theailablog

What is happening to the AILA web site?

5 May 2008

What is happening to the AILA web site?

In the last couple of weeks, we (the AILA National Office) have become aware that the web site was disappearing on many occasions, often overnight.

On each occasion we have had to ring the internet service provider (ISP) and ask them to fix the problem. In their usual relaxed fashion they would attend to the problem - eventually.

then to complicate things we started to receive calls that there was a virus on the web site. Given that this means that any such virus would be on the server - not here in this office - then again we started ringing the ISP and asking them to investigate.

Again in their relaxed fashion, the juniors who answer the phone would say that the senior technicians were working on it.

But all of the above just continued! ie the page kept disappearing and more phone calls arrived about a possible virus on the web site.

Eventually after much time on the phone last week, and with some outside assistance form a very good tech person, Joel Roberts of Tekhaus (Newcastle NSW), we worked out that there were two separate problems.

……………………………

Was there a virus on the web site? NO

BUT we worked out that someone within the ISP had placed a piece an evil piece of software (URCHIN by Google) on the same server we were on - and that it had been let loose onto our web site - without our permission.

This meant that all the main pages on our web site - and there are hundreds - had had a piece of code or two inserted into the page code. Once we realised what it was, we naturally contacted the ISP and asked for it to be removed.

BUT, it was too late. The tracking code was in all those pages on the server.

After about 12 hours work, we may have found them all and removed them!!!

While the application, and subsequent code, would do no one any harm, we definitely resented the insertion of the tracking code without our permission.

It is always likely that it was done by a junior who allowed it to travel into all the web sites on the server.

But still!!!!!! (please image a rude word or two at this point!)

If your workplace does detect the code - the tracking code - it will most likely show as a virus on the web site.

PLEASE - send us an email or ring to let us know, but more importantly identify if you can which page you were visiting when it was identified.

Fingers crossed we have found it all.

………………

and why then was the web site disappearing??

again it turns out that the problem was the ISP.

The particular server was not coping. So we have now been moved to another server which they (the ISP) say is more stable.

But in the process we lost some of our log-ons such as the PAY page and other stuff.

We are chasing all this up!!

……………………….

Thanks for your patience.

All will be resumed soon. - we hope!

thanks again to the advice from Joel Roberts of Tekhaus (Newcastle NSW)