# OK - We're back up, but what happened, Conrad?



## Ho Ho Tai (Mar 20, 2010)

I looked over recent messages and have seen nothing explaining the down-time of the last few days, other than a statement about an attack. No details, nor any prevention advice.

I sent out this e-mail message to all Dimensions members for whom I have an off-board address. Now that the board is up, I'm reposting it here.


-----Original Message-----

Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 10:07 PM
To: Conrad Blickenstorfer
Subject: From Ho Ho Tai - The koobface worm? Is that what hit Dimensions?

Conrad and Dimensions friends -

I'm mailing all of you for whom I have an off-board address. I want to share our recent experience and see if there is any connections to Dimensions.

We run AVG-lite every weekend. Typically, it never come up with anything, beyond a bunch of stray cookies. The past two weeks, it has come up with the koobface worm. Here is a link to Wikipedia on that worm. According to Wiki, the worm is directed to social networking sites. I never visit, nor do I have a membership, on Facebook, twitter, or any other such site, with the possible exception of Dimensions. According to the description, the worm does not seem to be directed to sites such as Dimensions, but I don't know if it can spread via someone else's link. I am about to run AVG again tonight and we'll see what happens.

[Note: I did run AVG last night. No worm or virus was found.]

Meanwhile, I'd appreciate hearing from any of you who have had a similar experience - or haven't. All evidence is important.

[In the original message, my off-board identity was revealed. I choose to delete those portions from this post.]


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## Wagimawr (Mar 20, 2010)

Interested in this too.


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## exile in thighville (Mar 20, 2010)

it might be suggested that we don't want to grant attention to the attack


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## joswitch (Mar 20, 2010)

Ho Ho Tai said:


> I looked over recent messages and have seen nothing explaining the down-time of the last few days, other than a statement about an attack. No details, nor any prevention advice.
> 
> I sent out this e-mail message to all Dimensions members for whom I have an off-board address. Now that the board is up, I'm reposting it here.
> 
> ...



Somewhat general point: I've found better results running Avira Antivir than when I used to run AVG.


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## Crystal (Mar 20, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> it might be suggested that we don't want to grant attention to the attack



Seriously?

That's not going to happen.


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## Fallenangel2904 (Mar 20, 2010)

While I AM curious about what happened- I'm just glad to have Dims back online! All that matters to me!


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## exile in thighville (Mar 20, 2010)

Crystal said:


> Seriously?
> 
> That's not going to happen.



that's fine and all but giving them a reaction is the way to make it happen again


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## AtlantisAK (Mar 20, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> that's fine and all but giving them a reaction is the way to make it happen again



Well, we're still curious... Bucking it on a forum isnt going to stop people from wanting to know or ask. -shrug-


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## Seth Warren (Mar 20, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> that's fine and all but giving them a reaction is the way to make it happen again



So just present the facts and don't act like flailing drama queens when presented with said facts. Of course, not acting like flailing drama queens is probably one of the hardest feats ever asked of any given member of the human race to accomplish at any given time.


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## CleverBomb (Mar 20, 2010)

AtlantisAK said:


> Well, we're still curious... Bucking it on a forum isnt going to stop people from wanting to know or ask. -shrug-


We can pretty much assume they know the effects of what they did.

The effects on the community? Well, if we don't bring it up, it looks like nobody here is involved enough to wonder (or perhaps even notice) what happened. 

If it involved malware that could have affected site users (and I have no idea whether or not this was a component of the incident), it would be irresponsible to hide it -- but if so, just naming an antivirus app or system tool that can fix the situation would suffice.

-Rusty


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## BBW Betty (Mar 20, 2010)

I'm just thankful it's back up and running. Thank you so much to Conrad and whoever helped him out. I missed you guys.


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## Ernest Nagel (Mar 20, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> that's fine and all but giving them a reaction is the way to make it happen again



I really think it may be wise to listen to one speaking with the voice of experience here? :bow:


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## fatlane (Mar 20, 2010)

It was ninjas and pirates in a one-two combo assault. That's why it took the extra day to get things back up to 100%. It takes a lot to fight off several dozen ninjas and pirates. Those Krav Maga classes Conrad took really paid off.

The above explanation, while not technical, is perhaps the most entertaining one you will get.


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## stan_der_man (Mar 20, 2010)

In the absence of any other explanation... I have some theories on what happened if anybody would like to hear them.


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## ButlerGirl09 (Mar 20, 2010)

stan_der_man said:


> In the absence of any other explanation... I have some theories on what happened if anybody would like to hear them.



Spill it...


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## ChubbyBubbles (Mar 20, 2010)

stan_der_man said:


> In the absence of any other explanation... I have some theories on what happened if anybody would like to hear them.



Please do tell Stan...the floor, errr, forum is all yours!


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## charlieversion2 (Mar 20, 2010)

1.) Recent media coverage has created several thousands of people to visit this site, possible bandwidth/ service issues. (most likely) 

2.) Again media coverage, added traffic has made this a perfect place to serve up malware to unsuspecting visitors, thus causing the ISP to cut service. (in response to koobface)

3.) aliens or Jim Carey, take your pick


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## tonynyc (Mar 20, 2010)

ChrisVersion2 said:


> 1.) Recent media coverage has created several thousands of people to visit this site, possible bandwidth/ service issues. (most likely)
> 
> 2.) Again media coverage, added traffic has made this a perfect place to serve up malware to unsuspecting visitors, thus causing the ISP to cut service. (in response to koobface)
> 
> 3.) aliens or Jim Carey, take your pick



*OR*

*4.)Dimmers of XMAS Past*


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## CleverBomb (Mar 20, 2010)

fatlane said:


> It was ninjas and pirates in a one-two combo assault. That's why it took the extra day to get things back up to 100%. It takes a lot to fight off several dozen ninjas and pirates. Those Krav Maga classes Conrad took really paid off.
> 
> The above explanation, while not technical, is perhaps the most entertaining one you will get.


