NYC, NY The Status of the MEPA Message Boards

Check here for further updates when its ready.

Mike -- Check your PM's. Im gonna PM you where you can obtain the screenshots from last night and save them.
Whatever you need techie wise mike lemme know.

That A i got in my Computer Forensics course seems to be proving well right now Lovin that encase software!

 

Also if anyone is curious as to what section of the NYS penal law were violated.. check out Section 156.05-156.50

156.10 - Felony
156.23 - Felony

are the two biggies here. I believe for class E felonies (which these are..) you can get up to 10 years in prision per felony.

Also looks like the site is currently getting backed up.

 

And now they are messing with Kristen and Will..

Oh you are SO CAUGHT.

Ip addresses leave a trace... DUH!

 

wow. this is really un-friggin-believable....

im glad to see you guys are on top of this though.
bring this @**$#!*%* down.

 

Sam, does that include virus spreading since the hacker seemed it was appropriate to add distributing trojan viruses (to members' emails addresses who were registered on the forums) to the laws broken they have so far broken. In fact since I am in the UK and the virus attacked my UK email, I may get in touch with the special section of the UK police force who are dedicated to stamping out hackers and virus spreaders. They got a German kid a while back and a Welsh kid for spreading viruses, both I believe served strict prison sentences. And let's not mince words, anyone who uses the internet to spread viruses is a web terrorist, and has no place within a web-based community. I trust any group, especially the ones that the hacker is associated with, which uses forums to communicate with members, seriously consider banning such a person from their group. And if they were to protect the hacker, then they are guilty of helping them also, which is also a serious crime. I believe both US and UK authorites will be interested in stopping web terrorists and their helpers now.

With the importance of the web nowadays to society and business, any person who thinks they can perform such an act of web terrorism breaks not only their country's laws, but also international laws. The virus sent via the hacker through their illegal access to the MEPA forums crossed international borders, thus it is now not just a US legal situation. I for one want an end to hackers and virus spreaders who are in a SW community. Let me see what I can do.

On another note ... Joe, I think I have found a use for those camel spiders you were telling a few of us about elsewhere. They like tight crevasses to hide in right?

 

Did anyone download the virus? If so, that moves up from a third degree to a second degree due to money damages then.

I would need the WHOLE email & virus to see where it came from.

 

Hey everyone

I just had trouble logging into TFN. I wouldnt be suprised if it has something to do with whats been going on. My advise is to listen to Sam and change all your passwords.

John

 

I am going to work now. I will return at 7pm.

John, Kristen and Meri have my cell phone number if you need to get in touch with me.

 

As an almost total neophyte to all this. Even after 2.5 yrs in MEPA. I don't understand all this drama <TOS VIOLATION> I am seeing. What happened? And when are folks gonna grow the <TOS VIOLATION> up? Or are we sub-consiously trying to sabotage ALL friendly relationships here as a way of hiding our true feelings? THat we are ALL OF US going to miss Star Wars. When Ep3 comes and goes. Is it just me of is the drama level rising as the time draws closer. Let's not forget that we have a toy release coming up. LET'S KEEP IT PEACEFULL.

NOTE TO ALL, MEPA AND OTHERS WHO WOULD TRY ANYTHING. OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE. I URGE YOU TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING!!!!!!

JUST BECAUSE STAR WARS IS COMING TO A CLOSE. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT FRIENDSHIPS OR CHARITABLE EFFORTS NEED NEED COME TO A CLOSE ALSO. THINK OF HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET WHERE WE ARE!!! IT IS TIME TO WORK TOGETHER!!! WE ARE GOING TO LIVE ON!! WE ARE GOING TO SURVIVE!!! WHEN THE WORLD CRIES OUT IN ONE VOICE!!!
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!

by the way I do not own a computer. in case anyone needs to know that fact.

 

Dave...we didn't start this mess. All we wanted was for them to leave us alone. This time it's a computer crime. I dont want to see what they pull next time. They wanted to escalate the issue. Now I believe they should face the music whatever that will be.

 

All,

Yesterday I came across the hacked site (see page 1 of this thread). Today my internet explorer is acting really, really, slow and freezing when loading pages, and I get the "program is not responding" message. Could these be connected? Could my computer get screwed by just visiting a website?

 

Dave... Star Wars isn't going anywhere. Look how long the Star Trek franchise has lasted.

And we're not hiding our true feelings. This will be a time of togetherness and cooperation with all Star Wars fans.... EXCEPT those who have sought to destroy us from DAY ONE. I shall not share a drink with my enemy on the eve of Episode III.

