Forums have been upgraded

Post by **Troy** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:51 am

After some research into the problem, I have made some updates to hopefully avoid having problems similar to what FBTB.net has been experiencing.

There is apparently a worm going around that exploits a problem with PHP and takes advantage of phpBB intallations. You can read about it here:

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5499725.html

I am not sure if this was what hit FBTB, or if they were the victim of a targetted hacking attack.

I have updated the server to the latest build of PHP which is supposed to take care of the issue. I have also upgraded the forums to the latest build of phpBB which should also help.

Troy

Teh Stud · Post by **Teh Stud** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 5:35 pm

It's good to know you're taking steps to prevent this! On the other hand, I'm not sure you should post this kind of info in the future.... Some hacker may read this and view it as a "challenge" to hack the site. Isn't it better to keep them in the dark as to what version of software you're running?

Duke_Dave · Post by **Duke_Dave** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:16 pm

Thanks for all your work and money put into this site Troy. Its one of the best web sites on the internet and I'm Glad to know its protected.

Dave

Post by **Troy** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 7:47 pm

Redaxe wrote:It's good to know you're taking steps to prevent this! On the other hand, I'm not sure you should post this kind of info in the future.... Some hacker may read this and view it as a "challenge" to hack the site. Isn't it better to keep them in the dark as to what version of software you're running?

Well, "security through obscurity" almost never works. Staying up to date with system patches and such is the best defense. If someone really wants to hack the site bad enough, they will find a way.

Besides, I never actually said what versions I upgraded the site to.

Although, the version of phpBB is given at the bottom of every page in the forum, so it is not like that is a secret. As for PHP itself, it gets trickier because there are "current versions" of both PHP4 and PHP5.

Troy