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Recent downtime

post #1 of 104
3/29/12 at 1:30am
Thread Starter 
Hello

On Tuesday Basenotes was hacked and was put in a position which left the site and its users vulnerable. The hack wasn't targeted just at Basenotes, it was one which targeted a security hole in vBulletin which is the software we use to run the site.

Shortly afterwards, vBulletin issued an security update, which we have spent the last few days applying. As the forum grows bigger, doing a simple thing like updating the software which runs it, seems to always take more time and come with unexpected "joys".

All things should be up and running now, but please email us or post to this thread if there are any issues.

On a related note, we are now working with a company who will be looking after the technical side of things for us, with a completely rebuilt site. This should help ensure these things are less common in the future as they have a whole team to deal with these issues that crop up, rather than just me staying up til 3am for a few nights!

It won't be for a few months until they have the site ready, but will of course keep you informed nearer the time.

Thanks for your patience.
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post #2 of 104
3/29/12 at 5:05am
Thread Starter 
Also, we are currently rebuilding the Search Indices which may take some time. While this is happening I've had to turn of the bulletin search, so some features may not currently function as normal.

thanks
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post #3 of 104
3/29/12 at 6:48am
Thanks for all your hard work in getting BN up-and-running again, Grant.
Get some sleep and enjoy your time in Italy!
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post #4 of 104
3/29/12 at 6:50am
Many thanks for all your hard work and dedication, Grant - it is very much appreciated.
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post #5 of 104
3/29/12 at 6:59am
Thank you Grant - can't imagine what a pain in the *** this was for you. Yes, get some sleep!
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post #6 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:02am
I have a question; were any account passwords or other information (ie. location, birthday, or email addresses, etc.) compromised?
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post #7 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:12am
Thanks for all the hard work! It feels great to be back. Have a great time in Italy (looks like you will postpone the sleep matter until later )!
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post #8 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:20am
great to have the site back up and running grant, brilliant effort on your part, hopefully milan will more than make up for it (and have a couple of shots of grappa and black sambuca on me!). i'm sure it's been very annoying (to say the least) and stressful but i guess it's part of a necessary process.
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post #9 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:21am
I missed us! I know this has grown into a huge baby that needs much pampering. Glad you called in a tech-nanny. Weird metaphors. Sorry. I am writing and brain-challenged.
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post #10 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:27am
Nice to be back and see familiar faces (if you know what I mean)! Thanks Grant - much appreciated. Enjoy Italy!
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post #11 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:32am
Really appreciate the work involved getting this back online. Thanks!
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post #12 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:36am
Your effort is much appreciated.
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post #13 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:56am
Thanks for all your work on this, Grant!
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post #14 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:59am
Thanks for all your hard work
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post #15 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by surge View Post

I have a question; were any account passwords or other information (ie. location, birthday, or email addresses, etc.) compromised?

Many thanks Grant for getting this working again. I would also like to know the answer to Surge's question (above). Thanks!
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post #16 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:10am
  • jss
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Many thanks for this hard work.
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post #17 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:27am
Many thanks , Grant - I appreciate it must have been really hard and tiring what with the travel etc and dealing with this.

I have also been pretty concerned about our security and privacy re. real names, email addresses, date of birth ( identity theft issues ) and passwords .
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post #18 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:31am
I wondered what was going on on Tuesday night. I kept getting 'Malware' warnings when trying to access the site on Tuesday. Good job I didn't ignore Microsoft Security Essentials!

Good to see things back up and running now.
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post #19 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:43am
Thanks Grant. Your hard work is much appreciated, as well as the open communication.
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post #20 of 104
3/29/12 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mimi Gardenia View Post

Many thanks , Grant - I appreciate it must have been really hard and tiring what with the travel etc and dealing with this.

I have also been pretty concerned about our security and privacy re. real names, email addresses, date of birth ( identity theft issues ) and passwords .

No data was accessed from Basenotes itself, as far as it is possible to ascertain. The hack injected the template code with some code to display an iFrame. An iFrame is something that allows you to display another website in a 'window' on a website.

