My Profile

Here is what my problems WERE. I am using a lenovo thinkpad laptop.
My profile was fine. I was posting fine in the a.m. yesterday-- and you know me--I answer just about everybody.
I went to my private messages to check them and had two regarding a post I just answered-- One from the OP and one from our regular crew saying that I had been rude to the former (I had) and I had misquoted the latter (I had). I quickly went to the thread to try to change what I said and it typed out just fine, but disappeared right after it appeared. It happened over and over so I couldn't edit. I couldn't post. I could not answer the message.
I tried to go to discussions and make a post calling for the admins. because I saw lots of folks there with the profile problem. Again, I couldn't post. And while my profile was great, I had the little duck avatar missing and the log in in the avatar circle instead, so I had to log in every time I came to the page, and couldn't post.
I emailed the admins. Some few hours later it was fixed. The only thing still remaining off this a.m. is that I have to log in every time I leave and come back to the site, even tho I pressed the "remember me" thingy.
I am going to take a week off to reset my old brain so I am not so mean and careless with posts, but I will be back daily at least twice to check on Lea while she is in her immune-therapy treatments and will look in on my private messages.
I think the admins, once you get them, are very responsive to our problems, and that makes me feel really good about our site in general.
All hang in there and love out to you from me. If you are ever curious when I "disappear" you can always check with JoAnn who is a FB friend. She can always message me. And hey, if I am off both here and on FB means I likely landed myself in hospital or WORSE. If "worse" comes to roost my daughter would eventually message Forum and Facebook that I bit the big one. You already know how much I love AC, so I needn't tell you that. I wouldn't leave without telling someone.

I seem to have fixed my problem by restarting my device.

gladimhere, nice that rebooting it worked for you! I restarted my laptop and nothing changed. If other people can't get to my profile, it's not my laptop that is having the issue, it is this site. Still can't get into my own Profile.

I'm running Safari version 15.5 (17613.2.7.1.8)

Monterey 12.4

Just checked to see if I can get into my Profile today: nope.

Fixed: the site no longer automatically logs me out when I click "thumbs up" or post a response when I've been inactive on the forum for a while.

Geaton777, I also still cannot get into my Profile.

I also noticed my settings for Accessibility Adjustment [that blue circle with a person with its arms out, lower right corner] isn't automatic like it was before. I need to refresh my page several times to get the AA to work with the selections I had made.

The Accessibility Adjustment is great. I found I had difficulty reading original questions/discussion in that light blue color, so I had the option with AA to set the color to black which is easier on older eyes :)

Something is clearly going on and likely they are working on it, but the site is not the same. I now have to sign in each time I come. The avatar duck is missing and the circle on the upper right says "log in". I do so, marking the "remember me". But it doesn't remember me.
The stuff from two days ago is taken care of and I can now send private messages, and can post, though I am no posting in questions for a week or so. Just coming in to see how Lea is feeling daily and to read y'all's answers.
Admins told me in an email that someone may have reported me for something and a "ticket was out" until checked, and that may have been why my posts would appear, then disappear at once that morning.
Not sure what's happening, but I think Geaton and freflyer the two with profiles still missing. JoAnn's had been missing a long time and is now fixed.

BarbBrooklyn's profile still has a WHOOPS and a kitten on it, also. So that is three we know of.
I wonder if the ADMINS could do for freqflyer, Geaton and Barb whatever they did for JoAnn?

An hour or so ago I could not get in AG at all thru my Email, tried pad and phone. Tried search engine and got a 504 error code so maybe they are working on the problems.

3/4/23 I'm still not able to get into my Profile page.

Geaton, fregflyer and Barb still look like they have down profiles with the kitten that says "Whoops".
Does ANYONE ELSE?
I know that JoAnn's was fixed. Yesterday there was a time when no one could get on, so likely the whole site down for resets or repairs?
I wish the admins could update us daily as to how many are down and to let us know they are still attempting to fix the issue.
ONE MORE THING is that I tried to "like" a comment below (17 hours ago) by Bandy, who has been having problems right along also, and it will not accept a "like" from me on her post. Went to her profile page to leave a message just to ask "are you getting this message", and it looks to have posted.
I am still having to log in each time I come to the site, even tho I am checking the "remember me" box.
So overall, still some glitches. Hope they are working on them.

