Literature Site Hacked!

Discussion in 'other security issues & news' started by Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010.

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  1. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    I went to the Literature Junction website at about 11:45 pm GMT to find that it had been hacked by some group. The homepage was black with a message on it saying something like ‘This Site Has Been Hacked by ......’

    I only stayed a few seconds & clicked off it as fast as I could so I didn’t really read who the hackers were. I have only recently joined the site anyway. I have run a full SUPERAntiSpyware scan & I appear to be OK. I shall run other scans. I was in Opera 10.10 so the browser is relatively safe.

    I didn't stay long enough to see who had actually done this, which I thought wise at the time. I mean this is a forum where people discuss Dickens & Dostoyevsky, what is the world coming to when a literary site gets hacked! I won't post the http but the site is easy enough to find. I am not sure if it is worth looking at it though.
     
    Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010
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  2. Marja

    Marja Honestly, I'm not a bot!!

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    Could you have just been Re-directed to another site, that showed you the black screen?
    I've had that happen ...not for quite awhile tho.

    I know that site....seems sorta weird to hack it, huh?
     
    Marja, Jan 10, 2010
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  3. LowWaterMark

    LowWaterMark Administrator

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    A lot of sites get hacked because they've been found to be running some vulnerable software, not because they were initially the specific target for an attack.

    The people who do this often find the sites by doing web searches for the software and/or version they are running. They do bulk searches to assemble lists of possibly vulnerable websites then run known exploits against them until they find ones that they can get into. Once they have access, they do their defacement, or in worse cases, pull private data from databases, or plant hidden malware into the webpages.

    That site may have been hacked simply because it was found in search results as running a version of specific software for which the hacker had a known exploit available.
     
    LowWaterMark, Jan 10, 2010
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  4. dw426

    dw426 Registered Member

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    What a pathetic hacker. I went there in Firefox with NoScript and Sandboxie so I wasn't worried. It's some kid, I'd say high school. There's nothing pro or even amateur about it. The website will likely be back by tomorrow or the day after. I wouldn't sweat it.
     
    dw426, Jan 10, 2010
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  5. Marja

    Marja Honestly, I'm not a bot!!

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    OK, Thanks for the explanation, LWM! :)

    Dw426, I am sure Daveski will be happy to hear that! :)
     
    Marja, Jan 10, 2010
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  6. dw426

    dw426 Registered Member

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    I should have added that I saw no strange scripts in Noscript being blocked. My gut tells me it's a bored, clueless lone kid.
     
    dw426, Jan 10, 2010
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  7. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    Maybe. It was a bit of a shock so I didn't hang around. I worry about drive-by infections.

    Be my guest if you want to check it out.
     
    Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010
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  8. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    OK thanks for the heads-up dw426, you're a true Malware Warrior! I feel better already. :thumb:
     
    Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010
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  9. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    He is! :D
     
    Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010
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  10. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    Thanks for the info. It does seem odd to hack a site like that though.
     
    Daveski17, Jan 10, 2010
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