 

You are both 100% right. The crimes commited against our site needs to be dealt with. And harshly.
Will: I know Star Wars is going to be around a long time. From your mouth to G-d's ears. And by no means should you share a drink with your enemy. It just seems all I see is drama, drama and more drama. And I am a comedian for Pete's sake.

I just feel like, sometimes folks lose sight of the great stuff we can and do do.

Just to be clear. I am NOT accusing anyone of anything. Just adding a personal note of love and caution. Because it's the love I have for everybody.

"All you need is love. John Lennon, smart man. Shot in the back. Very sad."
-Julius Levinson ID-4

 

Hey guys,

I'm sorry for your troubles. I came home from work last night to see Dion moderating the boards for ya's and stuff. I got an e-mail from whomever the hacker was, but there were no attachments or anything. Also, since I've just switched my screenname *everywhere* (including my password - felt like i should update everything), I think Dion and I are in the clear. Hopefully no one else is getting affected by all this.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing I can do to help the situation and Sam seems to have everything under control, which is good. Way to go. This is such a shame. Information has been lost, crimes have been committed and people are suffering now only because they are Star Wars Fans.

 

Thats rigtht, we did not start this and for almost three years we have been turning the other cheek. All 4 cheeks are now sore.


This is what we have so far.

A known friend of several staff members of NY Line has an IP that matches the hackers. These same people have made trouble for our group and events time and time again. Our site and forums were hacked less than 24 hours after we began discussing the latest attempt to undermine events by this same small group of people. That is what we have so far. I am just wondering what the odds are of a random hacker picking this particualar individuals IP to use as a mask? And then, he/she randomly hacks into our site so soon after we begin discussing the latest adventures of those who love to attack us, AND deletes ONLY the people in MEPA this little band has had issues with in the past. What are the odds?

The time for turning the other cheek is past.

We have a plan of action now. Wait and see.

 

There is a one time fee of $50.00 per incident to restore files or
directories. Please reply to this message approving the charge in order to
initiate the process. Include in your reply the original account password
or the last four (4) numbers of the credit card on file for your account.
By reviewing your site it appears that the hackers used the forums to gain
access to the site. You may want to consider upgrading the script to the
latest version to avoid this problem in the future. Please note that with
any software system, exploits are discovered on a regular basis. No
software provider can guarantee that their software is hack proof.

Please let us know if you need additional assistance.

Thank you,
Avelino
Sales Department

 

A one-time fee per incident? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Doens't matter. Charge it to the hackers.

 

I have argued all day with them about it. If someone else wants to take a crack at it -- go ahead.

I also recommend we switch hosts. These people suck.


If its not worth the 50.00 -- Give me the word from the staff and i will start the forums fresh.

 

I changed your banner to the northeast one for now till things get back up and running.

I just noticed this. I didn't even realize there was a problem with the banner. Thank you Vicky.

Mike

 

The site will be restored in the morning.

I have had 8 people so far say they will chip in $5.00 to me. You can either give it to me in person, or paypal $5.50 to me.

 

I got an email from the MEPA boards yesterday (I didn't even know I was registered there?) saying:

"We've been HACKED!"

So, I deleted it, there were no files attached. I haven't had any problems thus far.

Sam, get a receipt when you pay that fee, and give it to Mike. When they press charges against the felons, be sure to smack this receipt on there so they have to pay it as part of their legal fees.

Since everyone is pretty much on the same page with, "It's just a movie," I might as well interject. I agree, and I've been keeping this as my mantra when it comes to Fan Force & 501st. I hope that EVERYONE can finally realize this, and stop the pettiness and the bickering. I'm looking forward to a day when everyone can get along for the good of fandom. As many differences as it seems some of us have had with one another, I think we should all stop and think about the reasons why we're here. It's too bad that the felons can't think about it that way. It seems to me that it's personal to them now.

Good job holding it down, Sam. College does pay off!

 

I knew my $54,000 in loans would come in handy one day lol!!

Oh you know I will be getting a recipt that is for dang sure.

 

Marie,

Unfortunately for them THEY made it personal. Now it's personal for me too.

 

It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business.

 

These hosting people are slower then a old person driving down the LIE.

I highly sugguest we invest in a new hosting company.

The company I am using for Johnny's fan film is VERY good. They have offered me extra security (for free) when the site launches to protect from hackers. They are also gonna make sure our phpbb board is secured, and our SQL database is also secured.

I paid $95.40 for the year, that included the .com name. (And I got 2 months free, so its really 14 months of service)


Oh and what i said about these people 3 years ago -- I still stick by. And this just proves it.