Mr Robot Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Just received an email from @skr, the abbuc website is down. Here's a translation of the german text in the email (the English text was much briefer) Quote Hello BitByter, Hello BitByter (English short text at the end of this email) unfortunately we had to take the ABBUC server offline as it was the victim of hacker attacks and malware. Currently there is a static page at www.abbuc.de where we provide more information, so please keep checking back regularly. We are working flat out to resolve this, but it will take a few more days. Due to the large number of tasks that now have to be completed promptly, I ask for your understanding that it may take longer to answer emails. A new, secure server is already up and running, but the setup is not yet complete. What happened? The ABBUC site has unfortunately been the target of repeated attacks for a long time. Already in 2015/2016 I had to deal with malware in my function as head of the software department, which could mostly be removed successfully. Now, last week, a request arrived via a member from someone who already wanted to apply as a member several times, but received no response. We then tested the application form and discovered that no more emails were being generated. While troubleshooting, Carsten Strotmann came across malware that infected the entire system, to such an extent that I decided to take the server completely offline immediately. A detailed analysis will be done, so far I can only say for sure that there are suspicious IPs in China that seem to be related to the current incident. IMPORTANT. PLEASE TAKE ACTION: We have to assume that passwords have been tapped as well! This means that other sites where you are logged in with the same combination of email and password are potentially at risk. Please change your passwords accordingly. Basically I can only advise to never use the same password more than once. Data loss can be almost completely ruled out, but for security reasons we will not transfer data from the old server to a new system. More information will follow as soon as possible. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+skr Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Thanks for the translation, currently time is a real issue for me and I was writing this already in sleep mode. Good news for US/Canada members: Magazin #144 shipped in a big box via express delivery today, should arrive soon in the US and then will be distributed from inside the US. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinmac Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 @skr - How will members access the ATR files for the new ABBUC issues? Will that be through the NextCloud server? I admit that it is easier for me to use the ATR files on my system rather than finding space for my 1050 to use the ABBUC disks. Bob C I hope you start feeling better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Quote A new, secure server is already up and running, but the setup is not yet complete. 1 Month Anniversary from the moment when ABBUC went extreme retro (no forum, just floppy disks). What is the status? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted May 28, 2021 Author Share Posted May 28, 2021 Progress is being made, but slowly due to illness and other real life issues. Cas has implemented some top end security for the new site with everything containerised and secure. I'll leave it to @skr to give more details. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 The website is still down, but there is a little update available... The look of the new (planned) forum reminds me of the AA forum. Cas, skr, Mr. Robot and all others involved - thanks a lot for working on it !!! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LarryL Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Yes, preview looks promising can’t wait… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 It's still phpbb not Invision, but it's the latest version. The theme is supposed to fit with the website and the website is supposed to resemble the magazine. Data transfer from the aging Joomla site to the new one was not as seemless as I'd have liked, but the data is all there it just needs to be reformatted to look nice now. Lot's and lots of bug fixing, data input and quite a learning curve still to go. I'll be looking at the old forums this week to see if there is a way for me to pull all the old data out and put it somewhere useful, Cas has set up a VM of the old site for me to play around in. I will have to upgrade the old forum software to the current version before I can do an export because the export tools only ever work with the latest version of phpBB Here's a screengrab from an earlier test instance of the forum than the one Cas posted, it has some topics and posts set up so you can see more of how it looks. It should be familiar but new. 5 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pmetzen Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 but I found the old side of Abbuc more beautiful. The new page really resembles AA. It's just a pity that safety often comes at the expense of elegance and beauty. The new site is cold and boring. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted June 8, 2021 Author Share Posted June 8, 2021 It was very attractive. The biggest issue it had was that it was a fixed width which was too small for a modern pc display and too big for a tablet/phone display, everything was built using static images making it slow and prone to breakage if anything changed. It just didn't fit the way people build or use websites today. The back end it was built upon was ridiculously out of date and had (as we can see from the current status of the page) some serious security issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 (edited) I can't really see the new site at all... I remember the old site and how it was mostly accessible even to non members and certain parts were walled off and required membership to be seen or utilized. I really liked that and found it inviting, well laid out, and aesthetically pleasing in it's construction. It was a livable well ordered thing. You could visit each users area and regional group areas... it was informative, and akin to a public space that had private rooms all about. I just can't get a feel for the new site and can't tell if it's because it's under construction, in a down or protected stance, or simply not liking my current crop of browsers. I think it's a wait and see thing at this point... I'll simply check back every so often. Edited June 8, 2021 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 5/28/2021 at 2:55 PM, TheMontezuma said: 1 Month Anniversary from the moment when ABBUC went extreme retro (no forum, just floppy disks). What is the status? 2 Months Anniversary.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DjayBee Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Slowly moving ahead: https://abbuc.social/index-en.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 54 minutes ago, DjayBee said: Slowly moving ahead That's right ? It is really a pity, especially in the pandemic time, that the ABBUC communication channel is closed for so long. I hope it will be back before I forget my login... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, TheMontezuma said: I hope it will be back before I forget my login... None of the old logins are being retained, you will need to create a new account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atariportal Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 (edited) The ABBUC website is down since 4 month and there are no mag and no further informations. Thats a big problem for users they do not speak english. I have opened a small temporarily alternative forum at www.atari-portal.de ...not only for german users, but especially. Edited July 24, 2021 by atariportal 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Hello Andreas 8 hours ago, atariportal said: I have opened a small temporarily alternative forum at www.atari-portal.de ...not only for german users, but especially. Great idea! Thank you very much. Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 Nice! though I thought that most German Atari fans were hanging out at Forum64 while the Abbuc forums are down? https://www.forum64.de/index.php?board/161-atari-8bit/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl7ukk Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 17 hours ago, Mr Robot said: Nice! though I thought that most German Atari fans were hanging out at Forum64 while the Abbuc forums are down? https://www.forum64.de/index.php?board/161-atari-8bit/ Apparently not, me neither. But first of all, many thanks to andreasB for providing the replacement forum. Of course, I wonder why the Abbuc Forum has to be out of order for so long. And also why there is no information about our club (also about the forum) on abbuc.social. Keiner mehr da? Have a nice Sunday. dl7ukk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMontezuma Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 On 7/24/2021 at 4:09 AM, atariportal said: I have opened a small temporarily alternative forum at www.atari-portal.de @atariportal Andreas - thank you for the temporary forum! This should actually have been done by ABBUC as soon as the server was shutdown due to security reasons. Don't worry about people blaming you for setting it up. They had their chance and everybody can see the results... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinadan67 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 I agree, many thanks to Andreas! It is nice to have this alternative until the new Abbuc site is ready for launch ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari8guy Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 What is the current website status? Just curious before I join Abbuc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted August 11, 2021 Author Share Posted August 11, 2021 New website is done, most content is still missing due to lack of people to enter/reformat it all but that will appear after go live. Forums are done and empty, waiting for users. Last minute security and GDPR tweaking is happening. There is still some non-essential code to write after go live. Next magazine issue is just starting to be compiled. An announcement is 'imminent' 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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