Computer hacking, malware and viruses

So sorry - our forum has been hacked!

Huge apologies to all members who tried to use this forum this morning. Unfortunately a hacker, apparently with a Russian IP address, uploaded a virus to the site, so the hosting company, who are thankfully very vigilant, took it offline for a few hours to clear the problem. If anyone's posts have gone missing during that time, please be understanding - I'll be doing my best to plug any holes that could be taken advantage of by hackers in future. Ironically I watched a "Horizon" TV programme last night, which was all about dealing with hackers - what were the chances of us being hit by the very same illness the next day!! Thanks again for your patience, and best wishes to you all, Rob

NO APOLOGIES NEEDED ROB, WE ARE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY.

Hi all It is a fact that people, no matter from where they are or come from, fall into one of two groups, those who contribute & those who take way. I know what group our team & members fall into.

I've never understood what hackers are all about. What possible thrill does anyone get from sending a virus to our site??? They are indeed very sad, lowlife individuals.

I am a man of few words so I could use only two on the hackers. No prizes for guessing what they are. (If you think this offensive, please remove the post.)

That could make a good guessing game actually.... then we'd soon find out how capable we all are of being offensive!

Can I make a stab at the second word? I think it's formed of three letters, the last two of which are the same Oh, and the first letter may well be a vowel

Beesman, I think that hackers are the same as vandals in the street - they enjoy spoiling things for other people

A camel's hump is an ugly lump as well as you see at the zoo, but uglier yet is the hump that you get from having too little to do.

Nicely said, morgana!

A friend of mine who runs a site very similar to this one was hacked several times last year (from mainly Russian ip addresses). He asked members to do two things. 1. To ensure that their anti virus is up to date and working. Some people switch it off, particularly on old PCs, when browsing "safe sites" - there's no such thing. 2. Not to have their browsers open on any other websites when on his site - I realise this is quite awkward particularly when copying links etc Since then he has had no further problems - at least, not yet!

I can only apologise to any member of this forum who has received SPAM emails as a result of the hacking we suffered a few weeks ago. It's my guess that this sudden deluge, which started today, is a direct result of our database being broken into by the Russian hacker. One fortunate thing is that our email addresses are all they will get, and no financial or personal details are held. So, although it's a genuine nuisance, at least no actual harm will occur - apart from perhaps a rolling pin across the head by any wife seeing the email from "Miss Jane" and grabbing the wrong end of the stick! (Or worse still, the right end of the wrong stick!) Meanwhile, if anyone has any sterling advice on how to prevent such emails, beyond the usual setting up of filters for particular addresses or subject key words, please feel free to share here.

Ha ha Rob, just checked my emails and lo and behold Miss Jane has contacted me. I could see straight away it was spam, but was wondering about the Historic Coventry mention. Completely forget that you had been hacked a while ago. I quite often get spam from foreigners and I think they mistake me for a man, being Jan lol. I of course deleted the email and was glad to see your post on the site, thanks Rob.

What about members' passwords Rob, are they encrypted so that anyone who hacks the site still can't read them? *Some people may use the same password for other sites.