have a bit of weight.

I throw my lot in with Holden4th and Gryphon.
I too will add my great appreciation for those who uphold this site!
It's a lot of work, even in the best of times.

And a complete re-registration might not be a bad idea.
Don't know how much work it entails on the other side, though.
And whether it would be worth it.
I know I've had to do it on other forums.

Ed

[Janknitz]

To the Goodmans,

I thank you in my heart every day for this site. It truly saved my life and continues to support my good health (and many others as well). I'm sorry for the headaches the spam is causing you and appreciate you even more for taking the time to solve the problem instead of just cutting us adrift.

[Bill44133]

To the Goodmans,

I thank you in my heart every day for this site. It truly saved my life and continues to support my good health (and many others as well). I'm sorry for the headaches the spam is causing you and appreciate you even more for taking the time to solve the problem instead of just cutting us adrift.

+100%

[Goofproof]

We got hit because we were a soft target, Like installing a bugler alarm in your home, it doesn't keep you safe, it warns the bugler to go next door where the pickings are easier. Any high school kid could have wrote the code! Jim

[ephraimh]

To the Goodmans,

I thank you in my heart every day for this site. It truly saved my life and continues to support my good health (and many others as well). I'm sorry for the headaches the spam is causing you and appreciate you even more for taking the time to solve the problem instead of just cutting us adrift.

please add me to the list

[grybeard77]

Me to, in Spades. Never would have got this far with out this forum and some of the nicest, most generous people that give freely of their knowledge. Bless you all.

[Lucyhere]

Pleased to see that I had to log in again...

I didn't have to log in again. I logged in the same way I always have.

.