Announcement Disabling of Connected Accounts Feature

[Jeff Westover]

Please be advised that due to recent security issues with Twitter and Facebook we have disabled the feature of being able to log-in to the Merry Forums through ALL social media channels.

It was once a great idea. But given current events with cyber warfare at the forefront of it all the forums are simply safer is we no longer associate logins with those services.

Disassociation makes it more secure for us all.

 

[xmastidings]

Smart move. That takes away multiple points of potential entry that bad people with bad intentions could use to ruin good things.

I read something not all that long ago, that said that the larger a web site, platform is, the greater of a target it becomes. Because the bad guys are looking to inflict damage on places where they can receive the most attention from their destructive actions; bragging rights!

 

[Jeff Westover]

Smart move. That takes away multiple points of potential entry that bad people with bad intentions could use to ruin good things.

I read something not all that long ago, that said that the larger a web site, platform is, the greater of a target it becomes. Because the bad guys are looking to inflict damage on places where they can receive the most attention from their destructive actions; bragging rights!

I think we're pretty small potatoes. We aren't storing any kind of really fruitful information that most hackers would want. Even still you would be surprised to see the server logs and the attempts made to break in.

I had no way of really knowing how many were logging in via social media channels. But given all that is happening why take the chance?

I would say that over the past three months we have seen a 10-fold increase in bad traffic from places like Iran, China, Russia and North Korea. That's stuff we just don't want.

 

[xmastidings]

That’s just really sad.

And what do they all have in common, they’re all communist countries. The New modern day terminology - “Progressives”!

Realistically, and sadly, it’s like a war. A battle between good and evil.

 

[Jeff Westover]

That’s just really sad.

And what do they all have in common, they’re all communist countries. The New modern day terminology - “Progressives”!

Realistically, and sadly, it’s like a war. A battle between good and evil.

It's not anything new. We have had battles behind the scenes with bots, spammers, trolls and hackers for the longest time. I haven't heard anyone complain yet. I'm just hoping that by sacrificing this feature we are closing the door on a way we could be exploited.

The world is a crazy place and I'm seeing it spill over in the server logs. I can only imagine what big companies and banks and other large organizations are going through.