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Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:14 am
by margverite
I not sure I know how to erase everything now and start over.

I'm waiting to hear from the server techs.

margverite.

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:21 am
by Lumpy Burgertushie
what were you trying to do by editing the htaccess file? there is no part of what you are trying to do that requires you to touch that file.

put it back like it was.

I would suggest that you stop what you are doing and ask someone to help you do this, or do it for you, or teach you how to do it on a personal level.

I always thought that the first thing you have to do to get out of a hole is stop digging. ;)

I am happy to help you get this straightened out.

let me know,

robert

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:39 pm
by margverite
After I pasted in the code I crashed the server.

I'm waiting now to hear from the Tech support.
Supposed to be 8 hours and now it's over 24 .

I have friends from out of town coming in today. So I'm going to wait 'til tomorrow.
Maybe they fixed it.

It seems there were permissions that were set wrong for the install.

I have to do it myself since the site generates no money and it's not in my budget to hire anyone.

I think I need to read the complete manual.
Thank you for your offer, Robert.
I might take you up on it if you could step me through, but I'm not certain it would be worth your while / time.

Thank you very very much anyway.

marverite

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:31 pm
by margverite
I finally got through to the techs working on my problem / ticket # [server is crashed]

(They apparently had not been working on it, though I was told they would be)

Roger told me first step is to find minimum requirements for Php for the version of Phpbb I am using, to get started.

I found it for 3.0.11 which I was trying to set started with [and upgrade step by step from there] , which answer is "5.4 [?] " but haven't had a chance to call them back.

Roger, the tech, said to get the minimum requirements for 3.1, as well; which I have to look up and should be easy.

I'm eventually going to 3.2, but I guess that's a moot point at the present time, since that one has not been released?

Marguerite

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:53 pm
by JimA
margverite wrote: Roger told me first step is to find minimum requirements for Php for the version of Phpbb I am using, to get started.

I found it for 3.0.11 which I was trying to set started with [and upgrade step by step from there] , which answer is "5.4 [?] " but haven't had a chance to call them back.

Roger, the tech, said to get the minimum requirements for 3.1, as well; which I have to look up and should be easy.

I'm eventually going to 3.2, but I guess that's a moot point at the present time, since that one has not been released?
The minimum requirements for phpBB 3.1 state that PHP must be 5.3.3+, but not as high as PHP7.

With regards to phpBB 3.2, there the minimum PHP version has been bumped up to 5.4, and PHP7 is supported in that version. But like you said, 3.2 hasn't been released yet and is therefore currently not usable. It is however something to keep in mind for an eventual transition when we release it. :)

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:55 pm
by margverite
I've been away so couldn't work on it.

I think the tech at the company which hosts me wanted to close the ticket , so I got the message:
"Unfortunately when it comes to the custom coding we're unable to assist. Based on the error that i'm seeing it looks like a problem with the formatting of your files.

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email or contact a Web Services Consultant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at the numbers below.

Thank you for choosing xxxx.com, a xxxx.com company.

David D

Customer Support
The server is still down with the error message:
"Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, [no address given] and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log."
I'm going to call them back now with the info on the minimum requirements; and see what is next.

marguerite

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 5:07 am
by margverite
Hi All,

I didn't upgrade and today we got hacked.
I was able to restore the Board to a re-set point from yesterday, but the board is broken.

The only file I restored was the public_html . When I tried to do all the files at once the server gave an error. I am backing up the Public_html right now but can't get into the board at all to try to do a data base backup. Maybe it will work with the interface through the server I use ?

Anyway, yes, i really need your help .
It may be too late I may have to just close the board and start a new one. At least 8 and a half years of writing does not seem to be lost at this point. All of it seems there.

Margverite.

Board is broken but still needs upgrade.

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 6:13 am
by margverite
We had a user who was banned and broke back in.
I'm not sure who it was who did the hack today, but it could have been him.
The thread which was his writing hit 100 000 views exactly when the board went down.. And he'd been saying for a year that he was going to move on and leave. The was a Christian slogan left on the front , as to mock.

Also a password of mine from another account was changed.

So I think it was a keystroke sniffer.
This is the third time we've been "hacked." It happened same time of year 2011, and the hacker left a Turkish flag on the front page.

That was also a keystroke sniffer, I think.

I am going to try to restore more files from the restore point once the Public_html is back ed up. I'm downloading it from the server now and am using an old computer to do it in case the one I am on is compromised. I changed all my passwords while on the other computer.

I don't feel comfortable giving the FTP passwords to anyone.
I'm just frightened to do that. But I will think about it.
I only restored the one file Public_Html and no one can log in, as of now.

