Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Today, I got some error messages a bit more often than usual. It's happened in the past -- I usually just refresh and it's gone. Today, there was one error that lasted a bit longer than that.

Anybody know what these errors are? Next time I see one, I could get the exact name of the error, if you need more detail.

Also, in the wake of the e-Sangha crisis, I have to ask: Are you certain your forum is secure?

I got the error AGAIN.

First, it said this:

SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

Lost connection to MySQL server during query [2013]

I refreshed and then it said this:

SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2) [2002]

An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.

After that, it would give me the same error message, the one above, every time I refreshed... for a few seconds. Then it worked again.

Greetings Individual,

I think it's just systematic of the server being down momentarily.

The reason I'm pretty sure that this is the problem, is because I too was getting the same messages from Dharmawheel.

Metta,
Retro.

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Individual,

I think it's just systematic of the server being down momentarily.

The reason I'm pretty sure that this is the problem, is because I too was getting the same messages from Dharmawheel.

Metta,
Retro.

Why would the server go down momentarily?

Greetings Individual,

The ISP probably doesn't want to pay for the kind of redundancy required to keep it up and running 99.999% of the time. Beyond a point, the investment returns aren't worth it and beyond a point you start having to pay a real premium price for extreme reliability and continuity of service.

Metta,
Retro.

I was seeing the SQL errors too. The fact that this forum is on a shared hosting account with some 500-odd other sites on it is probably the reason.

I'm not trying to bash or anything, I'm actually liking it here, which is why I mention this. If you guys are serious about running a forum and membership here continues to grow, at some point you will need a dedicated server just to handle the traffic load. You can get a small starter server on the cheap, usually for less than a hundred bucks a month. Sometimes you can catch sales or special deals that will knock the price down lower too. It may not be needed right this minute, but it is something you might want to consider in the future.

poto wrote:I was seeing the SQL errors too. The fact that this forum is on a shared hosting account with some 500-odd other sites on it is probably the reason.

I'm not trying to bash or anything, I'm actually liking it here, which is why I mention this. If you guys are serious about running a forum and membership here continues to grow, at some point you will need a dedicated server just to handle the traffic load. You can get a small starter server on the cheap, usually for less than a hundred bucks a month. Sometimes you can catch sales or special deals that will knock the price down lower too. It may not be needed right this minute, but it is something you might want to consider in the future.

I agree and I don't think anybody would mind some Google ads, to partially cover the costs.

It's great to see Dhamma Wheel grow, as I thought it would. This website has a very bright future ahead of it.

Hi there

Getting SQL errors at random intervals also.

Greetings,

Individual wrote:I agree and I don't think anybody would mind some Google ads, to partially cover the costs.

It's ultimately David's call, but I don't think Dhamma Wheel will be going down the Google Ads path... particularly now that some accounts about the E-Sangha attack suggest it was related to one of the ads that appeared on the site via Google Ads.

As for times when SQL errors are observed, try switching to the 'other' Dhamma Wheel domain or clicking the refresh button on your browser and see if that works.

http://dhammawheel.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dhammawheel.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I see they're still occurring intermittently. I'll ensure David knows about this, so he can investigate when he has the chance to do so.

Metta,
Retro.

Got a number of sql errors about a half hour ago. seems ok now.

Do the errors correspond with usage peaks?

Greetings Catmoon,

catmoon wrote:Got a number of sql errors about a half hour ago. seems ok now.

Do the errors correspond with usage peaks?

Around Easter I think it was we had a few issues. I don't think it's DW-specific demand... just technical issues with the hosting company.

Those times aside, it's actually been quite reliable.

Metta,
Retro.

retrofuturist wrote: particularly now that some accounts about the E-Sangha attack suggest it was related to one of the ads that appeared on the site via Google Ads.

That would be a XSS (Cross Site Scripting) exploit. The last Google Adsense XSS exploit that I remember was in 2005 and that was patched within a day or 2 if I remember correctly. Unless somebody has discovered a new XSS vulnerability, it's highly unlikely the Google Adsense ads that were displaying on E-Sangha were in any way responsible for the hack.

Greetings Poto,

Yes, perhaps it was an early (incorrect) diagnosis... the only other explanation I've heard to date is of a deliberate targeted attack, which from what you're saying here, sounds most likely.

Metta,
Retro.

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Poto,

Yes, perhaps it was an early (incorrect) diagnosis... the only other explanation I've heard to date is of a deliberate targeted attack, which from what you're saying here, sounds most likely.

Metta,
Retro.

Well, if we're going to speculate, it could have been malware on the admin's computer that let somebody root the server, a security hole in an outdated script, a SQL injection or any number of other things. I really have no idea what one it was. There are a lot of automated exploits these days, and vast armies of botnets to do the dirty work. It's possible that E-Sangha could have been hacked by a bot as part of a larger exploit.

I was just pointing out that it's not likely to be Google Adsense ads.

I'd rather donate money every month than see google ads here and I imagine some other users would too. If the server is to be updated I hope it is when I am no-longer unemployed!