As people were getting Malware warnings, there is certainly the possibility that the code was designed to download something to users computers. More information about iFrame malware is here

As always it is always wise to make sure virus checkers on your computers are up to date. I'm currently looking into the situation further to see If I can work out the nature of what the code was attempting to do. I will of course keep you updated.

Shortly after the attack happened, vBulletin who make the software Basenotes runs on issued a security patch, which we have installed.
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post #21 of 104
3/29/12 at 9:42am
Thanks Grant.
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post #22 of 104
3/29/12 at 9:47am
Many thanks Grant.
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post #23 of 104
3/29/12 at 9:53am
Grand appreciations Grant; keep up the good work!
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post #24 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:00am
Thank Grant and Co. you for taking care of the site and our info! I really appreciate it.
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post #25 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:02am
Thank you so much! I can't wait to see the new site unveiled. This website has been such a valuable tool for me.
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post #26 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:07am
Thanks for the explanation Grant -- very glad no personal data was accessed;
I noticed a flagged item in MS forefront endpoint protection log, from 2/27/2012.
(Exploit:Java/CVE-2012-0507.D) -- I'm assuming this is where it came from (basenotes), however I am not certain.
Thanks once again for getting the site back up! I was having withdrawals ^_^
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post #27 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:09am
Thanks so much as always Grant, your hard work is really appreciated, especially as you've been away from home during all this! Great to be back everybody, I've missed you all!
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post #28 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:19am
Thanks Grant and co.
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post #29 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:26am
  • del
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Many thanks, Grant and all the staff!
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post #30 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:32am
Grant, you are one special guy !!!! Thanks for having this site. Your vision and diligence are unparalleled, and much appreciated.
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post #31 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant View Post

Also, we are currently rebuilding the Search Indices which may take some time. While this is happening I've had to turn off the bulletin search, so some features may not currently function as normal.

With the Search function disabled, is there is no way to keep track of the newest posts on a day-to-day basis? Searching in every forum is simply not realistic due to the slow speed of the site. With the traffic that goes through this site, the newest posts need to be found with ease.

With the new company, can we expect the slow speed and outages to be corrected?
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post #32 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:12am
Ah, is that where the "new posts" button has gone?

When l click "post reply" to a thread, l'm getting a box popping up asking if l want to leave the page or stay on it. This is getting annoying as well as making me suspicious. ls anyone else getting this?

l'm also getting "Auto Saved" popping up in the bottom right-hand corner of the reply box. What does that mean??
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post #33 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:13am
Many thanks for keeping the site going Grant. Hugely appreciated
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post #34 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
the search function should be back in a few days, it's just that I can't have the site running with the search active while the search indexes are being rebuilt.

The auto saved thing is a new update, from where the software was updated. I haven't come across the post reply pop up but will take a look into it. Which browser are you using?
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post #35 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by teardrop View Post

When l click "post reply" to a thread, l'm getting a box popping up asking if l want to leave the page or stay on it. This is getting annoying as well as making me suspicious. ls anyone else getting this?

Does it look like this is what it happening:
https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...ick-reply-made
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post #36 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant View Post

Does it look like this is what it happening:
https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/show...ick-reply-made

Yes! That's exactly what l'm getting.

l'm using Mozilla Firefox.
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post #37 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:35am
Thanks so much Grant..looking forward to that new site!

I don't care for the other forums out there..I like it here at BN. So ya, I was pretty much homeless for a couple days, LOL.

So, the new site, will there be new features, a new look to the site? Just curious! Thanks again Grant, you rock!.<---Do people even say that any more? lol.
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post #38 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:36am
double post, sorry...I am using firefox..getting same thing.
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post #39 of 104
3/29/12 at 11:36am
Thank you very much for getting us up and running again!
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post #40 of 104
3/29/12 at 12:02pm
it was tough being without basenotes yesterday feeling much better today
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post #41 of 104
3/29/12 at 12:08pm
Thanks for the hard work to get the site back and running.

