Author Topic: The forum was hacked late last night and everything is gone. (Read 11620 times)

Admin · « **on:** August 09, 2006, 04:56:21 PM »

The forum was hacked late last night and everything is gone. I worked as ling as I could and literally went to work this morning with no sleep at all. I have been awake for over 24 hours fretting over the forum and having problems at every turn. I will make this a temporary place where we can at least post to each other until I have an opportunity to try and find a stable way to upload one of the backups I did last month. That should replace all our information and photo's we posted for the last several months up to the last backup.
I had no success, with no sleep last night and early this morning.

My apologies to everyone but we are doing our level best to get the forum back up with most of the information we have shared.

Please feel free to sign up again and I will do whatever I can to get us back up an operational as soon as possible.

Cheers,
Sean

tinkster · « **Reply #1 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:05:02 PM »

Hello

I am so sorry to hear that! Must be very difficult and frustrating for you. Thanks for all you do to make a place of us to come and enjoy. GET SOME SLEEP!

I am sure there is nothing I can do to help in anyway, but if there is, please dont hesitate to ask.

tinkster

EagleEye · « **Reply #2 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:10:29 PM »

Sorry Sean,

You know how much we appreciate what you do for us. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.
I hardly know wht to say, but I hope that it is not too difficult of a project for you.
I can't imagine why someone would do this, but it takes all kinds to make up this world that we live in.
cyberhugs,

Steve

JohnInFlorida · « **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:13:55 PM »

Sean,
As tinkster said, get some sleep, it'll look better when you wake up. I think I can speak for all ... we know you are busting your butt to make this place as good as it can possibly be and we are very appreciative of what you and Jerry are doing. Any assistance I can render, all you need do is ask.

Keep Smilin'
John

joejoe123 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:33:29 PM »

thats awful who would do such a thing i hope everything gets back to normal
joey :0)

Joyce · « **Reply #5 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:39:56 PM »

Sean, so sorry!

Don't wear yourself out, get some sleep.
Don't worry about it too much, we'll all be here when it gets straightened out.

CT · « **Reply #6 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:41:24 PM »

Yeah, what Joyce said

jatfla · « **Reply #7 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:53:35 PM »

It's ok, Sean....we're all here or finding our way back.

Rats! Those great pictures of trapped raccoons are gone!!? Those were in my favorites!

Jennie in MT · « **Reply #8 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:02:32 PM »

Sean,
You work so hard at this. I am sorry that some jerk had to mess with something that so many of us truly enjoy! I appreciate all that you do and know that you always give your best.
I was freaked out that the forum disappeared, so I am just glad to know what exactly did happen. Get some rest and you know that we will do whatever we can to help...which is prolly not a lot.

Shae · « **Reply #9 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:36:59 PM »

Sean, I am so sorry this happened! I can only imagine how hard you have worked to make this a great place to visit. Ditto to what Joyce said. We're not going anywhere. We'll be right here when it's back up and running!
Shae

Bonnie · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:39:24 PM »

Sean, we all appreciate you!

BUT please don't go without sleep again over this forum.. this job doesn't pay that well!

I kept getting a message that the server was busy...
Is there anyway to track who the culprit was?
TROLLS......

kntry · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:43:40 PM »

I'm so sorry this happened. I sure hope you catch who ever did this and hang them out to dry for the world to see. lmO dob

karen J · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:52:16 PM »

Sean, I do hope you get some sleep.

You have done an outstanding job, well above and beyond what most of could have hoped for. I'm truly sorry that some jerk hacker ruined it for everyone, especially you. If there is anything I can do, like the others, I'm here.

I agree with Kntry. Hang their name out for all to see. yes

Krista · « **Reply #13 on:** August 09, 2006, 07:02:37 PM »

oh hun, go get some sleep please! Everyone is right, we'll still be here even if it takes a month. I'm sure you've gotten very little sleep anyway all weekend so please take some time for yourself.

ladybug · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2006, 07:14:56 PM »

like everyone else has said....you don't realize just how much you look forward to your forum reading until.......it is gone. such a sign of the times that someone would stoop so low as to hack a pond forum. i guess just to say they could accomplish the feat. it makes you feel violated. we have been robbed of our conversations, thoughts and queries. sometimes i wish we lived back in the fifties when people felt safe no matter where they were. but then again if we were back in the fifties we wouldn't have this place. stuck between a rock and a hard place. i will take a safe place please

Kittyzee · « **Reply #15 on:** August 09, 2006, 07:24:08 PM »

Wow, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Came in to see what was happening after having my birthday dinner and oops! where did everyone go? Thought it was something to do with my computer.....

