Why *nix servers suck...

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Please do not post any "phpBB" specific topics here unless they do not fit into the category above.

Do not post bug reports, feature or support requests! No really... Do not post bug reports, feature or support requests! Doing so will make Bertie a very sad bear indeed. :(
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JPortal
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Why *nix servers suck...

Post by JPortal »

You know, if phpBB.com had been running on a Windows server, the admin password could have been changed just by booting a program from a floppy.
Unix-ish systems are just too darn secure.

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dhn
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by dhn »

JPortal wrote: You know, if phpBB.com had been running on a Windows server, the admin password could have been changed just by booting a program from a floppy.
Unix-ish systems are just too darn secure.
Problem is that we do not have direct access to the server. We could easily have used something like Knoppix to boot the system, get the data we need and rebuild it.
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psoTFX
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by psoTFX »

Indeed ... despite what some people may think we do have a "clue" :D Unfortunately when your server is left in a state that makes it inaccesible ... and it sits in a datacentre 2000 miles from the person maintaining it ... and you cannot be sure exactly what happened ... dealing with the situation becomes a tad more complex than just "running the tapes".

It would've made no difference what the OS was. At the end of the day we need to be sure we understand what happened, and try and ensure it won't happen again (least not in the same way :))

JPortal
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by JPortal »

Heh, I'm just too darn sarcastic.

Just to clarify, I'm not one who would LOL at you guys because this happened, and it irks me greatly when I see people calling you idiots for this event.

In any case, good luck getting it up, and take your time... we can find other ways to entertain ourselves while phpBB.com is down :)

Roberdin
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by Roberdin »

JPortal wrote: we can find other ways to entertain ourselves while phpBB.com is down
Burn the heretic!

;)
Rob

JPortal
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by JPortal »

.... and that is, uh, posting on area51 and imagining what the new style will be like :?

Darth Wong
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by Darth Wong »

This is why I'm more comfortable with a forum server that I have physical access to (although my main static website is still hosted with a regular webhosting company; there's not much that can go wrong with it).
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Darth Wong
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by Darth Wong »

Actually, this is a good example of why the safest way to run a server is to stick to apps that come pre-installed with the distro as much as possible. I say that because most distros have some kind of auto-update feature which you can use to periodically update your OS installation for security and bugfixes, but of course, it only works on apps that came pre-installed with the distro, not stuff you've manually installed yourself. The more stuff you've installed yourself, the more things you have to manually check for security updates.
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darious
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by darious »

lack of autoupdate.... that reminds me....

Are the phpbb listservs also part of the hacked box? I rely on listservs for notifications of high-risk vulnerabilities and haven't seen anything come out from phpbb... of course, I signed up for them some time ago and haven't recieved any traffic, so the next (or perhaps 1st) question is are the listservs running at all?

Draegonis
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Re: Why *nix servers suck...

Post by Draegonis »

The mailing list is only used for notifications of new releases, of which there have been none since the list's introduction.

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