Trouble accessing iRV2! - Update Posts 11, 41, 76

[CLIFFTALL]

Thank you. I'm sure that will help others.

Originally Posted by dieselclacker

In addition to clearing cookies, cache, history etc, I found it necessary to delete and re-install the bookmark that I had placed on my Kindle for irv2 in order to cure the problem of being constantly logged out. Everything seems to be working normal on the site after doing the above.

[mel s]

I'm happy to report that today, after 2-3 days of problems, everything iRV2 is back to normal... (with no action taken on my end).
BTW I find it ironic that people like us, (who payed thousands of dollars for a RV that needs constant maintenance and repairs), get our "undies in a bundle" when iRV2, (which costs nothing), has a problem.
Mel
'96 Safari

[Route 66]

If you are having trouble logging in or staying logged in;

delete your iRV2 cookies and clear your cache, log out, log in and check the remember me box.

[stan5711]

This morning I'm having the same problem we were having when this all started,every time you switch page it comes up and say's checking your browser,been working the last two days.

[stuhly]

I got that same crap again this AM.

[puttin]

Originally Posted by stan5711

This morning I'm having the same problem we were having when this all started,every time you switch page it comes up and say's checking your browser,been working the last two days.

X3- same prob with "checking browser"

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by stuhly

I got that same crap again this AM.

Sorry about this folks - we are experiencing the same event again and it began about 8:30 am eastern. The redirect page cannot be avoided at this point and we apologize for the inconvenience
For more info about this you can read here: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f62/troub...ml#post2902695 about DDoS attacks and the last one we had.

[wa8yxm]

Ok there appear to be two issues.. ONE of the clues is in fact that redirect page... Someone thought there was an attack on the site, Possible but the Redrict page suggests a software upgrade.

Why the redrict page:? Two possible answers.

ONE is a hijack. Someone hijacking the URL for IRV2 and then redirecting us so we can not tell if it's happening.. However none of my anti-that kind of thing, software is flagging so I doubt it.

The other is a software upgrade. In the old days most browsers followed one set of rules but today we have MSIE, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and more in the windows world.. Plug Linus, Android, Chrome for Android .. Wide screen, Narrow screen, Landscape, Portorate, and more... Each browser has slightly different rules, Some use one version of Flash, some another, some forget Flash, and that is just one of the variables.

So the host needs to know how to present the data, And that means the "Detecting your browser" page. Most do this faster than you notice, but for some reason it's taking longer now.

[Route 66]

See Janet's post above yours.

There is no hijack or software upgrade.

[Timon]

First, I'm not an Admin on this site. These are just my thoughts.

To defend it's self from continuing DDoS attacks IRV2 is using a service to block them from getting to the web servers. I've not listed the DDoS protection provider out of respect for IRV2 but it wasn't hard to figure out. I suspect that this service was brought on line not that long ago and they are still working out issues so just give the admins some breathing room and it's will all get taken care of.

As has been stated DDoS attacks are hard and almost impossible for a single web server to defend it's self against. Services like IRV2 is using keeps the DDoS attackers away from the web server using their own servers. These servers are distributed all over the internet so even if one is being hit they can redirect traffic to others.

The bottom line is that the DDoS attach never get to the real web server but at times there are issues that popup or procedures which users will see. The "Check your Browser before accessing" is one of those effects.

The DDoS service provider has this comment about them in it Help section which betters explains the issue.

The "Checking your browser before accessing (insertsite.com) occurs when the site owner has turned on a DDoS protection and mitigation tool called "I'm Under Attack". The page will generally go away and grant you access to the site after 5 seconds.

Note: You will need to have both JavaScript and Cookies turned on in your browser to pass the check. The check is in place to make sure that you are not part of a bonnet.

That last line is important since some having problems might have one or the other turned off.

One more thing, be glad that these services exist today. Back several years ago when I had to manage a web server we didn't have services like this to defend us from DDoSs. When we got hit we had to get the ISP to try and help us defend the attack. Even then we could be down for hours or even days. So we should all consider ourselves lucky these services are available and IRV2 is using them. Also remember that these services aren't free. I guilty of not helping out so I'm going to see about fixing that. Hopefully many others will do the same.

Originally Posted by Support Admin

Many folks have asked for information about the delays and we know it''s an inconvenience but right now it's needed.

A day ago the forum was offline for several hours because of a DDoS attack and we are still under attack. A Denial of Service attack is deliberately malicious and caused when a lot of computers try to access the site at the same time - they place too much demand on the server and it locks up.

The computers are usually virus infected machines in third world countries and they are being controlled remotely by the attacker or his hired service (more often). They are turned into an army of bots. Often the owner of the botified computer may never know it's being used this way.

These attacks are often instigated by a disgruntled individual and on forums this is usually a member who was unable to follow the rules of the road and shown the door. We believe this is the case here as well. We work hard to maintain a reasonably polite community and know that most members desire this.

The screen and posting delays are because we have added an extra layer of security, verifying viewing to remove/stop malicious activity. This extra check is especially tough on those with slow connections and some mobile users but it cannot be avoided. Your individual computers and devices are not at risk and the site hasn't actually been hacked - just slowed down.

An attack of this nature is a crime and we take this very seriously, for this reason we are also not going to disclose much about the details but you can read more about this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack

It's sad when one angry person decides to muck up the works for everyone and we appreciate your understanding as we get work through this.

[CLIFFTALL]

Thank you Timon. We appreciate it.
Cliff

[puttin]

Seems to be working normally again with no re direct.

Thanks!

[Janet H]

Folks we've trimmed back a lot of posts from this thread so that it will be easier to find current info about what's going on. Just to recap..

Last Sunday (15th) iRV2 was the target of a DDos attack that seems to have been instigated by a disgruntled member. You can read more about these here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack

After being offline for a short while, we set in place some more robust member verification to help deflect this attack and it ended about 24 hours later.

This attack has again commenced and so the you will be seeing the browser check verification screen from time to time and experience some delays. We apologize for this but currently it is necessary. For those on mobile apps you may have additional trouble logging in.

Here are some things that will help:

1. Make certain that you have enabled both cookie exchange and javascript.
2. When you login, click the 'remember me' box.
3. For those in need of a mobile interface you might try our mobile skin. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "mobile" for the style picker box in the bottom left.


We understand your frustration and share it and appreciate your patience.

[newmarpusher]

I'm unable to access irv2.com with the iOS app again today. Tried clearing cache, logging out, deleting and reinstalling app.

I'm getting a "the forum is unavailable " message.

I can access it via a browser.