Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
|
|||
| author | remove search highlighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
posted: 21 Apr 2012 22:30 from: roythebus
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
It seems RMweb is down again. Has anyone got any ideas what's wrong with it this time? It's been offline since Thursday 19th April. |
||
|
posted: 21 Apr 2012 23:01 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
roythebus wrote: It seems RMweb is down again. Has anyone got any ideas what's wrong with it this time?Hi Roy, It was hacked by a protest group who stole some members' email addresses. Andy York requested the software provider IPS to upgrade the software to close the loophole which allowed that to happen. In the upgrade process the server crashed and RMweb had to be restored from a backup by the hosting provider (Jim Hale in Ohio -- also our hosting provider here for Templot Club and also for the YMR forum). That process takes several hours because RMweb is such a massive web site. Jim has completed the restore, and Andy is now waiting for IPS to complete the software upgrade. Hopefully it won't crash again. You can follow events at: http://twitter.com/rmweb and on Facebook at: http://t.co/R8gJiycW http://t.co/34b7Q9Vu At present you can see the front page only of RMweb if you use this link: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/ If you leave out the www it doesn't work. Andy has requested members not to try to post anything or report errors until the all-clear is given. regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: 21 Apr 2012 23:09 from: John Lewis
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Martin wrote: You can follow events at: http://twitter.com/rmweb And Twitter seems to be having problems, too - density of traffic blaimed! |
||
|
posted: 21 Apr 2012 23:16 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Latest message to members of RMweb from Andy York: "Can you please stop attempting to post or make Status Updates whilst the site is experiencing problems. I would take it offline if I could access my Admin area. I am presently furious with our software provider but I would appeal for some patience and see where we are tomorrow." |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:33 from: Jim Guthrie
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Martin Wynne wrote: It was hacked by a protest group who stole some members' email addresses.Protesting about what? Enquiring minds......  Jim. |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:45 from: Jonathan Wells click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
^^^ Some numpties protesting about bankers etc. |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:55 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Jim Guthrie wrote:Protesting about what? Enquiring minds......Hi Jim, My RMweb email address was stolen, and this is the spam email I received, 4 times over. If you plan to join in you will need a barrel of gunpowder and a funny hat.  The suggested response on RMweb is to send a bus timetable to the address given, so that those involved can get out more. I strongly recommend that you don't follow the link because the site may contain malicious code: Dear Anonymous, |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 13:11 from: Alan McMillan
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
I got this same email, so my address must have been pinched as well. I tried replying to it with a suggestion that they get out more but it bounced. I then checked the Whois.net register and discovered that the anonymous.net domain was, surprise, surprise, anonymously registered in the USA. Their bravery and commitment knows no bounds. The website I think must have been malicious because my antivirus blocked it before it got a chance to load. Alan |
||
| Last edited on 22 Apr 2012 13:13 by Alan McMillan |
|||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 13:30 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Although the email is a joke, the damage caused to RMweb and several other forums is not. RMweb is still offline and likely to remain so for some time, because of software problems caused by this hacking. I'm confident that Templot Club is well secured against such attacks, but nothing on the internet can ever be cast-iron secure. Fingers crossed. Martin. |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 15:26 from: its_all_downhill
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
It's absolutely diabolical that RMweb is off line what are they thinking!!! we'll have to resort to do some real modelling.. Tom |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 15:36 from: Geoff Cook
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
its_all_downhill wrote: It's absolutely diabolical that RMweb is off line what are they thinking!!! we'll have to resort to do some real modelling..It was real modelling that Andy York was doing Wednesday evening till this happened and now he can't get back to doing any untill all this is sorted Geoff |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 20:03 from: roythebus
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Thanks for the info. I don't do bookface or twitter, the mrs moans enough about the few sites I DO look at on a daily basis! This isn't the first time RMweb has been down. I appreciate it's a free site, but it doesn't say much for the site's host! Good luck to those who run it. Maybe it was finescale modellers protesting about us who use OO gauge?? |
||
| Last edited on 22 Apr 2012 20:04 by roythebus |
|||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 20:31 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
roythebus wrote:This isn't the first time RMweb has been down. I appreciate it's a free site, but it doesn't say much for the site's host!Hi Roy, In fact the hosting provider Jim Hale at Data 1 Systems does are marvellous job to keep it running at all. When it was hosted in the UK, it fell apart completely. Jim also hosts this site and the main Templot web site. I think you would agree that they are very reliable and only occasionally have any problems. Touching wood as I type. The basic problem with RMweb is the software which runs that site, called IP.Board from a firm called Invision Power Services (IPS). Admittedly it is very comprehensive and full of useful features, but had Andy asked for opinions about it before choosing it, sentences containing words such as bargepole would have been uttered with some force. The situation now is that the problems are entirely related to IP.Board. It contained a flaw allowing it to be hacked. IPS's attempt to fix that crashed the server. Jim spent 24 hours restoring a backup to get it going again. Since when Andy has been waiting nearly 24 hours for IPS to come back and finish the job they started on Friday. regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 21:59 from: Richard Spratt
