[DavidBoren]

Is my phone just ****ing with me, or is MCB totally inaccessible?

[bchu]

Originally Posted by DavidBoren

Is my phone just ****ing with me, or is MCB totally inaccessible?

It is down. The server site that hosted MCB apparently lost all of the data regarding the site. How much was backed up I do not know but hopefully they're able to retrieve some of it.

[tgallo]

Not your phone. Their is definitely something going on

[imped4now]

This is being widely discussed. The first response is accurate.

[sokopath]

bummer. i still use that site quite often

[mpsd]

Apparently user information including user names and passwords were compromised so it's advisable to change your passwords in other sites, in case you use similar user names and passwords across different forums.

[John]

This is a shame. Carter is a great dude and I always enjoyed seeing him. I hope it makes a full recovery.

[Ford]

Originally Posted by imped4now

This is being widely discussed. The first response is accurate.

Where's the discussion on this?

[twinings]

Originally Posted by Ford

Where's the discussion on this?

Right now, on the MCB Facebook group, which I didn’t know existed until this episode.

[russc]

Their server company got hit with ransomware. There's a very real possibility that the whole forum archive is permanently gone.

[punkncat]

I can already tell that on a traffic level, the people who now own PBN aren't upset about it.

[E99_Curt]

Originally Posted by punkncat

I can already tell that on a traffic level, the people who now own PBN aren't upset about it.

*puts on tinfoil hat*

hmmmmmm

[DavidBoren]

That is truly unfortunate... MCB is by far my most frequented forum. I like the layout and atmosphere over there way more than I have ever liked PBN. And I avoid Facebook like the plague, so I am really hoping that MCB comes back...

[going_home]

Originally Posted by DavidBoren

That is truly unfortunate... MCB is by far my most frequented forum. I like the layout and atmosphere over there way more than I have ever liked PBN. And I avoid Facebook like the plague, so I am really hoping that MCB comes back...

Just the opposite here.

Haven't logged on over there since 2009.

[NONOBLITUS]

Yea , It is not looking good over there. Just jumped on this forum today to check it out as I’ve been on MCB for some time. I tried to look up some links to threads and received a message stating my information my be compromised on my devise. Rumor has it there Was some type of financial ransom mentioned but not sure about the accuracy of that. Shame because of all the resources for us older paint slingers that could be lost for good.

[martix_agent]

Originally Posted by twinings

Right now, on the MCB Facebook group, which I didn’t know existed until this episode.

haha, i didn't either.
This is very jarring, and frankly, i'm shocked that there no database backups. Apparently, this is not the first time they've had to rebuild.

[Paul77]

If it was ransomware, that sucks. There was so much knowledge on that site, and it would be a shame if it was lost.

[firefoxx04]

Real shame. I design backup strategies that combat many forms of data loss, including ransomware. It is avoidable.

I don't know who the owner is, but if they reboot the site somehow, I would be happy to help implement a plan to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

[jerryjjackson69]

Ransomware. Hopefully some backups will be able to restore some of the history and knowledge. There is talk of an updated MCB 3.0 in the works down the road to get something positive out of this. We will see.

[painter4life05]

Update from McarterBrown FB group.

Hi all, I want to give everyone an update on what's happening and where things are probably headed. I tagged a bunch of the MCB mods but I probably missed a few of those on FB. My bad. Quick recap, some hacker brought down site, claims to have copied data, deleted everything, and wants $9,300 in ransom for Carter to get it back. That's a non-starter. Backups are old but at least lots of data will eventually get restored somehow. Carter doesn't do FB. For those who don't know all the details, mcarterbrown.com is no actual business but purely a hobby and is the sole property of its namesake... Carter Brown... So, you may ask, who the hell am I?
I know I don't post much anymore. I'm both a long time member and mod of MCB (lrrpie) and a friend of Carter's. I have over 25 years under my belt of web server and Internet system design and implementation. My company, SOS Consulting, is taking over the hosting of MCB.

Once we figured out what happened, Carter decided it was time to start fresh, something he had interest in already as upgrading from an older version of the forum software (vBulletin) had been problematic and thus never happened. So Sunday night I began building a new MCB server, hence the phoenix rising from the ashes. It will be the latest and greatest (get ready to be geeked out) version of Centos, MariaDB, PHP, and vBulletin. Security and data protection will be better. Honestly, Carter's security wasn't bad at all and the server was fairly locked down. However, whether it was a software exploit or some other intrusion we'll really never know. The adage in IT security is that attackers only need to be successful once and security systems need to be perfect all the time, and nothing is perfect.

In addition, full nightly server image-based backups will be an inherent part of the the "package" as it were. The previous hosting company wanted to charge an arm and leg for backup services. For MCB, being a hobby and not a business, Carter just didn't have the interest in shouldering even more of a monthly financial expense.

So, MCB will soon rise from the ashes caused by some ransoming *******. I'm sure that once the site is up and we all can recreate our accounts, there will be plenty of opportunity for input on how members would like to change or improve things. In the end, it's a benevolent dictatorship and Carter is our maximum leader. In that analogy I'm not sure who that makes me...

Anyway! I hope this clarifies where we are and where we hope to be going. Patience my fellow paintball brethren!!

[J4 Paintball]

In that analogy I'm not sure who that makes me...

Grand Peon!