| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
DaveDelaney
Starting Member
27 Posts |
 Posted - 04 November 2006 : 13:18:23
|
Help. I've been hacked and my members are being sent spam.
I'm using 3.4.05.
If there's no way to better the security, should I switch forum software? If so which one is best, and can I transfer the database?
Lots of questions, hope you can help.
Thanks
Dave |
|
|
ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
|
|
pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 04 November 2006 : 14:23:15
|
Yep, Dave, this is something everyone here takes VERY seriously, and if you can provide logs/evidence of an exploit you can rest assured that it'll be looked at in depth to patch it.
Please let us know all the details you have, as this is the first we've heard of this in 3.4.05, and it may be a configuration issue or it may be a brand new exploit. Have you followed all the install directions closely? Is the db in a protected folder? Have you got a good admin password? Or is someone spamming through the forum mailing facility (in which case, you know their username etc)?
Thx |
 |
|
|
DaveDelaney
Starting Member
27 Posts |
Posted - 04 November 2006 : 18:58:08
|
Here's the deal. I run a podcast called Two Boobs and a Baby. It's a parenting podcast, so I don't expect loads of people there to cause havoc - or any for that matter. We have great listeners, who also use our forums to communicate with us and each other. I have used Snitz for years on many forums and I've always been happy.
The other day, my wife got an email from our account, that was suppose to be from a user from the forum. The email was spam, your typical Nigerian Prince (http://potifos.com/fraud/) B.S.
Anyway, then one of our users also told us this happened to her. It seems that some how the guy hacked the forum to use the email addresses of our users to send spam.
I have since moved the database to a different folder, since it was in the same one. I always thought it was safe because the name is so far off anything to do with the site. I have no idea why he hacked it, or how. But they only give their email addresses to register on the forum, the rest of the site doesn't ask.
I don't know how to get the log. Any ideas?
Thanks guys/
Dave |
|
|
|
ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
Posted - 04 November 2006 : 20:02:13
|
No, he didn't hack the forum. He just registered as a member and used the forum email function to email other members. However, he had no access to the email address at any time.
This has happened in other forums. There is a mod I wrote to avoid this, that stops members emailing other members until they have posted a minimum number of times. This effectively stops these nigeriam scammers. |
Snitz 3.4 Readme | Like the support? Support Snitz too |
|
|
|
Doug G
Support Moderator
USA
6493 Posts |
Posted - 04 November 2006 : 20:08:05
|
There appears to be some web bot out there that can register on a snitz forum and send spam mails from the forum. This problem has occured at a few different snitzes I frequent. But I don't know a cure, sorry.
|
======
Doug G
======
Computer history and help at www.dougscode.com |
|
|
|
Podge
Support Moderator
Ireland
3775 Posts |
|
|
palmdoc
Starting Member
23 Posts |
Posted - 05 November 2006 : 16:25:15
|
| I must thank Rui for this Mod. It has stopped quite a few Nigerian and other spammers in their tracks. We are notified of possible spam registrants via email, then we can quickly lock the offenders...... |
|
|
|
ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
|
|
taropatch
Average Member
USA
741 Posts |
Posted - 06 November 2006 : 12:35:34
|
I haven't added any mods, yet. However, I am manually approving new members. Using this process, I lock any suspicious pending members and the approved ones get the email verification email.
It does not take too much time and has stopped the spammers from gaining access. The good news is that once the spammer account is locked - the spam stops. As Rui mentioned, the spammer never actually gets to see your members' email address - unless they reply. When my forum got it, I was quick to remind my members that their data had been abused but their privacy not compromised. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Topic Locked
.