Thetalkers blog highjacked

[Talker]

Hi All,

Was hit by a hijacker that messed up my database.

What ever it was, caused a CPU lockout at the host servers location.

Sheesh

Sooooo, a new learning in motion, on how to correct.

How long before it's up and running again, is anyones guess.

But I'll be making the effort to resolve it.

Be Well

[Mina-Laura]

The force be with you!!!

love - laura

[Freedom]

Hi Talker
 I love your approach to what many would seem as a dastardly problem...
"a new learning in motion, on how to correct". 
In the old days , my normal sympathy would come out, which is no help whatsoever...
I am glad that you are approaching this as a new learning. Hopefully, when I have a problem I can see the gift within it.

Love and LIGHT 

[Talker]

The force be with you!!!

love - laura

Hello Laura and All,

The Force was with me, plain as could be,
my eyes did roll when I looked at the site,
My blog was ailing, posts, none to be seen,
suspended it said is what I read, and even more,
was the disaster, when the notice  mentioned, see webmaster,
Looked around, with none to be found, where are you webmaster,
more disaster I did see, the WEBMASTER is ME.
Learning curve, here I come, will nail you down WordPress,
you are a unholy mess, as was your sql database,
and now I must confess, was ready to give up this learning mess,
Yet as with life, never did yield, held true, the life learning course,
though bruised and battered, thinking shattered, put my focus,
where it mattered, through the dark haze, the Spirit and The Force,
did unite, gave light, once again I have won this fight
Would believe that neither ego nor pride, were on this ride,
yet sheer delight experienced on this learning curve.
No Longfellow, Keats or Muir, but thats my effort.
Thusly It Came To Pass.
Be Well

[Mina-Laura]

The force be with you!!!

love - laura

Hello Laura and All,

The Force was with me, plain as could be,
my eyes did roll when I looked at the site,
My blog was ailing, posts, none to be seen,
suspended it said is what I read, and even more,
was the disaster, when the notice  mentioned, see webmaster,
Looked around, with none to be found, where are you webmaster,
more disaster I did see, the WEBMASTER is ME.
Learning curve, here I come, will nail you down WordPress,
you are a unholy mess, as was your sql database,
and now I must confess, was ready to give up this learning mess,
Yet as with life, never did yield, held true, the life learning course,
though bruised and battered, thinking shattered, put my focus,
where it mattered, through the dark haze, the Spirit and The Force,
did unite, gave light, once again I have won this fight
Would believe that neither ego nor pride, were on this ride,
yet sheer delight experienced on this learning curve.
No Longfellow, Keats or Muir, but thats my effort.
Thusly It Came To Pass.
Be Well

    **     **
 **********
    *******
      *****
         **
         

[zensunni7]

Hi Talker,

I have had my desktop hijacked a few times, which is much less a problem than what your facing.
But I did learn alot recovering it, and it made me much more computer savvy in the process. I have a Word Press page but have not posted there in awhile because of so many glitches and aggravations.
May the Force be with us all " Use the force Luke "

Love to all
Darrell

[Talker]

Hi Talker,

I have had my desktop hijacked a few times, which is much less a problem than what your facing.
But I did learn alot recovering it, and it made me much more computer savvy in the process. I have a Word Press page but have not posted there in awhile because of so many glitches and aggravations.
May the Force be with us all " Use the force Luke "

Love to all
Darrell

Hello Darrell,
Had visited your site previously, and wondered why the scant activity. Now I know. While I'm tetrazillion bytes from being WP literate, I wear serious scars of WP battles. Am in the process of viewing WP video's that will fill in the voids that currently exist. Obtained the videos at a sweet discount due to an Angel's intervention at a critical time. Feel free to contact me privately in regards to this.
Yes, "glitches and aggravations" are a given, contrary to much of the hype of (how easy it is) to learn and do blogging. Much like the life process, with it's "glitches and aggravations" that test ones mettle, when the rough spots hit. While I may bitch a bit, and yup, even sulk a little, eventually normal insanity steps back in.
Be Well

[Adrian]

Dear Talker and everyone else for that matter,

Take it from someone with 18 years experience managing servers and fending off hackers, script kiddies and other sundry attackers, many of whom are really resourceful and technically brilliant, you have to have many levels of defence and keep a lot of backups.

I operate my own high performance servers, and so, being fluent in deepest command line Linux I secure the servers at several levels. I also have systems which monitor for attacks and when an attack is identified it disconnects the attacker, blocks his IP addresses forever, and sends me an email to let me know.

And, without sounding like a broken record - always, always, always backup your databases every single day and keep a copy on your PC.  For most people with websites hosted at hosting companies, it isn't a matter of if but when your site will be wiped out.