I still think Firefox is pretty good, but like any browser it's all in how you set it up. I have my privacy settings set to very strict, reject all 3rd party cookies and delete all cookies on close, plus I run an ad blocker.
I find Google/Gmail/YouTube et al. to be much more problematic, try as a may to delete they always seem to remember me.

I found a new feature. I use "following" on members profiles to see other questions they may have had. Before, when I read a former question and hit back, it took me back to the persons profile meaning if I wanted to see a post I had to hit "following" again to see the list of questions. Now...I hit back and there is the list of questions.

I am still not profile worthy.

I think the techs have no idea what is wrong or how to fix it FF.

That post deserves 100 likes!

The 3 posts I see have been reported.

3/5/23 - Still no access to my profile.

And now the *joy* of seeing a teenage "hacker" do utterly pointless, loser-esque stuff on this site.

Maybe s/he can fix my Profile access?? That would at least be useful.

I find it interesting that some hacker would have any interest in an aging care Forum. Or enough PERSONAL angst/hatred of it, or someone on it, to create this kind of chaos.
It does seem to make sense that anything like this would happen on a Saturday/Sunday. I DO think our admins are around on weekends, because in the past they have responded. I hope Aging Care admins give us a clue what's going on. Has anyone sent notification of this attack, now apparently gone, to an email for our admins?

Stacy, I am a bit of a computer Luddite, but is this not indicative of a pretty "low level" hacker??? He/she is able to create an account (easily done) and then create a question through that account (easily done) AND he/she is able to then change responses to any responses on that particular question, BUT NOTHING ELSE. That is to say he/she is unable to change our responses on other "legitimate questions". SO, doesn't this mean he or she is most likely not o be a part of the employee system at AC? (disgruntled type). I would think an ex employee could do a lot more sophisticated damage/work on the page.
It's kind of exciting overall, but given the problems on the system in the last week, it does look like some employee/ex-employee or disgruntled "other" who is semi-sophisticated is at work with SOME malevolent intent. And again, I think that would be such a small group.
Someone interested in doing this on an aging care forum must have a really boring life overall I would think.
The threads aren't deleted, either. They are a bit buried, but still there, unless this is a mess of new ones.
Would love to see admin response, but wouldn't be surprised to see our site down on Monday morning for overhaul. Perhaps should form a bit of a tree to reach one another? Or just play it all by ear.

attacker9821638

From the hacker's "profile":

"About Me
 
Hi,

I am a penetration testing system apps. I didn't damage anything, I did a test on my two accounts as attacker

(https://www.agingcare.com/members/attacker9821638) & victim (https://www.agingcare.com/members/vvvvvvvvvv)

Happy to do testing on this application."

Happy to do testing on this application? Doesn't sound like they were actually hired by APFM... are showcasing the holes in this site's security and looking to get hired to test if for pay?

Stacy, that makes ZERO SENSE TO ME, that some attacker would come in to the page without AC letting us know. ZERO. I have never heard of such a thing. My own personal opinion here, but I AM NOT BUYING THAT FOR A SECOND.
Moreover this person says they are happy to do this. Like they are doing AC and US a favor. What BS. I doubt AC asked them to test this site in any way.
Moreover this person says they used their TWO accounts to do this. If this is the case I hope that that person AND their two accounts are banned from the site. Of course, as we ALL know, all one had to do is a little work to get on any site again.
So I have no idea what you are talking about with these wonderful people who are doing FREE HACKING on aging care to make everything great again.
I doubt AC hired this poor misbegotten creature to do ANY testing on this site. Not thousands and not one cool cent. I hope that they can identify them and their "two accounts" asap.
But what would I know?

Yesterday, I decided to "log out" after not doing that for many years. I wanted to see if that had something to do with my missing profile.... NOT. Then I had trouble trying to "log in" as I couldn't remember what password I had used way back when.

The website said it would send me a temp password. I waited and waited but nothing showed up in my email. So I had a light bulb moment and tried a very old password, and it finally worked. This time I made sure I wrote it in my password notebook.

