Luftwaffe Archives and Records Group (LWAG) website possibly going down

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

This is to notify you that the LWAG site (www.lwag.org) may be going down. If there is something that you were wanting to look up, I suggest you do so now.

I have lost my site's software guru and thus the site's vBulletin software has not been updated for some time. The site works through the guru's server, so updating is out of my control.

Beginning around September, the site has been the subject of numerous spam registrations. Further, it appears that the spammer has been able to change the password to the control panel, so that I can't get in there to attempt a fix.

Every time there is a registration, I get a notice by e-mail and, quite frankly, I'm tired of receiving up to 12 spam registration notices per day.

The problem has been further aggravated by issues with the company whose server the site is on. Whether these problems can be worked out is now rather debatable, as communication with them appears to have been interrupted and/or is malfunctioning.

I regret that I may have to take the site down, but enough is enough.

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Hello Richard,



Sorry to hear the news. Can you archive the contents? Perhaps someone here can help? I'd give Peter D. Evans at the LEMB a shout.



Good luck,
Ed

[Dan O'Connell]

That's awful news Richard. My best wishes for a solution!

[Peter D Evans]

If there is anything I can do to help Richard, by all means drop me a line...

I would add, however, that without access to where the board is hosted, updating and archiving may prove difficult. If vBulletin is anything like Invision Power Board (the board on which the LEMB is built on) then recent updates have addressed issues with spam applications etc. However, not knowing much about vBulletin, it's difficult to know what the updates since v3.6.8 (LWAG current version) and v3.7.4 (which appears to be the current version)

Come on guys... if any of you out here are able to help Richard in any way, please pipe up... keeping these boards up and running is hard and it would be a huge shame if the time and hard work put into keeping LWAG going was to disappear...

cheers
Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi

I can help by offering a new place for LWAG to stay free of charge (have my own server now).

I haven't used vBulletin, but it seems to run based on PHP and MySQL.

I suggest the following action Richard, in order to at least secure the data contained on the site:

1. Get a manual backup of the MySQL database that hold the data contained in the system. The host service should be able to provide you with this, if you want assistance in order to communicate with them, pls let me know

2. Install vBulletin on my server along with the backup of the database.

3. Run LWAG from my server until we have fixed everything

If this is of interest pls reply here or send me a pm.

Regards,
Andreas B

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Thank you for your support. To be honest, I'm absolutely not a software expert. I have relied upon the advice of the site's software guru. I do know that the site somehow goes through his server to the server at 24hostingnow. At one point, it was suggested to me by 24hostingnow that updating the software would be a good idea, but that this should be coordinated with the site's software guru. I believe what he has done is to add special features to the basic vBulletin software, including the site's logo in the upper left corner and security features intended to ward off spammers.

After 3 successive years of attacks by the spammer, my guru has stated that he is too busy to help. I haven't been able to get a reply from him in over a month, so he may have blocked any communication from me. It is really an intolerable situation for me.

After posting my message here, I did finally get a reply from 24hostingnow, probably as a result of my going to the U.S. company they use to handle billing, 2checkout.com. At the moment, they are actively trying to fix the problems. Whether they are smart enough to do so is really up in the air, as I am also getting tired of trying to explain things to them that they are having a hard time grasping.

I haven't a clue myself as to how to store the site. I do have a repair shop that might know.

Recognize that I am a provider of information, not a software expert, and thus must rely on those that are. In essence, I drive the car, but I don't know how to repair it.

Regards,
Richard

[Mikael Olrog]

Hi Richard,

Wish I could give practical assistance in some way but unfortunately I'm only a "driver" just like you so I can only offer my moral support. I'd hate to see LWAG go down or be lost since it really contains a lot of practical information/hints/tips which is valuable for those who are doing archival research.

Hope you can find some solution, possibly in collaboration with Andreas!

I'll keep my fingers crossed.
/Mike

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

I thank you for your good wishes and offers of support. I have regained control of the site's control panel, a big plus. Andreas, if we can't get control of the spam issue, I may take you up on your offer. Are you at all familiar with MySQL databases?

I was advised to increase the tightness of the security with the site's Spam Assassin software. This I have done. However, if I understand how it works, this likely will be ineffective, as the spammer now never appears to use the same e-mail address twice, something I think Spam Assassin relies upon to be effective.

Right now, I've been advised to just wait a bit to see if, indeed, Spam Assassin will actually work. So, this I will do. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the U.S., a good day to take a break.

Regards,
Richard

[D.B. Andrus]

PM on the way to you.

Best Regards,

D.B. Andrus

[Flak Magnet]

Kudos to all of you. This is an online community at it's best. I really mean that. I've seen the other side of the spectrum with forums that would have left a member in need to his own devices to solve a problem on his own.
In this case a rather valuable research resource hung in the balance. Those here in a position to help offered to do so....and those that couldn't offered support. This is a model that other online forums should use as a tool for what they want to be when they grow up.
Again kudos to all.

Billy