So, the server that hosts erikbenson.com and allconsuming.net has been hacked and I'm locked out. The process was gradual... and if I were any kind of server administrator I would've been able to figure out how to stop them. Or, if I had been on a managed server perhaps they could've helped. But on a self-managed server with my own lack of administrating skills, I slowly watched my hacking friend take over my email server (I moved all of my email off the server and turned it off). Then I found various scripts running that opened up access to the server from other piers or ports or loading docks and killed and removed those. But then yesterday I found that I could no longer run "top" and today I found that port 22 is closed off and my host can't log in either. So I'm going to have to recover the data and start over. Most likely it's going to take a while, and a few bucks. This sucks.
Update 4.4.05 My server has been recovered, wiped, and rebuilt. I've got the data and the old code, but all of the apache setup and database configuration has to be re-done. Not fun. :(
Man, that sucks hard. I was just now trying to call up hello.erickbenson.com and had no luck.
Did you lose anything?
Posted by: B. Adam | Sunday, 03 April 2005 at 10:01 PM
Not sure... they're trying to recover stuff, so I'm assuming they can. I have backups of a lot of the stuff... but the database backup is a bit old unfortunately. We'll see.
Posted by: Erik Benson | Sunday, 03 April 2005 at 10:05 PM
You poor dear. Take your time, have a good trip, decompress. This happened to me on a smaller scale last year. The little bugger actually wrote to let me know that by hacking he was "just trying to be helpful" because, you know, there were system vulnerabilities. A real hero.
Posted by: Erica Olsen | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 06:16 AM
Good grief.
I've been using AllConsuming to provide the Recommended Reading in my sidebar, and I'd noticed the server was frequently either slow or down altogether.
Good luck rebuilding!
Posted by: Dave Rattigan | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 08:05 AM
That's crap, hope you can get it sorted soon.
Puzzle
(Who happens to love All Consuming - and really wished to update, who can and will be patient!)
Good luck :)
Posted by: Puzzle | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 09:49 AM
I'm taking this as a sign that I should make a switch to Yahoo 360!
Posted by: jana | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 09:58 AM
Jana, I think it may indeed be a good time to think about moving the blogs somewhere else. I'm going to make sure that you all can export your blogs as soon as possible... to help you move if you end up going somewhere that you can import into. I don't think Yahoo 360 allows that yet though.
Posted by: Erik Benson | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 10:40 AM
Nooooooooooooooo - I love All Consuming!
Sorry this happened to you, best of luck with getting everything back on track!
Posted by: Sean | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 10:56 AM
Uh yeah. I've been meaning to tell you that I've seen some huge gaping holes in allconsuming's security. Actually, I've seen similiar holes in RobotCoop's site. Let me know if you need any help.
Posted by: dunsany | Tuesday, 05 April 2005 at 12:33 PM
i LOVE allconsuming... hope it's back up soon!
does this mean i should take the link off my blog?
have a good trip!
Posted by: aussie | Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 03:09 AM
That sucks big time... I use AllConsuming regularly and sorry to read this. BTW I'm a server admin (based out of India), so if you need any assitance setting up the server etc please drop me a line and I'll be happy to help.
Posted by: Santosh | Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 10:08 AM
Oh Erik, that totally sucks!! Deep breaths and take your time. AllConsuming is a huge favourite of mine - I wish I was geeky enough to offer some kind of help...
Good luck!
Posted by: Beth | Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 05:48 PM
Sorry to see this happened. Good luck with the rebuild and take care.
Posted by: Renee | Wednesday, 06 April 2005 at 07:21 PM
Man, this sucks. Goddamn people don't have any respect these days. Anyway, wish you a very speedy recovery. If you need any help, do drop a line to [email protected]. I'm a little good at sys administration and LAMP stuff. May be there's something I can do to help you out. Happy hacking!!!
Posted by: Desert Fox | Thursday, 07 April 2005 at 04:46 AM
Oh dear. :\ I second all the comments above. I love All Consuming, and I wish you the best. But it should be stressed that I wish *you* the best; you can worry about All Consuming later!
Posted by: Meitar | Thursday, 07 April 2005 at 05:02 AM
Terrible plight! I miss all consuming! Was actually going to do some updating tonight! Well..good luck with everything! Hope to see it all back soon. Have a great trip.
Posted by: tinker | Saturday, 09 April 2005 at 07:24 PM
I also love All Consuming. Thanks for persevering with it, Erik. Have a good break.
Posted by: Jonathan Shaw | Sunday, 10 April 2005 at 02:55 AM
I am so sorry to hear about this. All Consuming is such a great service and a neat idea, and no one deserves to have this happen! Hope you get a chance to rest and recover.
Posted by: Jenne | Sunday, 10 April 2005 at 01:47 PM
Hey Erik! I've been using All Consuming for a few weeks and didn't even know it was started by some hot shot guy like you in my own city until this happened. I am SO sorry about this. My thoughts are with you.
Posted by: Kymberlee | Sunday, 10 April 2005 at 07:03 PM
Hey, Erik, you've done a great service for all of us. I love All Consuming and hope to see it back better than ever, but you need to get some rest. Don't overdo it, enjoy yourself, and take it easy!
Posted by: Dogwood Blue | Monday, 11 April 2005 at 12:38 AM
Hi Erik,
that's unfortunate, yeah. Always thought All Consuming was great. All the Best for pulling evtg back tog.
Take care & Best wishes,
Minerva*
Posted by: Minerva | Monday, 11 April 2005 at 07:10 AM