Two of my sites were wiped out last year by a hacker called "The Turk" who replaces your site with a page of anti-Turkish government propaganda. He wasn't targeting me - his script scanned millions of IP addresses per day for a software security hole he found but which had not been fixed, and uses XSS - "cross server scripting".  I had my sites back online up in 15' whereas most never did recover.

I have been in high-tech for 30 years, and it is utterly staggering how many people never, ever backup the valuable data on their PC's. Every single day I get a request, sometimes several requests from people who lost their hard disk and lost everything.

I immediately send their files, but say to them a fact based on 30 years computer experience - your hard disk will fail. It is a mechanical device that works to extreme tolerances. Not only that - some people actually move their PC when it is switched on - instant damage to the heads and platters.

Then there are those who seem oblivious to viruses and trojans who open all those tempting attachments, click links etc and either get wiped out sooner or later, or, as is increasingly the case, get a "key logger" installed. A key logger is a piece of malware that records every keystroke and reports it back to the owner. They use the info for online account passwords etc to hack bank accounts and who knows what else.

It is a dangerous world out there. I have never been hit with a virus or trojan in 30 years, because I recognise them instantly, but my kids have a few times and they are all computer experts who even fix the school PC's etc for the IT department

A USB Memory Stick costs a few dollars for 8GB which is more than enough to backup all valuable data, photo's etc. You don't need to backup software because you can reinstall it.

If your PC gets hacked and you are running Windows Vista, you can wind the system settings back for as many days as you need to and that will always fix it - that is what I have done with the kids computers a few times.

No apologies for the lecture I hope you take note and save you from a traumatic and/or stressful PC wipeout.

In Love and Light,

Adrian.

[melody]

Hello Adrian,

Thank you for all the computer information you have given us and your knowledgeable advise. You mention that a PC should never be moved when it is on because this will cause an instant damage to the hard drive. Does that also apply to a laptop? They are so small and portable and it is tempting to move a laptop when it is on when one needs, for instance, more space to one side of it. And what type of a damage is it? Does it makes some parts of the hard drive unusable (blocking them off as unusable), or does it cause some serious misfunction to the drive?

What is the procedure, in case it is not too difficult to describe in a post here of "If your PC gets hacked and you are running Windows Vista, you can wind the system settings back for as many days as you need to'?  How does one wind the system settings back?

[Talker]

Thank you Adrian, for the shin kicker as I call it. Looking for a message / lesson regards this event, humorously brought to mind (what did I do to tick you off God), I know that's not a true statement of fact, but is how I plumb the inner workings for a message and / or lesson involved. Best I could come up with here was a message, ALWAYS BE READY, Spirit, Soul, Body, computer and backup wise.

That said, my backup program when invoked, stated (unrecoverable error unable to continue). Oh yeah, first time I ever need the backup, it belches and dies's. My hosting site had performed a massive server upgrade, that some how left the the hosts backup function inoperative. My saved gZipped backups flashed 'corrupted zip header' when invoked and  (what did I do to tick you off God) thoughts. 

So I did the old donkey action:

"One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quietened down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up."

So that's how it went. Little by little, I wiggled and jiggled to a point where my blog was back up. Same applies to life.
Be Well

[Talker]

Hello Melody and All,

What is System Restore?
 Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time. It's a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as email, documents, or photos.

Sometimes, the installation of a program or a driver can cause an unexpected change to your computer or cause Windows to behave unpredictably. Usually, uninstalling the program or driver corrects the problem. If uninstalling does not fix the problem, you can try restoring your computer's system to an earlier date when everything worked correctly.

System Restore uses a feature called System Protection to regularly create and save restore points on your computer. These restore points contain information about registry settings and other system information that Windows uses. You can also create restore points manually.

System Restore is not intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. You should regularly back up your personal files and important data using a backup program.
 
 • Open System Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking System Restore. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/9f6d755a-74bb-4a7d-a625-d762dd8e79e51033.mspx

Be Well

[melody]

Hello Talker,

Thanks for the system resore info.

I am glad you got yourself out of the "well"! Thank you for sharing the very instructive story about the donkey and the well , I really enjoyed it.

[Mina-Laura]

Dear Talker and everyone else for that matter,

Take it from someone with 18 years experience managing servers and fending off hackers, script kiddies and other sundry attackers, many of whom are really resourceful and technically brilliant, you have to have many levels of defence and keep a lot of backups.

I operate my own high performance servers, and so, being fluent in deepest command line Linux I secure the servers at several levels. I also have systems which monitor for attacks and when an attack is identified it disconnects the attacker, blocks his IP addresses forever, and sends me an email to let me know.

Oh wow, so Adrian is an advanced piece of software. Hmm an enlightened nerd - tell me please so is it you authoring the what we see?? is it really??

always, always, always backup your databases every single day and keep a copy on your PC. 