The hackers picked the time "to annoy" just when you have to get to Milan !!

Have a wonderful time. I am so excited to see the Presentations with Live Streaming.
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post #42 of 104
3/29/12 at 1:36pm
Also getting that message with Safari browser on every post, and the whole site is much slower than usual.
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post #43 of 104
3/29/12 at 2:01pm
Yes, the site is super, super slow now.
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post #44 of 104
3/29/12 at 2:15pm
Thanks for all your hard work just when you needed to be getting ready to get your flight.
Lots of really big hugs to everyone there right now.
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post #45 of 104
3/29/12 at 2:18pm
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I've also noticed that the site is incredibly slow now and also more prone to double posting.
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post #46 of 104
3/29/12 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ete View Post

I've also noticed that the site is incredibly slow now and also more prone to double posting.

Yes, & also telling you to wait however many seconds between writing posts, even though you last posted something an hour ago.
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post #47 of 104
3/29/12 at 2:59pm
Double-posting most often occurs when you click on too hard on the button POST QUICK REPLY. Just one tiny light click, only once, will do the trick most of the time.

Secondly, I suppose that Mr. Grant Osborne is in Milan now. (Tomorrow is a panel discussion where I will make time and watch him at a round table discussion. This event is on Friday, March 30th, 2:30 PM Milan time, topic: TRANSLATING PERFUME INTO WORDS and hosted by Mr. Michael Edwards.)

Well, after the Trade Show is over, there will be more time to attend to all those bugs hampering the System.
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post #48 of 104
3/29/12 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
Hi guys, I know that things are slooooow at the moment. The directory is a little faster as it runs on a different database. Looking into things now.
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post #49 of 104
3/29/12 at 3:29pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry, I know its super slow. Looking into this presently.
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post #50 of 104
3/29/12 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant View Post

No data was accessed from Basenotes itself, as far as it is possible to ascertain. The hack injected the template code with some code to display an iFrame. An iFrame is something that allows you to display another website in a 'window' on a website.

As people were getting Malware warnings, there is certainly the possibility that the code was designed to download something to users computers. More information about iFrame malware is here

As always it is always wise to make sure virus checkers on your computers are up to date. I'm currently looking into the situation further to see If I can work out the nature of what the code was attempting to do. I will of course keep you updated.

Shortly after the attack happened, vBulletin who make the software Basenotes runs on issued a security patch, which we have installed.

Thanks so much Grant !
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post #51 of 104
3/29/12 at 5:13pm
Yes - thank you very much, Grant.

Just tested the auto-save feature - seems to work for me.
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post #52 of 104
3/29/12 at 7:55pm
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**Problem Fixed**
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post #53 of 104
3/29/12 at 8:55pm
Noticed that posts are very slow to be added and incremented in database.
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post #54 of 104
3/29/12 at 10:23pm
Male Fragrance Discussion Forum is stuck at 11:42 PM EST with no updating. It is now 1:23AM EST.
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post #55 of 104
3/30/12 at 4:40am
Top man Grant - as you can see your hard work is greatly appreciated!
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post #56 of 104
3/30/12 at 5:52am
Tried to change avatar picture, would not load.
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post #57 of 104
3/30/12 at 6:19am
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This is a screenshot of the New Posts page from a few minutes ago. Does this mean BN is still Hacked in part?

Note the number of posts (Results) at the bottom left (almost all duplicates and are credited to Lila das Gupta!)


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post #58 of 104
3/30/12 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant View Post

rather than just me staying up til 3am for a few nights!

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post #59 of 104
3/30/12 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbe View Post

This is a screenshot of the New Posts page from a few minutes ago. Does this mean BN is still Hacked in part?

Note the number of posts (Results) at the bottom left (almost all duplicates and are credited to Lila das Gupta!)



There's currently issues with the database, which means that its trying to connect to post, and ends up doing it lots of times .I've asked my hosts to look into it, apologies for the problems.
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post #60 of 104
3/30/12 at 10:02am
Thread Starter 
Its still as slow as treacle. Sorry. still looking into
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