5 ms·

Ars Technica Was Hacked

51 points by suprgeek 12y ago

Finklestein 12y ago
Sure looks that way to me.
Stefan-H 12y ago
In events like this it is a good idea to avoid sites that have apparently been compromised in case they start serving up malware.
- sarciszewski 12y ago
  Yep. But living dangerously is so much more fun. runs unpatched Windows Vista in a VM
  - lurkinggrue 12y ago
    Running Windows XP without any service packs!
    - sarciszewski 12y ago
      That's just crazy :)
- Finklestein 12y ago
  I discovered it when I tried to reply to a comment. How do you avoid a site when you're one of the first to see it hacked?
  - nols 12y ago
    You don't. I'm pretty sure they're talking to everyone on HN who's going to come to the comments and then click on the site to check it out.
- annasaru 12y ago
  Esp. if you were running Windows, I would assume. I haven't seen that kind of propagation on non-MS platforms (just my observation).. I'd like to know if a browser on an Ubuntu box would be equally vulnerable - correct me if I am wrong.
  - untog 12y ago
    To be honest, I don't actually think Windows is more vulnerable these days - it's just that the average user of Windows is more vulnerable because they're less informed. They'll see the elevated permissions prompt (whatever it's called) and just click yes anyway. Similarly, Windows installers will often come bundled with crapware, but if you read what you're doing you can avoid it.
  - Someone1234 12y ago
    I'd always recommend turning on Click-To-Play for all plugins no matter what your platform. Mac isn't immune from this type of thing, even if Linux is due to obscurity. Most drive-bys are targeting either old versions of IE, Java, Flash, or rarely Windows Explorer issues in XP. Chrome is great because it auto-updates regularly, and auto-updates Flash. But even in Chrome I turn on Click-To-Play (since I need to have Java installed, and don't trust Java).
geerlingguy 12y ago
Earliest tweet about it that I could find (with a screenshot): https://twitter.com/eanlz/status/544585861421993984 https://twitter.com/eanlz/status/544585861421993984 The overwritten page read: Arse security. @nidohax - @metapawd cue the music It looks like Ars has the moonshark up for now. Maybe DNS-related?
- Finklestein 12y ago
  BTW, @nidohax and @metapawd have no posts on their Twitter accounts. Since they appear to be seeking publicity, lets keep it that way - zero posts on their accounts.
- ultramancool 12y ago
  Ars runs on WordPress, yet another WordPress exploit, or even more commonly, yet another WordPress plugin exploit would be even less surprising than DNS.
  - agumonkey 12y ago
    Ha, wordpress seems so anti ars u_u;
bmoresbest55 12y ago
Just saw this. Immediately, left and hoping for a quick recovery. More and more just keep on falling. Is it really that fun to bring down other people? I don't understand it. Truly.
nols 12y ago
"We're aware of the issue with our site and are working on it. :)" https://twitter.com/arstechnica/status/544587442305523712 https://twitter.com/arstechnica/status/544587442305523712
patman81 12y ago
The Year of Living Dangerously I like the music linked up on autoplay: http://www.youtube.com/embed/FoUWHfh733Y http://www.youtube.com/embed/FoUWHfh733Y
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
PublicEnemy111 12y ago
google cached it just in time: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7SWNucHa9KMJ:arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/12/faa-gives-nod-to-more-commercial-use-of-drones/+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7SWNucH...
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- ikeboy 12y ago
  https://archive.today/s6N9C https://archive.today/s6N9C
M4v3R 12y ago
It's already back online.

51 points by suprgeek 12y ago

Sure looks that way to me.

In events like this it is a good idea to avoid sites that have apparently been compromised in case they start serving up malware.

sarciszewski 12y ago
Yep. But living dangerously is so much more fun. runs unpatched Windows Vista in a VM
- lurkinggrue 12y ago
  Running Windows XP without any service packs!
  - sarciszewski 12y ago
    That's just crazy :)
Finklestein 12y ago
I discovered it when I tried to reply to a comment. How do you avoid a site when you're one of the first to see it hacked?
- nols 12y ago
  You don't. I'm pretty sure they're talking to everyone on HN who's going to come to the comments and then click on the site to check it out.
annasaru 12y ago
Esp. if you were running Windows, I would assume. I haven't seen that kind of propagation on non-MS platforms (just my observation).. I'd like to know if a browser on an Ubuntu box would be equally vulnerable - correct me if I am wrong.
- untog 12y ago
  To be honest, I don't actually think Windows is more vulnerable these days - it's just that the average user of Windows is more vulnerable because they're less informed. They'll see the elevated permissions prompt (whatever it's called) and just click yes anyway. Similarly, Windows installers will often come bundled with crapware, but if you read what you're doing you can avoid it.
- Someone1234 12y ago
  I'd always recommend turning on Click-To-Play for all plugins no matter what your platform. Mac isn't immune from this type of thing, even if Linux is due to obscurity. Most drive-bys are targeting either old versions of IE, Java, Flash, or rarely Windows Explorer issues in XP. Chrome is great because it auto-updates regularly, and auto-updates Flash. But even in Chrome I turn on Click-To-Play (since I need to have Java installed, and don't trust Java).

geerlingguy 12y ago

Earliest tweet about it that I could find (with a screenshot): https://twitter.com/eanlz/status/544585861421993984 https://twitter.com/eanlz/status/544585861421993984 The overwritten page read: Arse security. @nidohax - @metapawd cue the music It looks like Ars has the moonshark up for now. Maybe DNS-related?

Finklestein 12y ago
BTW, @nidohax and @metapawd have no posts on their Twitter accounts. Since they appear to be seeking publicity, lets keep it that way - zero posts on their accounts.
ultramancool 12y ago
Ars runs on WordPress, yet another WordPress exploit, or even more commonly, yet another WordPress plugin exploit would be even less surprising than DNS.
- agumonkey 12y ago
  Ha, wordpress seems so anti ars u_u;

bmoresbest55 12y ago

Just saw this. Immediately, left and hoping for a quick recovery. More and more just keep on falling. Is it really that fun to bring down other people? I don't understand it. Truly.

nols 12y ago

"We're aware of the issue with our site and are working on it. :)" https://twitter.com/arstechnica/status/544587442305523712 https://twitter.com/arstechnica/status/544587442305523712

patman81 12y ago

The Year of Living Dangerously I like the music linked up on autoplay: http://www.youtube.com/embed/FoUWHfh733Y http://www.youtube.com/embed/FoUWHfh733Y

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

PublicEnemy111 12y ago

google cached it just in time: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7SWNucHa9KMJ:arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/12/faa-gives-nod-to-more-commercial-use-of-drones/+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7SWNucH...

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
ikeboy 12y ago
https://archive.today/s6N9C https://archive.today/s6N9C

M4v3R 12y ago

It's already back online.