But now, when I leave this website, the software automatically logs me out. That's weird. Log in/log out. Rinse. Repeat.

freqflyer:
Softwear automatically logging me out each visit as well. And I never had profile page problems, but did have the same posting problems that Bandy had.

Closing my account-- if these folks can get in this easily and if admins have so little control/care to advise us of what's going on.

Sorry. I can't afford to expose myself this way.

Boy, leave for the weekend and look what I miss! Hope it gets figured out soon!

Stacy, I never did believe any of the "conspiracy theories" that abounded back years ago about who was actually "working for the site", "hired by the site","a plant of the site", "had other accounts". And I am not buying conspiracy theories today.
People back then were PM-ing utter lies about me (one of which being I was a "practicing witch") and lies about others on this page. There were lies spread to people about "so and so said this about you" to members.
I think that most of those silly theories and nasty gossip is gone. Thank goodness, because we lost people because of them.It was claimed back then that people were "plants". It was then,,and I think now, utter nonsense.
AC isn't going to plant people here to make nonsense hacker posts without telling us that.
People are not plants and many accounts and all of that.
I think that the spreading of rumors should not be tolerated by ANY of us. I think gossip should not be tolerated by any of us.
If people write you a pm to gossip about others, make claims about others, accuse others, I would suggest you GO TO THOSE OTHERS and check it out.
Anyone who does that nonsense has no one's good at heart. This is a simple forum with VERY decent people.
Conspiracy theories about AC and just about anything else is total nonsense and often done to make trouble, to divide people.
My opinion, be it never so humble.

Again, Stacy. I don't believe conspiracy theories. Didn't then. Don't now.

Barb, please please don't leave. If you need to take some time off do that. I took 2 months off during the holidays when people were gossiping, shouting at one another, arguing and being devisive. I need to take myself out of it for a while.
Write the admins before you think you want to leave. I got through to ashley.huntsberry@aplaceformom.com. I also copied moderator@agingcare.com and so I don't know which worked.
I hope you won't leave. You are one of the originals for me here, one I truly love and trust and think gives great advice.
I hope if you leave us for a while you come back. If our regulars leave a whole bunch will exit. I am not saying the site won't survive or that we aren't expendible, but you are NOT expendible to me.
Wait and see what Monday brings from the admins. Hopefully some word.

Of COURSE, Stacy, they gather information. All businesses gather information. Our information is for sale everywhere. Our TOASTERS have chips to gather info.
Their business is elders. Some love what they do, some don't. They were enormously helpful to my brother when he had to find a place for his partner, not A Place for Mom, but one very similar in So. Cal. Love them or hate them they have a service to sell. And information on us and on our elders is likely gold, if they can sort through the nonsense to get to it.
Again, my opinion only, and this is a wearisome boring subject in any case. People will make their own decisions. What I don't personally like is people PM-ing me things they have ZERO knowledge of, making claims about other people, gossiping, creating conspiracies where none are.
Anyway, my personal opinion is that the page is having some serious problem. Our amateur hacker is only taking advantage of his or her simple knowledge of its system. Now let's just see, let's HOPE they fix it. And let's not make up conspiracies where there are none.
Lastly, if we are NOT here to answer the questions posed to us by our OPs, if we BELIEVE this site is run by people for nefarious reasons, I cannot imagine why we would stay for a second. I certainly wouldn't. I understand Barb wanting/needing to leave for a while. It is frustrating not to be able to get into our own profiles, not to be able to contact people when/if we need to. I understand us getting overwhelmed, or disappointed or tired enough to take some time off. But I don't understand thinking this is some evil setup to gather some information from people, and then staying on it. Because I would leave in a second if I believed that.
No, THIS is lastly. If someone ever tells you that someone is a witch, or is two accounts, or is a shill for the admins, or is working for the page, or or or or or, why not GO TO THAT PERSON and open an honest conversation with them. It's at least worth a try, right?

Barb - please don't leave. You are one of the backbones of this place. Just give it a break for a while and see what A/C sorts out. We all need a safe place for connection with others. I know you are going through a lot and certainly don't need more. ((((((Hugs))) to you.