PMBD

Ok, I'm on MSN with two of the admins from SAS and the whole block of Sublimesims is being hacked from the front page guest book of the SAS site. Thing is, none of them can get in to do a ruddy thing, they can't even log into SAS. I am there but my powers are limited to what a global mod is capable of. This isn't looking good. Would you mind terribly much going in and doing something for them? I can get to SAS, I'm there right now probably because as only a global mod, I am not considered much of a threat.

Have left a message with him in chat Paden. Don't know if he is online currently

Some additional info:

This is the error we're getting: http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii219/benroxy5/?action=view&current=adatsas.jpg . Same for me on FF3; IE7 claims it's unavailable.

I am one of the admins not getting on though the screenshot is somebody else's. I cannot confirm that the guestbook IS the problem - only that we've had problems with hacked entries before. This has killed all the sublimesims sites for us at this time. Tried using a proxy but still not getting there.

Ran a tracert and that turned out quite fine - connection is NOT the issue. Spoke to my ISP (cause I thought it might be me) but they are reporting the same issues. I changed my DNS settings but still cannot get the site. There's something else on the site which is a HUGE problem. I won't post this in public in order not to create more of a mess but I can provide the info if needed.

Thanks, Jofred, that helps. The majority of admins cannot log into the site, they get an ad instead. Sounds like a hack to me...

I can't get there.  I'm pissed.   >:(

It's not working for me, either.  >:(

It's working just fine for me. I bookmarked the forums directly,I don't go through the main page: http://securom.sublimesims.net/smf/index.php

glad it's working for you.  i still get the ad.  to be clear, I get the ad for the site and the forum. 

Sublime Sims and Sublime Sims forum was unavailable too, but hosted sites were still working. Seems to be back up now though.

not for me, but i'm glad that the ones of you that are getting there can get there. 

It's been reported to the host. Hopefully we'll be back up soon.

My friend Andy runs a site (I mod there) and he gets the exact same ad once a year.... because he always forgets to re-up his domain name. I'm not trying to be a dick here, but are you sure the domain name is paid up? I only ask because I've seen that ad before. If that's not the case, ignore me.

paid up for 3 years.

I just woke up, yawned, brushed my eyes and found this. However I was able to check the back end of Sublime (which gives me the back end of SAS) before the domain name redirect kicked in.. And our files are all still there. So this looks like it's at the domain name end and NOT the files themselves.

Okie dokie. Definitely try contacting whoever you registered the domain through then. Like Saraswati said, that would be a domain issue and not a file issue. Sorry I was not more helpful. :(

The fee has been paid up for the next three years and that was done three months ago. It's not that. It is something else and first thing that comes to mind is hacking, at least for me. And it is in the hands of the hosting company.

Looks like someone didn't pay their DNS bills. Expires 2008 Jun 29. Says you're registered through Siteground. Are you HOSTED with siteground? NEVER REGISTER YOUR DNS THROUGH YOUR WEBHOST!

 :) this is a good, although painful lesson to learn.

indeed.  much screaming is in order, and a new dns provider, i'd say. 

we're looking at a temporary fix to try to sort this til Skadi has a chance to get home.

Hehe, we HAVE a temporary fix - at least we can get back on. And one particular host should be glad they are very far away from any of us right now.

One host should be glad it's 2am in the US and I can't talk to someone.

btw pes, can you recommend someone to register another url with?

Thankfully they've apologised for their monumental fuck-up and are going to fix it.. But it would have been better not to have the stress at all.

I suggest you transfer your DNS to a dedicated DNS registrar afterwards. You DID notice that the first thing they did at any sign of trouble was to immediately hijack your DNS for themselves, rather than simply expire it? These are DODGY PEOPLE. THEY WILL STEAL YOUR WEBSITE. Do not use them as a registrar!

that sounds like good advice Pescado.. Dita and I noticed when we were grabbing the site backup today that they go to EXTRAORDINARY lengths to hide the name of the folder you point the domain name to.

Can you edit your DNS contact information normally? If so, I'd suggest you initiate an immediate transfer to a different registrar, so that your host cannot seize your name and turn it into a trap to spam your users if your hosting deal falls flat for whatever reason. It seems like these guys do this as a standard practice, given how often I've seen THAT particular dodgy piece of DNS spyware.

After a night of blindly digging around servers for a valid path to something that was present and paid for, I feel inclined to make that my personal motto.

The extraordinary lengths thing is certainly true - this has to be the first time yet that I see a host not providing an alternative point of access that is not tied to the domain name.

