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PostPosted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 7:56 pm 
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While we try to get on top of the recent flood of SPAM registrations for the forum the process for new membership has been disabled for now.

If you know of someone wanting to join either send me a PM with their details or get them to post on the Ausmini FB Group.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 18, 2024 10:31 am 
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Given that we are predominantly an Aussie forum and those who wish to troll and scam us are from outside Aus would there be a way to restrict overseas applications leaving prospective Aussie members free to join.?
Just a suggestion.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 5:27 pm 
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The user registration feature has been turned back on after a couple of weeks of no SPAM. We will monitor things and hopefully strike a balance between ease of entry for genuine Mini people and making it hard for Spammers.

By the way, the forum software (phpBB) is well out of date and is probably the reason why Spammers use security vulnerabilities in the software that have been closed in later releases to gain back-door entry. Unfortunately the effort and financial cost to upgrade means the admins aren't in a position to sponsor the work. If anyone knows of a benefactor to finance it we'd be pleased to know.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 7:21 pm 
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Is there a mini business (or multiple) who would sponsor the forum at all?

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 10:59 pm 
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PHPBB has a good record of being secure and the problem is most likely to be elsewhere, but related to login attempts. It is normal for any web server to be bombarded with login attempts using standard scripts that would be present if say, you used wordpress or some other web based service that is supposed to make life easier for personal web hosting. I usually get a dozen or more every day from people trying to log in using a service that I don't even use.

However, I have found a particularly troubling situation that affects email, FTP and other remote login applications and that is that if you are on a 5G home broadband connection (as distinct from the more usual wired type of NBN FTTN) then you cannot use what is called "TLS" as a security layer but must send your username and login in clear text through the ethernet to the server. Neither I or my web provider could find a solution for this as of a few months ago. So, if some Admin with elevated privileges logs in using Telstra 5G home broadband, for example, then it is possible for that login to be compromised. Connection via NBN FTTN wired connection works in TLS mode just fine, but not when using 5G network.

It is possible to control what web page is served to what people based on country, state, city and even to an individual IP address. I have such a thing set up on my own web site, and have found it to be very effective. I am sure the person who views his persoanlised page on my site very much appreciates this service. More generally, other sites (as you've no doubt noticed) display your local products and currency based on your location using the same technology.

regards, Tony


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 12:48 pm 
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winabbey wrote:
The user registration feature has been turned back on after a couple of weeks of no SPAM. We will monitor things and hopefully strike a balance between ease of entry for genuine Mini people and making it hard for Spammers.

By the way, the forum software (phpBB) is well out of date and is probably the reason why Spammers use security vulnerabilities in the software that have been closed in later releases to gain back-door entry. Unfortunately the effort and financial cost to upgrade means the admins aren't in a position to sponsor the work. If anyone knows of a benefactor to finance it we'd be pleased to know.


Doug,

The upgrade is provided under the GNU free and open software licence, so there is no cost to acquire.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 12:58 pm 
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DavidE wrote:
The upgrade is provided under the GNU free and open software licence, so there is no cost to acquire.

Thanks David. The cost I mention is for a knowledgeable and experienced developer to manage the project from start to finish. We have had a couple of well-intentioned people offer their services but things didn't eventuate due to conflicting time and availability issues.

In addition the hosting costs are currently being covered by one of the admins.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 8:35 pm 
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Is there a way we could all donate an affordable amount to upgrade the forum

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 07, 2024 1:49 pm 
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An update on the SPAM registrations issue.

We have implemented IP address filtering and blocking in an attempt to minimise the number of SPAM user registration attempts. This has been successful in reducing the volume of such registrations significantly as we block Russia and some other European and Asian countries from the registration process. However this has caught a few existing members who are temporarily or permanently outside Australia. Their locations have been unblocked to allow them access.

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