We'll all still be hanging around when you are more rested - don't lose heart Sean, this too shall pass

LuAnn

LouAnn · « **Reply #16 on:** August 09, 2006, 07:37:34 PM »

Hey Sean, some days you are the windshield, some the bug. Sorry, it is sad a lower form of life has to amuse themselves doing this.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 09, 2006, 08:14:17 PM »

Sean, so very sorry. Get some sleep.

EVERYONE, please email everyone you have information for and let them know and that they need to re-register too.

Rocmon · « **Reply #18 on:** August 09, 2006, 09:24:49 PM »

Wow was wondering what happened... Hope you guys can get some sleep and get the back-up dialed in.

I wonder if this is related to the Lieberman website crash that went on last night... could it be a viral kind of thing? I don't know much about what happens when a site crashes but seems it is a coincidence...

Mikey · « **Reply #19 on:** August 09, 2006, 10:46:49 PM »

A kayak forum I monitor has also been hacked into a couple of times to ruin things. It's too bad that the world has so many jerks......and sadly I don't see it getting any better. Hey, I just noticed a new icon

Ky Kim · « **Reply #20 on:** August 10, 2006, 12:33:45 AM »

Sorry this happened Sean. Like the others said, don't wear yourself out. Get some rest!!!
We'll still be here......

Kim

Viv · « **Reply #21 on:** August 10, 2006, 01:57:57 AM »

This is gonna sound really weird, but did anyone get an administrator type looking board asking what changes you wanted to make to the site? Coz that's what happend to me when I tried to log on late last night.
Sean, I figured it was you making some changes. I'm 19 hours ahead of this board's time and I'm usually here alone when it's late. Get some sleep Buddy!

I didn't touch anything...honest!!

gander · « **Reply #22 on:** August 10, 2006, 05:23:16 AM »

Sean I am sorry this happened. I hope nothing like this happens again. The person or persons responsible for this should be put away where they can not do this again. I wonder how they can justify doing something like this. They are very evil in my opinion. gary

SheilaJ · « **Reply #23 on:** August 10, 2006, 06:49:21 AM »

Sean, thanks for pulling an all-nighter for us, but you really shouldn't have. We'll be waiting, fairly patiently

, when the forum is restored.

tranquility · « **Reply #24 on:** August 10, 2006, 06:50:09 AM »

Sean,
no matter how much someone tries...they can keep us apart....We will all be fine...and maybe learn from this experience.....I have already learned------ I come here way more than I thought and missed it and my friends here while it was down

Get some sleep....This too shall pass

Lawanna

Lynn · « **Reply #25 on:** August 10, 2006, 07:10:41 AM »

Sean, I am so sorry. How infantile. Just goes to show you how low some people are and that they have no lives with way too much time on their hands. I do not understand why any sane person would want to cause pain to so many good people. Good luck my friends.

Teresa · « **Reply #26 on:** August 10, 2006, 07:13:44 AM »

Why on earth would anyone want to hack into this board? What kind of idiot gets his jollies doing crap like that!?!?

It makes little difference if we get back the history . . . almost all of us have been thru board changes before, in fact that's how this board came to be.

I'm very happy to have it back in whatever form we have it. I missed it while it was gone. Thanks for all you do Sean, you're important to all of us.

Johns · « **Reply #27 on:** August 10, 2006, 08:55:31 AM »

I would not at all be surprised if the attack came from somewhere in Oklahoma.

Bartman · « **Reply #28 on:** August 10, 2006, 09:07:56 AM »

I have some questions. This board is hosted somewhere. Was the hack on the hosting companies computers so it affected all of their different boards or was this a hack using a password that was somehow obtained specific to this site?

If it was an attack on the whole system then the host company should be already taken legal action. If it were the latter then it sounds like a very specific attack and I must say I have ideas about that too.

Bart

cfarm · « **Reply #29 on:** August 10, 2006, 09:16:53 AM »

Before fanning the flames of conspriacy theories, the Admins will need to discuss amongst themselves the board security. I would think/hope that default passwords were not being used nor easily "guessed" passwords. They need to be long and cryptic.

The sad fact is we live in a dangerous digital world and you absolutely, positively have to take preventative measures. Recovery after the fact is always, always painful, whereas preventatives can be done with only incremental effort over the every day admin of the site.