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Is FRED (scalerail) suffering the same problems? It appears to be down every time I try to get in since the middle of last week. |
||
|
posted: 22 Apr 2012 22:42 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Richard Spratt wrote: Is FRED (scalerail) suffering the same problems? It appears to be down every time I try to get in since the middle of last week.Hi Richard, Finescale Railway Modellers Workshop: http://scalerail.phpbbhosts.co.uk is not down. It is running "normally". I say "normally" because the hosting provider is so paranoid about spam that he has blocked great swathes of IP numbers, effectively blocking half the domestic internet connections in the UK. I mean the hosting provider Sander in the Netherlands, not the FRMW admins: http://twitter.com/forumhost The only way to get on to FRMW is to keep disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting again, until you finally get allocated an IP number which isn't blocked. It took me 5 attempts to do that one morning recently. (If you normally connect from your place of work you probably have a static IP number there, and doing that won't work.) There is no connection between these problems and those on RMweb. regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: 23 Apr 2012 13:46 from: Bruce A Wilson
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Now I know where that mesage came from. Looks like they pinched my addy as well. So how many plan on showing up for the festivities? |
||
|
posted: 2 May 2012 14:43 from: Jim Guthrie
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Is it down again? I was changing pages on a thread when I got a hacker's page, then a "Forum Unavailable" message popped up a short while later. There's no message on Twitter or Facebook as yet. Jim. |
||
| Last edited on 2 May 2012 14:44 by Jim Guthrie |
|||
|
posted: 2 May 2012 14:47 from: Phil O
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Hi JimIs it down again? I was changing pages on a thread when I got a hacker's page, then a "Forum Unavailable" message popped up a short while later. There's no message on Twitter or Facebook as yet.Yeah it's down again !!!! Cheers Phil |
||
|
posted: 2 May 2012 14:57 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Jim Guthrie wrote: Is it down again?Hi Jim, Yes, RMweb has been hacked again. Message from Andy York: "RMweb is temporarily offline whilst a software issue relating to hackers is investigated/resolved." Updates available here: http://twitter.com/rmweb and here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RMweb/205398459548735 Hopefully they haven't done too much damage. If it needs a full restore from backup again it will be off for many hours. regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: posted: 2 May 2012 15:03 from: roythebus
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
And some people railway modellers are sad! Pah. | ||
|
2 May 2012 15:03 from: roythebus
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
And some people railway modellers are sad! Pah. | ||
|
posted: posted: 2 May 2012 15:09 from: John Shelley
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Martin Wynne wrote: Jim Guthrie wrote:Interestingly enough within the last few days, in response to an increase in hacking, my web hoster has introduced what they describe as a more secure FTP access facility. In essence FTP access is limited to IP addresses which are "Whitelisted", this list is controlled by the web page owner. You can opt out of this system, but only if a disclaimer is signed.Is it down again?Hi Jim, Cheers for now John from 33820 St Ciers sur Gironde |
||
|
2 May 2012 15:09 from: Paul Boyd
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Why is it that RMweb seems to be so unstable and vulnerable, compared to other forums or websites? ...even after these vulnerabilities have been exposed several times. It's a shame, because it has the potential to be a really useful resource, but the number of times that Google search results give a 404 error when you try to follow the link, or RMweb itself is down, just makes it unusable - I can't take it seriously as a resource. Full credit to Andy York for giving it a go, but it does need to work. |
||
|
posted: 2 May 2012 15:35 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Paul Boyd wrote: Why is it that RMweb seems to be so unstable and vulnerable, compared to other forums or websites?Hi Paul, The basic problem with RMweb is the software which runs that site, called IP.Board from a firm called Invision Power Services (IPS). Had Andy asked for opinions about it before choosing it, sentences containing words such as "bargepole" would have been uttered with some force. Admittedly it is very comprehensive and full of useful features, but they are provided at the cost of a massive load on the server and the database engine. In many ways RMweb is a victim of its own success -- for the number of users now on there it needs much larger server resources than the voluntary donations could ever provide. Now that RMweb is under the wing of Warner Publications, perhaps they will be investing in additional servers. That doesn't explain the present hacking of course, which can only be due to a security flaw in the software. regards, Martin. |
||
|
posted: 2 May 2012 16:07 from: Martin Wynne
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
For those suffering RMweb withdrawal. Although the RMweb forums are offline, the Modelling Inspiration online magazines are still available, and contain some excellent material and pictures: http://rmweb.co.uk/MI1a.pdf http://rmweb.co.uk/MI2.pdf http://rmweb.co.uk/Mi3.pdf Martin. |
||
|
posted: 3 May 2012 08:48 from: Jim Guthrie
click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Martin Wynne wrote: For those suffering RMweb withdrawal.Martin, I don't think I would suffer from that these days. It's much too large to take an interest in all the content unless you want to spend every day and all day monitoring it. I do a quick scan through "What's New" to see if there might be something that interests me. I suspect that I might only read a very low single figure percentage of the total content - if that.Jim. |
||
| Please read this important note about copyright: Unless stated otherwise, all the files submitted to this web site are copyright and the property of the respective contributor. You are welcome to use them for your own personal non-commercial purposes, and in your messages on this web site. If you want to publish any of this material elsewhere or use it commercially, you must first obtain the owner's permission to do so. |