I've become quite a big fan of smf (also known as simple machines). I've been doin stuff to it for the student's union bulletin board... just need to get my head around the mods now :bemused:
[OT] php based bulletin board ????
i think phpbb should take the blame for 2.0.12 release as it had a huge gaping security hole. and if you have to check phpbb weekly to make sure you are on the newest version then how safe is their code?
now in saying that phpbb is free and i use it for all my forums (and i of course have 2.0.13).
phpBB is to blame for having gaping security holes at points in times. But I've heard a lot of people complain about phpBB and security. And when they are confronted with the question of: "What version are you running?", they reply with "1.x.x" or not the latest. So who's to blame?
Personally I blame the hackers. They don't have a life but to make a board go bump. But still, phpBB group is not to blame for everything. AwStats and MS have security holes, but no-one says anything to them. But that's just an opinion.
As for checking each week: I do that because of mods I have on my boards. I make sure that there's no update(s) and I'm up to date. I don't subscribe to the phpBB newsletter which automatically emails you as soon as a new release is out.
As for SMF: I like it. I'm using it on one of my boards. Not too shabby. It's nice. I can't say anything bad about it, except it's hard to code around for modifications and takes a good time to learn. There is good support & mods for it, but phpBB is so widespread, it's worth the "risk" you'd take. SMF is also not exactly the most secure board. While it may be secure as far as queries are concerned, the password encryption needs work. It's weak (from what I can tell).
~Brett
Originally posted by bpat1434
... and MS have security holes, but no-one says anything to them.
HWGgvbbshmbbm!
Originally posted by Weedpacket
HWGgvbbshmbbm!
I agree
Originally posted by Weedpacket
HWGgvbbshmbbm!
huh?!?! I . . . don't . . . get . . . it. DOH!!
~Brett
... MS have security holes, but no-one says anything to them. But that's just an opinion.
You got to be kidding me. Not only does everyone talk about it they also completely blame them for making bad products. No one, especially here, blames the hackers for what MS built.
I did a google search on 'microsoft security holes' and got back 1.3 million results.
Yes, but has that hindered their business? Is Bill Gates NOT the richest person in the US? Does Microsoft NOT own contracts with the gov't, educational facilities, computer developers, and EVERYONE in general?
And while many people complain, who has stepped up to say: "We need to petition the U.S. Government to put in motion a series of laws that would prohibit the release of software that could have potentially lethal security holes." No-one is the answer to that. If it were such a huge issue and 1.3 million hits were coming back on the issue, why has no-one stepped up? Because Microsoft promises to make it better, but doesn't.
But I digress from the point of this thread.
~Brett
"We need to petition the U.S. Government to put in motion a series of laws that would prohibit the release of software that could have potentially lethal security holes."
First off, we are in a free market so I do not want the government to have that much control. If you do not like Windows you can easily get a Mac or Linux machine that will do everything windows can do.
Second, you just included every OS that exists. If an OS can connect to the web then there will always be the potential for a lethal security hole. Here is the full list of all known security holes. You will notice every OS that exists will be on this list. http://cve.mitre.org/cve/downloads/full-allitems.txt
And you have not really refuted my point which is people do say a lot about MS security holes. I would even go so far to say more people complain about MS security holes then Linux security ones. For some reason talking about Linux security holes is taboo.
I am done arguing. If you think the bug they made is not their fault that is fine with me. The ironic thing is I like PHPBB and consider the bug something that is part of working on the web.
I'm not saying it's not their fault, it's just that what most people think is a phpBB flaw, sometimes is not true. While every host screamed "phpBB is to blame!!", phpBB looked around, and found an answer, and they weren't to blame at all.
But yes, this argument has gone far enough. I have yet to find any phpBB board that I use that has had an attack.
I would suggest phpBB, then SMF. If you pay for board software, you're a sucker.
~Brett
I use phpBB and always have loved it. I think it truly is the best forum out there. All the others just don't have the same style. It's widely supported.
But my board shate its self the other week for NO reason at all. The styles completely went up the creek and let me with the paddle and a question mark above my head 
Why not just make one yourself? its easy to get the basic idea down just takes time is all. Then you'll have no one to blame but yourself 
Originally posted by pohopo
For some reason talking about Linux security holes is taboo.
It's not taboo. That's the great thing about the open source community. It's so widely talked about, that it usually gets a fast patch.
On the other hand, a MS security hole is found, reported to MS, ignored, released publicly, then either given the cookie cutter response of "we're working on it" or the person who released it is "silenced".
Originally posted by LordShryku
It's not taboo. That's the great thing about the open source community. It's so widely talked about, that it usually gets a fast patch.
On the other hand, a MS security hole is found, reported to MS, ignored, released publicly, then either given the cookie cutter response of "we're working on it" or the person who released it is "silenced".
There's the point I was trying to make. I just couldn't put it into words. Thanks Lord!!
~Brett
Good point LordShryku, which is a definite plus for the Linux world.
Originally posted by NetNerd85
Why not just make one yourself? its easy to get the basic idea down just takes time is all. Then you'll have no one to blame but yourself
How does one go about coding a forum? Im really interested.
You have to think about what type of forum you want. Make a database with tables to hold all your information. Design a structure, handle login/logout functions, get topics, display topics, read profiles, add users, add admins, add forums, add categories, new posts, replies, private messages (if you want), announcements, stickies, moderators, moving topics, locking topics, deleting posts, BBCode, smilies, handle cookies/sessions, handle html code.
There's a lot more, but that's just what my general thoughts are.
Personally, I'd use a pre-made one. Even if you're looking for something small, a well written forum script is better than writing your own since it's done for you. While you may get experience writing your own, you can see the amount of hours of work that would go into it.
~Brett
Thanks for the reply. I used PHPBB before and its excellent. This one is for a univerist y project. I already know the database i need for it, and login/register functions are already done. My problem is with the message threads - implementing a tree structure for the forum. Hope it makes sense.
Google the topic. I'm sure someone has written a book or tutorial online on how to do it. I'm not 100% sure on how to do it. But it can't be that hard.
~Brett
Yea, that was plan A. But i'll spend more time looking into it.
Originally posted by abelloda
Yea, that was plan A. But i'll spend more time looking into it.
You might also extend your search into online catalogues for e-commerce; they have similar tree structures, breadcrumbs, etc.
Just a thought.