Topic: Planetdescent.com?

[Matthew]

Well Crash, there wasn't really much they could do by the sound of it. The software was outdated and got hit by what must've been a pretty major hack attack.

[Crash]

I see, it's a shame how the script kiddies ruin anything and everything. They invest so much time tearing down everything you do because it's a fun game to them.
Only good thing is that it forces you to improve I suppose. Keeps you on your toes as a programmer.

[Kaiaatzl]

Natural selection of the internet...

[-<WillyP>-]

I think it was more likely a lack of support from IGN than a hack.

[Scyphi]

Yeah, if IGN had been just a little bit more helpful... 

[Matthew]

Well, we really don't know just what happened so its rather rash in my opinion to blame it all on them. The software was so old, who's the say they could fix it at all? Any "fix" would've basically been the equivalent of us moving here. A total rebuilding of the site.

[-<WillyP>-]

You are right, we don't know the whole story. The code, being a one-off custom, was certainly not IGN's responsibility. But we were told some time ago that support was being dropped, right around the time the url bug first showed up.

But 'support' doesn't mean IGN going in and fixing code, it means a lot of other things that IGN may have done like limiting text fields, or banning certain characters, and more importantly, working with staff to find a suitable compromise. It means restoring server-level backups when hardware fails, taking precautions with data when routine maintenance is done.

But of course, I am purely speculating, I really don't know.

[Scyphi]

And it doesn't really matter whether or not IGN could've helped or not, it's the fact that they quite clearly didn't even try to help. They just ignored PD.com in the end.

[Matthew]

What you need to realize is that it wasn't just one site. There was literally dozens of sites affected from what I have read. Dozens of outdated sites that they could only try to fix, and hope that they fixed the exploit. Then a week later it gets attacked again and you get infected by a virus visiting it because they couldn't fix the outdated software.

Or they can just take it down and save you the hassle of getting a virus.

[-<WillyP>-]

Where did you read that?

[Matthew]

Didn't someone here say that all the other old sites are gone as well? The only sites left are the ones running the newer software.

[SaladBadger]

Didn't someone here say that all the other old sites are gone as well? The only sites left are the ones running the newer software.

The old sites all used different custom software. If there was one exploit that could take them all down... well, then that's almost completely unlikely

[Crash]

What I can't believe is that no database or filesystem backups are available.
I'm sure you guys have probably thought of this already but if you give me an address I'll see to it once my exams finish.

[-<WillyP>-]

Didn't someone here say that all the other old sites are gone as well? The only sites left are the ones running the newer software.

Possibly what you read was referring to the sites that were hosted by PD.com, like Suncho's kQuery tutorial, and Stormcrow's Tao of Descent.

[Matthew]

Didn't someone here say that all the other old sites are gone as well? The only sites left are the ones running the newer software.

The old sites all used different custom software. If there was one exploit that could take them all down... well, then that's almost completely unlikely

Not true. I visited several sites that were nearly identical to PD. I think planet Doom was one of them.

And that is very possible WillyP, I'd entirely forgotten about those.