WebmasterWorld Compromised - Security Issue Reveals Some Passwords

Jun 3, 2008 - 9:16 am 1 by
Filed Under SEO Forum News

Hasn't been a good weekend for forums. First we learn that DigitalPoint Forums had database issues and now I learn that the software used at WebmasterWorld was "compromised last week."

Brett Tabke posted the details of the issue. He said, there was a "security fault in the lostpassword utility was used to access admin passwords." Although this may sound serious, Brett said "the perpetrator did not actually do any harm that we can see."

How does this impact you? Well, you may want to change the password you have been using on WebmasterWorld to a different one. In addition, if you are a lurker (i.e. you don't post threads), your account may have been deleted during the pruning process.

Brett said he "scrubbed/weeded the entire membership base of inactive nonparticipating accounts going back three years (around 200k - almost 50% of the membership base)."

Please note that you cannot change your password just yet. The tech team is reworking that password utility feature as we speak. So stay tuned on the announcement page for any update.

 

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