Even if it's not only non-technical but also completely fantastical, it definitely is the most entertaining one we'll get. 

Repped. 

-Rusty


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## CleverBomb (Mar 20, 2010)

stan_der_man said:


> In the absence of any other explanation... I have some theories on what happened if anybody would like to hear them.


Kelligrl got jealous. 

She can be pretty vindictive.

-Rusty


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## Frankhw (Mar 20, 2010)

ChrisVersion2 said:


> 3.) aliens or Jim Carey, take your pick



There's a Difference?


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## AtlantisAK (Mar 20, 2010)

CleverBomb said:


> Kelligrl got jealous.
> 
> She can be pretty vindictive.
> 
> -Rusty



Lol, seriously...You -had- to go there?


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## boots (Mar 20, 2010)

I don't think everyone would be so curious if the message we got while the boards were down wasn't, "Repairing damage from last night's ATTACK."

I think if Conrad wasn't planing to expand on that, it might have been worded a bit differently. Otherwise, Conrad has secret sadomasochistic tendencies in spurring so much curiosity .


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## Wagimawr (Mar 20, 2010)

boots said:


> Conrad has secret sadomasochistic tendencies in spurring so much curiosity .


You heard it here first.

*[USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST]*


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## boots (Mar 21, 2010)

Wagimawr said:


> *[USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST]*



Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...?


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## Wagimawr (Mar 21, 2010)

ah-ha. YOU started the threads on SomethingAwful!


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## boots (Mar 21, 2010)

Wagimawr said:


> ah-ha. YOU started the threads on SomethingAwful!



Wait what?


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## Wagimawr (Mar 21, 2010)

j/k lol

p.s. I wasn't actually banned.


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## stan_der_man (Mar 21, 2010)

ButlerGirl09 said:


> Spill it...





ChubbyBubbles said:


> Please do tell Stan...the floor, errr, forum is all yours!



My official report will be coming soon. I'm still thinkin'...


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## BBW Goddess Anna (Mar 21, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> it might be suggested that we don't want to grant attention to the attack



Good point. But hard to do with this many people on the boards! :doh:


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## Crystal (Mar 21, 2010)

Are we seriously not going to get any sort of message from anyone as to what happened?


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## joswitch (Mar 21, 2010)

Crystal said:


> Are we seriously not going to get any sort of message from anyone as to what happened?



Peeps, relax! 
It's the interwerbz in the 21st Century... 

It's chocka with viruses/malware/trojans most of which - having been once spawned unto cyberspace long ago by spotty scriptkiddies - are now operating automatically from 'bots/zombies (PCs/servers which have been unwittingly hijacked to infect others)... It's more likely that DIMs server got taken down by this vast swirling tide of random malice than anything specific and/or human-directed.

The internet is now a lot more like an ecosystem with lots of continuously mutating diseases, than say a predictable, logical system with transparency of intent...

As for your own boxes:
Firewalls ON.
Keep your antivirus on and updated.
Don't open any suspicious emails.
And that's probably about the best you can do, unless you swap to LINUX.
:bow:


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## fatlane (Mar 21, 2010)

CleverBomb said:


> Kelligrl got jealous.
> 
> She can be pretty vindictive.
> 
> -Rusty



Kelligrl be crazy, fa sho. 

View attachment ohnoooo.jpg


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## Webmaster (Mar 21, 2010)

Crystal said:


> Are we seriously not going to get any sort of message from anyone as to what happened?



The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.


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## butch (Mar 21, 2010)

If someone ever puts together an archive of Dimensions material, then fatlane's Kelligrl, Hitler, Brimley pic would be the equivalant of the Constitution at the National Archives. Put that thing under protective glass, man!


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## Paquito (Mar 21, 2010)

fatlane said:


> Kelligrl be crazy, fa sho.



See, now I'm all turned on to a picture with Hitler in it. Thanks a lot.


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## Wanderer (Mar 21, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.



Thanks. I'd been wondering what was going on.


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## Crystal (Mar 21, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.



Thank you for an explanation and for working so hard to get us back up.


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## Ho Ho Tai (Mar 21, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.



Conrad -

First, thanks for all your hard work.

Second, the intent of my original question was more like what can we, as the user community, do to keep from dragging our muddy feet through your clean kitchen? What are the most notorious sources for mischief? If we frequent any of these, should we offer to sweep out our own computers before entering Dimensions?


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## boots (Mar 21, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.



Are we talkin' denial of service attack kind of traffic here, or "hey, fat people have a website? No WAI!" sudden overexposure on tv and the internets kind of traffic?


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## fatlane (Mar 21, 2010)

boots said:


> Are we talkin' denial of service attack kind of traffic here, or "hey, fat people have a website? No WAI!" sudden overexposure on tv and the internets kind of traffic?



I'm thinking the latter.


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## Paul (Mar 21, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> The database came to a halt Thursday with what appeared to be excessive traffic. Closer examination revealed a possible intentional attack. After assessing the situation I rebuilt the files and there were some snags during that, like running out of disk space in one of the logical volumes while the system made backups of the huge forum database. I don't think anything was lost.


 Thanks Conrad for all your work keeping the frums up and running. Your work is very much appreciated.


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## CleverBomb (Mar 21, 2010)

fatlane said:


> I'm thinking the latter.


Slashdot effect.

-Rusty


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