Posted on 03/16/2025 6:09:41 AM PDT by Lazamataz
I've noticed, over the years, that very old Free Republic accounts, accounts that have been inactive for months or years, suddenly reactivate.... but their politics are suddenly suspect.
Be they Zeeper-oriented (that is, super-favorable to Ukraine) or, conversely, super-favorable to Russia, or even suddenly-liberal... these accounts reactivate with a flurry of posts that are contrary to conservatism.
Are these real Freepers who have had a change of heart about their politics? Are these real Freepers who feel the need to jump on the forum with propaganda and support for one side or the other per the Ukraine/Russia war?
Or are these hijacked accounts?
People will recall some time back, quite a few accounts of active Freepers were hijacked. It created a bit of a problem. When all was said and done, the accounts were returned to their rightful owners, and the site owner (and his moderator crew) pointed out that their passwords were very easy to guess. He instructed people to have stronger passwords.
I also have a friend on Facebook who no longer participates in the forum, but still reads it, who has seen a Freeper posting who he happens to know has been dead for more than a decade.
The problem is, we have far too insecure a login process, and enemies of the forum have been exploiting that.
At the login page, you can attempted unlimited login attempts. This will allow simple brute-force password cracking.
Also, the Forget Password option sends an email with your password in clear text. Emails can easily be sniffed with the right techniques. Passwords can easily be cracked that way.
My suggestions to mitigate these critical security concerns are:
These relatively-simple security changes will stop account-hijacking.
I see few that are the former, but many of the latter, however, I do not know if they were of the suddenly reactivated type.
Rather, FR is not FB or a single lane, nor just a news aggregator. but a unique community forum of many devoted posters who care about it, and thus sometimes post concerns or advice, for discussion, which is an fundamental aspect of a forum.
As a desktop user, I disagree, except for the need for a edit feature. What forum and features would you point to as better?
We needed that.
Laz, I’m glad you are bringing up these security issues. Where’s humblegunner when we need him?!
My thinking is that as long as FR doesn’t allow easy to crack passwords, you are mostly there.
Regarding cell phone authentication, it’s a great suggestion, but consider this problem: people who live overseas (like myself) often choose not to maintain a U.S. mobile phone number.
It’s an expense issue. Why pay $40 a month for a U.S. phone service you don’t use. WhatsApp is free.
Yes, I have phone service here in Japan, but the telecom operators in America and Japan do NOT share security data with each other so mobile authentication doesn’t work.
Now, I pay $50 a year for an internet phone number maintained by Skype (Microsoft). This is handy when I need to call my bank and dial 1-800 service numbers in the U.S.
But an internet phone does not allow authentication. It only looks and feels like a mobile phone service. But my bank will not send text messages to it.
A friend of mine who was a pastor. Oddly, rumors always surrounded him.
That argument has merit. Maybe just a more complex pword, and email conformation?
The concise, very informed substantive description of Lazamataz is impressive yet a little alarming. And how does a well-known poster become "their" and "them?"
And of course, if you criticize Putin in any way then you are a "zeeperm" regardless of your criticism of him corruption, and liberal Western Europe.
You are in denial: just admit it!
Blog pimps: posting a small except of your (not you) blog or one you are part of in order to drive readers to your site.
“I’ve noticed curious postings and I believe there is something more going on here.
I’ve also noticed what to me at least has the appearance of AI generated responses.”
Could you link to some examples of what you’re referring to?
It also chose your pronouns for you.
“I always thought a membership fee is the answer. It would end FReepathons.”
I doubt that it would be an economic “improvement”. What makes you think so? Wouldn’t the membership fee have to be so pervasive that it would dissuade many from participating?
Right now, people that cannot afford “membership fees” and that are at poverty level still need to be able to read and see the truth that FR provides. But if there’s a fee, they would no longer be able to. I think the true Conservative ideology is what this forum and the owners currently represent. What you are espousing... not so much.
“Babe I have been here since 1998.
I have some skin in the game here.”
What, exactly, does that “skin in the game” mean or equate to?
Free Republic is not a traditional business. We are a political discussion forum and independent grassroots conservative activist group supported by donations from our readers and participants. When and if our participants decide we are no longer needed or viable, we will close down shop and go away.
Tell me wasn’t there a visit counter to the threads back in the day???
...................................
There used to be a counter on your threads posted so you could see how many freepers clicked on it. It went away.
Oh my. What is going on with the key words???
If you see me being anything other than my libertarian, uber-Constitutionalist, 2A absolutist self...
I’m dead and someone is wearing my skin.
I think I remember it going away when there were some other technical problems at the time.
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