Topic: Hacker Mischief

Hi all,

A hacker today was able to exploit a security vulnreability on TheNextBigWriter to cause a bit of mischief on the site. The hacker changed the name of several groups and sent private messages to members of the site. We have identified the vulnreability and fixed it.

At no time was your credit card information or password information exposed. Credit card info is not stored by TheNextBigWriter so even a total hack of the site would not provide access to this information. Passwords are encrypted so they also cannot be stolen.

We have reverted the forums to yesterday's state in order to clear out some spammy posts, so anything you posted today is lost. We apologize for this.

I can't guarantee that this hacker will not reappear and try to find and exploit another vulreability.  We are always vigilant and do our best to secure the site and protect your data. If you notice anything amiss, please let me know asap.

Thank to everyone who let me know what was happening today  and provided me with the information that led to a speedy resolution. And thank you to everyone for your understanding and patience.

Sol

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Re: Hacker Mischief

Thanks, Sol.  Gee, the things I miss when I'm away for a day.

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Re: Hacker Mischief

Thanks, Sol. Sorry you have to deal with this stuff!

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Re: Hacker Mischief

Thanks, Sol!

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Re: Hacker Mischief

Sol,
I'm not sure if this is due to the hacker or not. I've gone through a major revamp of my latest novel and deactivated it while making changes. I've made the changes, and published four chapters, but the chapters do not show up- the points were taken, the button says the are active, but the novel itself is inactive. And on the Publish Page, there is no "groups" to publish to. I've never encountered this before. Am I missing something?

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6 Reply by njc (edited by njc 2018-08-25 16:43:01)

Re: Hacker Mischief

CJ: I just got four email notifications for updates to your story.  Your portfolio shows me nothing new.

I'd love to see some new work

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Re: Hacker Mischief

I'm not sure if this is due to the hacker or not. I've gone through a major revamp of my latest novel and deactivated it while making changes. I've made the changes, and published four chapters, but the chapters do not show up- the points were taken, the button says the are active, but the novel itself is inactive. And on the Publish Page, there is no "groups" to publish to. I've never encountered this before. Am I missing something?

Try connecting the novel to the groups it previously belonged  to, including Premium. This could be a relic of the hacker. Not sure.

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Re: Hacker Mischief

It is not giving me that option.
I'll try using Firefox instead of Safari. In the meantime I'll send some screenshots through the email helpline.

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Re: Hacker Mischief

I've used FireFox and Google Chrome same thing. The Publish screen doesn't give me the option to choose groups- it just says it has been sent to them.
I sent the help email address some screenshots.

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Re: Hacker Mischief

Sol,
I inactivated those four chapters, then reactivated them one at a time and they posted. Maybe it wasn't the hacker, just the "nut behind the wheel" this time. wink

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