Is it just me? Errors

[Tobus]

The past couple of weeks I've been getting intermittent errors when visiting the site. For a while it was a "database error" screen. Last night and this morning it was a "404" error. I haven't seen anyone else mention it, so I don't know if I'm the only one getting those. They appear to be from the host, though, not an error in my browser.

[Steve Ashton]

No, it is not just you Tobus.

It appears that the domain registration company for the forum was hacked and some data was changed directing our members to another location.

We believe we have fixed this.

If you would care to click the forum tab at the top left and then scroll down to the bottom you will find that on the 28th of Oct. we had over 24,000 Chinese robots log onto the site at one time.
We have had intermittent problems with the site ever since. Last night some data with our domain registration was changed without our knowledge and the domain registration company does not seem to have a record of this change.

We are in the process of changing the domain over to another company.

If you are able to see this post everything should be OK.

[Jock Scot]

I have had the”404” thing for about 2 days too. I am delighted the techno wizzes have managed to get me/us back on the air again. Well done!

I did manage , by a circuitous route, to discover that I was not the only one suffering, but was totally unable to discuss the problem with anyone on the website as the “404” thing blocked me.

[EdinSteve]

I noticed for a couple of days that the site was not available and just assumed it was down for maintenance given the early time here. Glad to see it is back up again. I notice a message that the website is not secure so should I be thinking about changing my password? Think I will do it anyway.

[Steve Ashton]

The "this site is not secure" message has nothing to do with your password.

It has to do with the "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol" (HTTP) that is part of the internet address of X Marks.
Earlier this year a new HTTPS protocol was implemented in an effort to secure high traffic, high volume sites like Amazon.

As no money is passed over X Marks we do not really need that extra level of security and have stayed with our original http address.

But we will probably upgrade in the near future just so the pop-up messages do not bother the members.

[EdinSteve]

The "this site is not secure" message has nothing to do with your password

Thanks for that reassurance, Steve. My worry was that the site may have been hacked with the recent problems. I don’t use the password anywhere else anyway so no problems. I seem to get messages from banks, search engines etc. about this kind of thing not to mention spurious emails from Nigeria and the likes promising riches beyond my wildest dreams and I suppose they are just trying to protect people against the fraudsters who seem to be rife on the internet these days.

[Steve Ashton]

The difference is in the encryption methods used on sites with an address 'http' v.s. those who have upgraded to the newer 'https'.

Those sites with an "https" address have additional encryption and are more 'secure' than the older system. "https" actually stands for "Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol - Secure".

It is most important for sites that transfer money like commercial sites selling stuff (think Amazon), banks and other financial institutions (like PayPal), and sites that deal with personal or sensitive information like governments, hospitals, and others where real names, addresses and personal data are stored.

While in the forum world, X Marks is considered huge, (Right up there with some car forums and some gaming forums) it does not deal with the type of sensitive data that would require an "https" change over. We would upgrade only as a convenience to our members so the warning popup does not bother or worry anyone.

BTW - If you have not been keeping up with current affairs, it is now becoming apparent that social media sites like facebook, twitter and intagram are far less secure or treat your personal data in a far less secure manner than originally thought or hoped.

[EdinSteve]

Yes I have been aware of the Facebook/ Cambridge Analytica issue and possible manipulation of elections. Being a bit of a dinosaur I only use Facebook to keep an eye on what the kids are doing and Twitter and instagram are strangers to me. You must wonder what the motivation is behind the sort of attack this site experienced recently but it seems very much what is to be expected nowadays.

[Tobus]

I'm getting a weird error when I search the forum. It gives me a results page with a list of threads, but when I click on a thread to read it, it directs me to a page with a "403 Forbidden" error.