Now that your stop gap has been fucked over, it is pretty clear you're getting DNS attacks. Someone doesn't like you, and too many people have backdoor access. Time to close up the holes so Sublime Sims and Calalily Sims don't die, and bail.

You should have stayed at SMBD. Pescado doesn't let shit like this happen.

Yes.  This is a big ball of phail.  And it's time for Iron Fist rule.  And I'm not going to keep my opinion to myself this time.  There are people.  They are untrustworthy, and they have accesses they shouldn't have.  And now our backupsite is down too.  Iron.  Fist.  Time. 

So far, I can reach it all, and am hoping that it stays that way because my sims need new bedding. I had one crawl out of the game and scream at me, "Hey! This EA shit has GOT to go! Gimme Calalily bedding, I like that!" So, you can guess what I am doing with part of my attention.   :D

new site. again.  http://the-sas.org/smf/index.php

Hecubus, don't make this an issue about SMBD luv.. This was purely and simply a case of Siteground fucked up and didn't reregister Skadi's domain name. We HAVE moved to Dita's space in the short term with the new domain name and we will be looking to ask for Pescado's help soon. But we need to get the name sorted out and the way the vote is going among the guys, it won't be SMBD. And SAS is not SMBD, it's a different forum, a different site, comes from a different perspective and has a different membership.

I don't think it's a matter of making it about SMBD, Saraswati. (do correct me if I'm wrong, Hec.)  I think it was more a Pescado doesn't so much get hacked. Like it or not, that's just a truth. 

I agree on that.. absolutely. He's very good at the security which is why we've been talking to him about hosting for about a week now. But there are things we need to sort out first before we look at this.. like what we're called. The site will be fine on Dita's space with regular backups for a week or two while we work out the new format and stuff.

You haven't even been hacked, you're simply dealing with an inept and dodgy hosting provider stacked on top of the DNS issues because you foolishly registered your DNS through the same place as your webhost. This is bad! Never do this! Webhosting services occasionally decide for some reason that you are objectionable to them and decide to seize your site. If your DNS is seperate from them, they can only seize the server data. You can then just upload backups to a new server elsewhere, and repoint the DNS. Back up and running, low-fuss. If your DNS is with them also, they've gotten a clean sweep and can obliterate your presence in one swoop. Without the DNS, you don't have a good way of getting your users to see SOMETHING, so they'd have no way of knowing where to go next.

This is an honest question... Pescado, how do you get around those hosts that go "I already have my domain name" and try to get you to transfer the domain?

Every single host I've been with seems to try to wangle this, which is why I'm honestly asking..

Tell them "No"? Bottom line, they want your money. If you tell them that you won't switch the domain, and that if that's something they need you to do they can't service you, then you guess they just can't service you...they'll cave.

I guess it seemed like you lost a couple of domains in the process there, plus I know there's been some unrest among the natives, so it seemed like a situation ripe for a DoS attack to me.

Regarding SMBD - I find it funny that securom.mustbedestroyed bothers people when paysites.mustbedestroyed doesn't.

And...yeah, Pescado's tops on security, both interwebs and otherwise. I can't imagine anyone breaking down his doors.

I suppose that means he hasn't found the nest I built in his ceiling yet, then?

...

Aw, dammit.

I've really got to sleep more at night, I thought that you were going to say something about the nest you made in his beard!

That reminds me of that one Famliy Guy episode where a nest of endangered baby birds nested in Peter's beard. Now I have the image in my head of Pescado with baby birds poking out of his beard and him feeding them...

To his cat(s).  :D

To his cats..... Paden and Pooki??  :o

I was thinking more the ones he keeps at the bunker, Pooki and I are free range and I'm kinda big to just be called a cat...

Hey Luv.. well, no because SAS, and Cala's site is a subdomain that hangs off Sublime.. But you are 100 percent correct, we need to be careful and at the very least make sure we're backing the site up regularly.. I'm backing the whole site up once a night and getting it on my pc. We need to start with some reasonable caution, not drop the ball and we'll sort the rest out from there.

Actually the people who have an issue with it are usually people who wouldn't visit here.. they say it has "associations" and it needs to be bipartisan..(this obviously doesn't include me) But that's not what's deciding the vote at the moment. At some point the guys who're working on this issue regularly realised that DRM's are a bigger issue than just Securom, and the thought that is giving us nightmares is having EA remove Securom from everyone's games just to go for something worse. Basically they want a name that doesn't have the word "securom" in it. The current winner of the vote has drm in it instead..

Don't. :P They can't force you to do it.