SORRY re continuing PROBLEMS but will be working soon

[Anthea]

You will have noticed that it has been almost impossible to use this forum recently

Most probably the problems with this site are caused by TURKS who are against anything Kurdish

The Great God Dyaoko will make it work properly again in the next day or so

We are very sorry for the disruption

PLEASE come back

PLEASE contribute

PLEASE play the games

[Anthea]

Glad to see this forum is up and running again

[Anthea]

This site went down again and has been up and down for the past couple of days - nothing we as users could do - c'est la vie

[Piling]

I see that your French is improving

[Anthea]

I see that your French is improving

The English always steal phrases from other countries - c'est la vie and raison d'être are are often used - I cannot think of any other French phrases at this moment it time - but if any come to mind I will post them

I used to know a little Welsh but have forgotten it

I used to know some Spanish - the only Spanish word I remember now is churro (doughnut)

I even know two TURKISH words - "yemek" and "daha" - as in "daha yemek" (food and more food)

Your English is very good - you are extremely clever - you know so many different languages

[Anthea]

PERHAPS this forum will stay up now

PERHAPS not

PERHAPS

Worry not because whatever happens this forum will ALWAYS come back again

[Piling]

It is like electricity shortage in Kurdistan : some are for hours… some are for less than a hour… sometime happen everyday, or from time to time… God knows why (if He cares of a such thing).

[Anthea]

SORRY but most people were not able to view this forum at all on Friday 13 June

Those of you who are superstitious - here in UK it is now Saturday 14 June

I am sure that this forum will be running properly soon so please keep trying

[Anthea]

Often when this site experiences problems it is due to a Denial Of Service attack (I think)

Nobody is able to access this site - it completely crashes due to the vast numbers trying to log in

The problem the site has now is different

It would appear that there is some form of virus connected to the server that only affects Microsoft and Apple technology

My Linux connection has thus far been totally unaffected

However as it is some form of virus it might take longer than normal to get the site running properly again

Those of you who are still able to view this site as guests - I would love to know if you are also Linux users

Perhaps the problem has something to do with the country people are in?

LINUX RULES

[Anthea]

Normally when this site goes down we see the message below:



This time I have no problems so it could be related to an earlier item I posted:

BBC News Technology

URGENT WARNING FOR MICROSOFT USERS

How to defend yourself against the 'two-week' attack

Alarming news from the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA): you have "two weeks" to protect yourself from a major cyber-threat.

The warning came as the FBI, in partnership with authorities in several countries around the world, shut down a network of criminally operated computers that were stealing important information from victims' machines.

But since that announcement, which directed concerned users to a website which promptly crashed for more than 15 hours, many BBC readers have been in touch wondering what they need to do to stay safe on the internet. Here's an at-a-glance guide.

Am I affected?

If your computer does not run Windows, stop right here. This does not affect you - but other problems might, so always keep your antivirus up to date.

If you are using Windows, read on.

Gameover Zeus is a particularly nasty piece of malware - malicious software - that will fish around your computer for files that look like they may contain financial or other sensitive information. Once it finds them, it steals them.

The FBI has said that the criminals in this case used "phishing" emails to install Gameover Zeus on victims' computers. A phishing email is one that looks like it came from somewhere official, like your bank, but didn't - instead directing you to mistakenly download the malware.

The NCA has estimated that around 15,000 computers may currently be infected in the UK. Worldwide, it runs into the millions.

Those in the UK will be receiving correspondence from their internet service provider (ISP) soon, warning them that they are at risk. If you get one of these notices, you must act immediately.

But while the 15,000 figure is relatively low, this warning should not be ignored. Everyone should run a scan on their system.

GetSafeOnline.org - a government-backed initiative - published a list of downloads it recommends to run a sweep of your system and get into shape. Unfortunately, overwhelming traffic is causing the site to falter, and so people are also being directed to the UK Cyber Emergency Readiness Team (Cert) instead.

What's going to happen to me in two weeks?

Hopefully nothing.

The operation carried out by the FBI was able to knock out many of the servers used by criminals to control this particular threat.

But nobody involved has been arrested, and therefore it is extremely likely that very soon the operation will start up again.

It is estimated it will take around two weeks for the botnet - that's the network of criminally-controlled, hijacked computers - to be fully operational again.

That's why the security experts are advising people to use this relatively quiet two-week period to make sure they're up to date.

In truth, the advice given should be applied at all times. The message is always the same - make sure your antivirus software, and firewall, and everything else designed to protect you is up to date.

I had to change my passwords last week. And the week before that. When is this going to end?

To quote an FBI spokesman who spoke on Monday: "This is the new normal."

One of the big talking points from this latest security threat is the idea of "notification fatigue". Barely a week seems to go by without us being told about a cyber-attack putting our personal data at risk.

This is not going to go away - but there is a risk that the security industry may sound like it is beginning to "cry wolf" about cyber-threats.

But we may begin to see the way we deal with major cyber-risks changing.

In the case of Gameover Zeus, this is the first time security firms have worked directly with ISPs to target particular users it knows are infected.

In the future, it may mean that rather than millions of people being told to change passwords as a precaution, a much smaller number will be notified that they are immediately at risk.

Advice in the meantime is to use different, complex passwords for all the important sites you use.

If this seems like a bit of a faff, one easy way, experts suggest, is to use a password manager. We can't endorse products here, but a quick look on your favourite search engine will point you in the right direction.

Full Article & Video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27681236

The timing would be about right - also the fact that it does not effect my Linux computer makes me think this could be part of the same attack

[Anthea]

As you dear gusts see - this site is still experiencing problems

PLEASE read the previous post because I strongly believe that the problems this site is experiencing is connected to the major cyber-threat the FBI warned about.

In truth I have NO IDEA

All I know is that I am the only registered member of Roj Bash Kurdistan to be unaffected

The reason for this could be because I use a Linux desktop - not microsoft or Apple - not a smartphone - good reliable Linux

Penguin Power

I imagine those few of you still managing to view this site also use the Mighty Tux

The problems with this site are being worked on but it might take a few more days

PLEASE KEEP COMING WATCHING

[Anthea]

Dear viewers thank you for your continued support

The management of this site is doing his best to rectify the problems

I seem to be the only member who is under the protection of the mighty Ninja Tux



Ninja Tux prevents the evil virus from affecting my server connection

[Anthea]

YES my penguin and I are still HERE



Not sure why non-Linux users cannot see this site

[Anthea]

NONE of the other members of this forum have been able to log-in or even view this forum for the last 4 days

Only I have been able to log-in

I believe that is due to the fact I use a Linux operating system on my desktop computer

I do not use microsoft - apple - smartphone etc

If you are able to read this I assume that you also use Linux

The owner of this site is aware of the problem and trying to rectify it

If - as I believe - there is a very nasty virus that affects non-Linux systems - it is not going to be easy to destroy

As soon as humanly possible our leader Dyaoko will have this forum running properly again

Thank you for your patience and understanding

[Anthea]

The problem on this site has returned

We are sorry for the problem and efforts are being made rectify it

I will try to keep you - who do manage to view the site - informed of important events

SORRY for the PROBLEMS