There are two other Admins on the Board so their passwords might have been compromised as well.

As I said I might just let it be since I don't like working so hard on Board where I don't own the Domain. But also, didn't people tell me that the reason one needs to upgrade is because flaws like this can come up when the software is old?

Anyway, i was told the machine the server it is on, is also old.[like the software]. So unless it's upgraded , even if it turns to a dead board just to preserve the links, it could become obsolete since the server it's on will eventually get phased out? So I need to upgrade anyway.

The Board is working but no one can log on.
Thank you in advance for any help any of you are able to give.
Margverite

Margverite

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:03 pm
by margverite
I had it back up and running, except with no access, all pages seemingly working,

now it's back to the taunting hack retitled forum "Gone"

am I allowed to show anyone the link on here?

Need someone to provide assistance

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:04 pm
by margverite
It was back up and running, except with no access, all pages seemingly able to be viewed, except if you logged in, then it went dead. The hacker re - named it "Gone Information",

register.com did a restore and I guess the re-start point was right when he was in the midst of his work?

I changed the public_html to a different name and told them to redirect the domain, until I could sort things out.

I'm feel the vandal could've gotten in through public interface and that's how he brought it down a second time, after it had been restored.

There was an ftp account on there which I was not aware of. I thinking he could've set that up once he got full Admin powers through the Control Panel interface?. They couldn't tell me when the FTP was last used since they deleted the account before I could ask.

The tech support also explained what was wrong with the new.com site, I just needed to put the correct database name into the config.sys file to match the one there. He said to just re-name database .

I had a thought; to redirct the site to new domain and from there work on it without worrying that the vandal will come back and get in before we can fix it.

I think I tried to put a back-up of the sync forum site over there. The files I put up might be sitting there, already, But it would be from two months ago.

I think the Forum that was hacked will be most easily turned to read only, ultimately, since we know it is capable of that now?

What I am afraid of is that there is a time bomb in there and when a moment hits the clock it will erase itself. I'm not sure it can do that when it is off - line? And it doesn't seem like a back - up would help , since it would contain the same flaw.

I'm thinking I , at least , want to archive quite a few pages. If I put a copy of it on another domain ?, Perhaps I could just archive from there.

If I can get it clean?

We will just continue at the new domain and create links back to things we want to site in the old Forum.

Fatal: Not able to open ./cache/data_global.php" that was the new tag on the defaced site after the 2nd hack.

It seems my work of the past few months is still there. I was lucky so far.. My last back up was in Oct. when I was trying to get the new site to be a test site / backup site. But I never tested the back-up up to see if it would work.

Does one need to see what the site looks like while working on it, repairing. Or can someone who knows what they are doing just make it to a "read - only" site via files alone.

I'm concerned that if there is a virus or exploit in it, it could be wiped sometime, unknown , in the future.. Phew.

thanks in advance for any help you are able to give... And I don't know if upgrade will work on a crippled site?

Thanks everybody for any advise or pointers you are able to give.

Margverite.

Re: [split from] Need assistance with upgrade

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 6:55 pm
by stevemaury
Yes. But please stop the constant bumping in violation of our 6-hour bump rule. If you have something to add within that time, edit your prior post.Bumping like that keeps moving you to the bottom of the pile because we work oldest first.

Can I establish a static Read - only Site .....

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 3:21 pm
by margverite
Can I establish a static Read - only Site .....
...from a back of public_html alone?
I do have an older back - up of the data bases for this site a few months old.

I am not able to access the control panel from within the site to do a timely back up of the databases from there which would match the public-html I have retrieved via ftp.

Any pointers or knowledge you have on the subject will be greatly appreciated.

margverite.

I have now uploaded the backup Public_html to the new server.

Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 2:13 am
by margverite
I have now uploaded the backup Public_html to the new server.

Getting this error:
Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, [no address given] and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Will have to read up more on php bb. We are looking for a local expert.

What would be the cost of reasonable help on this?

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 4:12 am
by margverite
Time is running out and I assume the advise and help I'm getting here won't improve after the Jan 1st deadline.

Could someone tell me what the reasonable budget would be to hire someone to:

1. restore the site; I do have backups and the server / host set me back to a "restore point" which included the pages/data although the permissions were broken for any users.

"Restore the site" means for "read only" of the pages which are there, as of the date of the vandalism.

Update the old board [read only] so the server will not become obsolete at some point in the future and therefor require the erasure / termination of the data collected in the past.

2. set up a board on my new domain, with mods of my choice and updated to latest version of php bbs.

I am told I have supporters who are willing to fund me; but I need a budget.

What would be a reasonable assessment of the cost of the above?

Thank you for any help you are able to provide.

Margverite