Congratulations, GOTD mod! You've just approved a security leak!

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Congratulations, GOTD mod! You've just approved a security leak!

(12 posts) (8 voices)

Started 2 years ago by GMMan, A+, Game Modder
Latest reply from watcher13

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GMMan, A+, Game Modder

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Comment #37 of Saturday, November 7, 2009

Apparently the mod don't know how exactly the wrapper system work. Since it's out there already, I'll explain (someone can delete this once that comment is deleted).

The post explains exactly where to find the file that the wrapper extracts to start the installation process. This greatly undermines the whole GAOTD system, as if someone wants to break away from the 24-hour activation limit, they can follow the instructions and change the file extension to the most common Windows extension ever. This kills the whole GAOTD system as the user can back up the installer and install it an unlimited amount of times, share it, do whatever with it. They will most likely not pay the developer because they have the software for free. Updates, maybe. But most programs' license keys work fine on future versions.

There you have it. A huge gaping hole is right under their nose. Of course, considering today's giveaway, it doesn't matter as the installer's contents are extracted anyways. But this will be a problem in future giveaways.

(I bet the guy knew this a long time ago...)

EDIT: Made link into something less obvious.

P. S.: I know the guy was trying to be helpful, but the mod really shouldn't have let this slip.

Posted 2 years ago #
Damian

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EDIT - any moderator available (Bubby?) comment 37 needs to be removed from today's giveaway - this post should also be removed...

I just posted the same thing on the DL site as the moderators are different between the DL site and the forums - the odd few might understand the blah - but to keep it working they should know - and GOTD this thread should also be deleted once you get rid of post 37 in the comments...

this could be bad!

my post:

MODERATOR PLEASE READ! to the GOTD team/moderator

comment #37 is detrimental (bad) to the functioning of this site and GOTD’s deals with software developers.

It gives way too much info as to the workings of the Blah blah...

Please do not post this- – but review comment #37

Posted 2 years ago #
goodgotd

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Yuppers. BTW, where did the 'report this post' link go?? comment 37 was stunning, I've personally told off idiots violating the forum rules this way back a year or so- and I posted in the comments I was amazed.

agreed. Nuke #37, swat with lead-lined newspaper, flush this thread- PLEASE!

and where's the list of moderators so we can alert them? AAArrgh!

Posted 2 years ago #
Inas

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Last time I checked, post #37 was still active in the early AM (November 8, 2009.)

Posted 2 years ago #
GMMan, A+, Game Modder

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The mods seems to have taken notice. Post #37 is now gone from the comments. <Relief>

Posted 2 years ago #
watcher13

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It illustrates Bubby's comment that sometimes he feels you could write "banana, banana, banana" and it would be approved. The sad truth is: this is hardly the first time this information has made it into the comments and it hasn't always even been edited out. If you went back through the archives of the last year I'm certain you'd see it at least 3 times.

Posted 2 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk

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Unfortunately there are only a few moderators operating in each of the giveaway sections and they are all voluntary posts. To my knowledge there is only one other moderator working on the game giveaway comments section and before I volunteered last year the comments were only being moderated a few times each day. Unfortunately I can't be on hand for the full 48 hour period each weekend, but I do actually try to moderate as often as possible. It's rare that more than four hours will go by without me moderating the comments section and usually I'm checking at least hourly or even more frequently. I also try to make sure that nothing inappropriate is posted, though as you can see no moderator is perfect; for example, and against my better judgement I did let a very stupid personal comment through today, (but then it was just to illustrate what we sometimes have to put up with from some members of the community). I'm sure that those of you who have or still do admin or moderate other sites know only to well.

Posted 2 years ago #
watcher13

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So all the moderators over in the comment section are voluntary moderators but almost none of them are forum members? Very few of them are GOTD staff? (Did you mean "voluntary posts" - can't be that since I'm assuming all posts are voluntary - or something about voluntary moderators?) Sorry, Stephen, I'm still confused on this issue. Without asking for a naming of names, I still don't understand why the realities of who moderates the comments section should be such a deep, dark secret. It's hard to defend the site with accurate information when new members of this forum jump to the wrong conclusions about why things like this happen. It's hard when you don't know what the correct conclusions are. I don't understand why it should be SO hard to just get a reasonable explanation of who's who of the administrative monitors of the main page comments section. Again, just in general terms, without the naming of names being necessary. ??? I've seen so many different vague explanations here that it practically makes my head spin.

As to the moderation itself, I think most people are more concerned with the quality, and feel the quantity issued is quite secondary.

Posted 2 years ago #
hotdoge3

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Can you send a Private Messages ? may help if you know how I don't? who do you tell?

Posted 2 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk

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You're right Watcher. I only know of BuBBy being a moderator on the giveaway section of the project. I haven't a clue who else does the job on either of the giveaway sections.

Hi Hotdog, are you saying YOU don't know how to send a PM or are you just continuing Watchers argument?

You'll have to forgive my comprehension skills. They are severly tested at the moment having had very little productive sleep over the past few days. I'm finding it hard even to srting a sentence together, lol.

Regards

Whiterabbit. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
ⓒⓗⓘⓟ

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And to follow up on what Watcher was saying; Yes, the forum mods and actual giveaway mods are separate groups of people. Yes, there perhaps may be some who mod on both but I'm pretty sure the only ones that do both are the admins. The mods for the giveaway pages are volunteers just like forum mods who got in before alot of us forum mods got in and have been here longer. Most of the current mods (like myself) are fairly new so to speak because they had that post about needing mods months ago and thats when most of the forum mods jumped on board.

Posted 2 years ago #
watcher13

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Hey Stephen, hope I didn't sound like I was jumping on you when it was just a misunderstanding.

Thanks, Chip, for the confirmation. The whole thing originally was really about whether what was said here was seen by GOTD. In other words, whether they were very involved in the forum. Now, I understand that many forums don't have much input from there originating companies or organizations. And I don't want to get into a fight about whether that's good or bad, though I've seen many forums were people have expressed a lot of frustration because the originators aren't involved. There's an opinion that some support forums just exist to deflect frustration of the users. To give them a chance to vent and also to solve their own problems so the developers, or what have you, don't have to support the users as much (or at all). Certainly true of a lot of Microsoft forums.

But, one way or another, I think it helps if we know. So that info helps: that there's likely not much connection between this forum and the comment section moderators. So much of what's said here doesn't make an impact there.

If people want to make an impact there, they either need to put their concerns in the comments section, in a relevant post in the forum blog, or by using the contact form link at the bottom of the GOTD page to email the staff directly.

Posted 2 years ago #

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