Forum Outage, Part Deux

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Turaiel
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Forum Outage, Part Deux

#1 Post by Turaiel »

I'm really tired after fixing this one, so I'm going to make this short and sweet. The forum became infected again (a different exploit this time) which caused a spike in CPU usage and basically dragged the server to a halt. In addition to that, attached storage on our server was having issues, causing lots of I/O problems and performance reduction.

Digital Ocean fixed the storage, and I removed the problem files. At the same time, I upgraded the forum to the newest available version of phpBB. Normally we wouldn't do this until a few bugfixes were released, but the previous version may have contained exploits that led to the infection, and I didn't want to take that chance. You'll probably notice that the themes have changed. This is due to compatibility issues with the new version of phpBB.

Additionally, I've disabled the video embed bbcode for the moment. I don't think it could have caused the exploit but I'm being extra careful with it because the malware began appearing the day after I activated that.

The exploit did have the capability of accessing our database password, so I've changed it and logged out all users. Please change your password on here and any websites that use the same password.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Update: I'm currently working on making the theme more in line with what we had before so you may see some odd styles for the time being.

Update 2: I know change is hard, guys. I can't help that the phpBB developers have dropped support for subsilver and subsilver-based themes, and this is as close as we can get to the old theme at this time. I can make small tweaks here and there but I have limited time available to do so.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#2 Post by TinyVoices »

Oh no, I have to get used to the forums looking super weird because none of the board styles are anywhere close to each other.

R.I.P. Subsilver Plus. I knew thee well. (If and when we could get it back, that would be appreciated. I know I'm not the only one who uses it. Also if I somehow mess up a post in the next few days, I blame not having my eyes now.)
Turaiel wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 4:29 amThe forum became infected again
So, are we being targeted directly or is this just some wide spread bot thing focusing on this type of small webforum?


Also thank you for making the repair super fast this time!

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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#3 Post by Vintage »

Well then. This seems to just get worse and worse. Thanks for dealing with this bombardment of garbage lately.

And yeah, I'd also like to know if we're specifically being targeted, or if this...problem....is just a mass attack, and we're just caught up in it (I imagine it's the latter).

Oh, and is it safe to assume that the original/default subsliver isn't going to work anymore? Because I know it's only an aesthetic change, but I'd definitely prefer to have it back as opposed to this version. If the original doesn't work again, then oh well. I can deal with it.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#4 Post by Hayate »

TinyVoices wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 5:09 amR.I.P. Subsilver Plus. I knew thee well.
Vintage wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 5:26 amOh, and is it safe to assume that the original/default subsliver isn't going to work anymore?
Hello, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Prosilver Special Edition?

But really, thanks Turaiel for fixing it so quick. I hope that whoever keeps doing this gives up on their foolish endeavor of world domination via a furry forum site... Having to change passwords all the time is stressful...
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#5 Post by Tom »

Sorry about the style change. I'm going to try and find something compatible that's close to the original. Or at least get avatars on the left as an option. Please bear with us.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#6 Post by Turaiel »

TinyVoices wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 5:09 am So, are we being targeted directly or is this just some wide spread bot thing focusing on this type of small webforum?
It is more than likely just bots. PhpBB is notorious for having security holes in general.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#7 Post by Turaiel »

Tom wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:40 am Sorry about the style change. I'm going to try and find something compatible that's close to the original. Or at least get avatars on the left as an option. Please bear with us.
Avatars are now on the left.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#8 Post by Lief »

Turaiel wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 12:37 pmAvatars are now on the left.
Somehow, this is worse. Also what's up with that asinine quote format?

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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#9 Post by Akira110 »

I changed my password, however, I literally have... bigger issues right now.
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#10 Post by TinyVoices »

Tom wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:40 am Sorry about the style change. I'm going to try and find something compatible that's close to the original. Or at least get avatars on the left as an option. Please bear with us.
I think I'm just being a drama queen about it. I just freaked out over the big change. :P

Thank you, Tom.
Turaiel wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 12:37 pmAvatars are now on the left.
For which board type? Currently avatars are on the right for me when using prosilver.

Edit: that "Allanstyle subsilver" type makes them on the left, but when the browser window is minimized the post's content starts underneath the avatars. XD

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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#11 Post by NiWo21k »

That explains alot - was wondering why everything looked so alien all of a sudden.

But at the moment these attacks on websites are getting worse again (not only here) - looks like these "people" dont have anything important to do then attack some underground forums (please dont get this the wrong way, but for me the TwoKinds Forum isnt a place where everybody is looking and reading, its more for the fans of the comic and Tom) :roll:
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#12 Post by FrogSteaks »

I don't know how many mobile forum users we have here, but the current subsilver edition is pretty clunky on mobile...
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Avatars are quite small, and signature icons are pretty damn big. It looks the same way with both prosilver editions as well.

Also, I kinda miss the ability to see the most recently replied topic in each board on the main menu. Sorry if it seems like I'm griping. I just wanted to let you guys know what I'm seeing. I dont know if y'all can do something about that. If so, great. If not, oh well...

Anyway, sorry you guys had to deal with another attack, especially so soon after the previous one.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#13 Post by Turaiel »

I've tweaked the styles a bit more to address issues that were pointed out, and make the theme a bit closer to what we had before. If you have any other suggestions, please make them.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#14 Post by Turaiel »

ThunderVolt wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:14 am Wait, this is the UPDATED VERSION? Oh god no...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ThunderVolt wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:14 am Also, none of the images are loading for me for some reason on mobile. Computer, just fine. Glitch?
I don't see any issues.
ThunderVolt wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:14 am PS: I don't know what you're talking about, with the avatars always being on the right and new change being on the left. They have always been on the left for me.
The issue was that the avatars moved to the right when I first brought the forums back. I tweaked the theme to move them back to the left.
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Re: Forum Outage, Part Deux

#15 Post by Turaiel »

ThunderVolt wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:21 am Quotes do look weird, though. Got any intentions to reversing it back to the way it was or must I get used to this?
You'll have to get used to it. The old themes are incompatible. Tweaks are possible.
ThunderVolt wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:21 am And I'm not too familiar with what subsilver and prosilver is. Whatever.
Subsilver is the old phpBB theme we used before (with the addition of some modifications). It was the default theme for phpBB for several years. As of phpBB 3.2, it is no longer supported. Prosilver is a newer theme that is now the default for phpBB. It has the advantage of being responsive as well, so the forum properly scales on mobile. You have the option of switching to the plain old Prosilver theme in your user CP. The theme we're using now is a mod on Prosilver that gives it the design of Subsilver, again with some custom additions from me.
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