Good advice Thank you - I can never hear enough to remember to back up files!!! even with lesson learned the hard way.

What is System Restore?
 Applies to all editions of Windows Vista.

System restore is also on XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084



you people rock!!

love you - Laura

[Adrian]

Hello Melody,

Hello Adrian,

Thank you for all the computer information you have given us and your knowledgeable advise. You mention that a PC should never be moved when it is on because this will cause an instant damage to the hard drive. Does that also apply to a laptop? They are so small and portable and it is tempting to move a laptop when it is on when one needs, for instance, more space to one side of it. And what type of a damage is it? Does it makes some parts of the hard drive unusable (blocking them off as unusable), or does it cause some serious misfunction to the drive?

What is the procedure, in case it is not too difficult to describe in a post here of "If your PC gets hacked and you are running Windows Vista, you can wind the system settings back for as many days as you need to'?  How does one wind the system settings back?

It is less applicable to Lap Tops because they use hard disks which have plenty of protection - I would not advise dropping one though.

A hard disk, internally, consists of a number of very highly polished metal "platters" which spin at 10,000 RPM or more these days.

The "heads" that very rapidly move back and forwards over these platters to read and write data are actually "floating" a minuscule distance above the platters on a cushion of air caused by the spinning of the platters. When the PC is powered down the heads retract to a safe "parking zone".

If you move a PC by dragging it along a carpet, or rocking it, or kicking it, then it immediately caused the heads to hit the platters which can damage the heads and scratch or put a small dent in the platters - and that is the beginning of the end for a hard disk, as well as date loss corresponding to the sectors on the platters that were impacted. And of course if the hard disk has multiple platters - which they all do - then there is multiple damage.

We are heading for "flash RAM" storage which is fully electronic - much faster access and damage proof.

In Love and Light,

Adrian.

[Adrian]

Dear Talker,

Thank you Adrian, for the shin kicker as I call it. Looking for a message / lesson regards this event, humorously brought to mind (what did I do to tick you off God), I know that's not a true statement of fact, but is how I plumb the inner workings for a message and / or lesson involved. Best I could come up with here was a message, ALWAYS BE READY, Spirit, Soul, Body, computer and backup wise.

That said, my backup program when invoked, stated (unrecoverable error unable to continue). Oh yeah, first time I ever need the backup, it belches and dies's. My hosting site had performed a massive server upgrade, that some how left the the hosts backup function inoperative. My saved gZipped backups flashed 'corrupted zip header' when invoked and  (what did I do to tick you off God) thoughts. 

So I did the old donkey action:

"One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quietened down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up."

So that's how it went. Little by little, I wiggled and jiggled to a point where my blog was back up. Same applies to life.
Be Well

Well I was really using you as an excuse to lecture everyone about backups I even gave the same lecture in my newsletter once.

Seriously though - lack of backups is definitely the #1 source of computer grief. Always has been in the 30 years I have been involved with computers and probably always will be because some people take PC's for granted and never learn.

I have used system restore a few times as a precaution.

One of the worst sources of trojan are what are known as "drive by" infestations. These are websites, that look innocent enough, but have javascript on the page that transfers trojans. I have suspected visiting such sites - there is no way of knowing they are malicious - and wound my system back a day just in case.

Another trick that catches millions of people out is when they visit a website and a pop-up appears saying something like "your registry is infected. We suggest you scan now- click to continue".  Well if your registry was not infected before - it sure will be now.

The other major way that trojans are installed is through software downloads. Programs that look useful, so you download and install them and they work, but you have installed a whole "can of worms" at the same time. The file sharing programs, particularly "Lime Wire" are really bad for that. I never install anything until I have thoroughly checked that it is not a known trojan horse. A good 50% were. The companies making free software make their money by being paid by the trojan creators to include their "payload" in the install program.

And even all that is only the tip of the iceberg. I reckon almost every PC in the world has at least one trojan. I have seen PC's with dozens - the only reason people ask me is because all the trojans are using so much memory and processor, not to mention bandwidth, that nothing was working any more.

I have even seen many trojan and virus scanning programs that were trojans.

I suggest everyone downloads this:

http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

And run it.

It will probably scare the living daylights out of you with what it finds - but best to know and be free of malware.

As for computer "backup programs" - don't use them. They often fail and/or corrupt data.

You are only concerned about your live data, so spend a few dollars on a good USB Memory Stick and backup your data files today.

Operating systems and software can always be reinstalled so you don't need to back them up.

Websites can be backed up through cPanel which almost never fails. Because I have my own servers I use many other ways which I have written scripts for - but I backup in many ways and to multiple locations.

If anyone has any questions ask away - I am always happy to save people from a traumatic PC experience.

In Love and Light,

Adrian.


In Love and Light,

Adrian.