phpBB Weekly #039
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Episode Duration: 1:26:00
On This Episode: Douglas Bell (Fountain of Apples) and David Lewis (Highway of Life)
We were hoping that this episode of phpBB Weekly just might turn out to be a shorter show, but apparently it wasn’t going to happen. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a rather interesting and informative show that came bundled with a rather interesting and informative live audience.
phpBB3′s Permissions system is one of the most powerful and most comprehensive new features, but also one of the most intimidating, as Douglas can tell you from experience. We go through the basics of using phpBB3′s permissions system and also look at a number of common things that can confuse people about the system (like why no one can see the forum you just created or the difference between Yes, No, and Never). For more information on the Permissions system beyond what we’ve covered in this episode, check out the Flash tutorials on managing forums and on custom usergroups. You can also check out the Setting Permissions quick start guide, or the more detailed section on users and forum permissions.
Then, Douglas gives us a phpBB History Lesson, as we take a look back to the release of phpBB 2.0.11 which took place exactly three years ago on November 18, 2004. We look back at the highlighting exploit that caused that released and which caused the infamous Santy worm of December 2004 which defaced over 40,000 phpBB-based bulletin boards and hurt phpBB’s security reputation, and we look at some of the changes that the phpBB teams in response to the uproar. Josh W. (A_Jelly_Doughnut), one of the MOD Team members, also comes on briefly to look back at the Santy worm with us. Finally, we take a look at what has changed with security in phpBB3 and the various steps that have been taken by the teams in the last three years to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
Additional links mentioned:
howdark.com “exploits”
howdark.com exploits – follow up
phpBB 2.0.11 released – Critical update
phpBB 2.0.11 upgrade reminder
Netcraft: Santy Worm Spreads Through phpBB Forums
The MOD of the Week is User Shield for phpBB2 by Wo1f, and the Style of the Week is DAJ_Glass for phpBB2 by Krezno.
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