موال الهكر,واجباتنا الشـخصية وقرارات بكرى

Dears
I am sorry this is a long message but we need to deal with the issues raised.
For many weeks now this hacker issue wasted our time, time desperately needed to deal with the behaviour of the fascists in Darfur and the Shiluk areas.
Many kept talking about the security of the server but very few asked the basic question: is it the server or our own machines that are used by the hackers?
I am sure there are many names on the server that were registered for this exact purpose of abusing the list especially in the early days. These names may remain dormant until the deranged decide to activate them. Some of you may think these names were hacked but the possibility is there they were registered deliberately and left there for the time they are needed.
This brings me to my original question: is it the server or our machines? From what I saw so far I will say the probable cause is our machines. I am not going to get into the technical details but given that the clear objectives of the hackers are to stop useful debates on all Sudanese discussion lists and to divert attention from the behaviour of the NIF, then why they are not able to stop their nemesis such as Deng and Raoda from using the system or writing in their names? Sure they would have done it if they got control of the server. This leads to the second issue.

Our personal responsibilities:
Needless to say any one connecting to the net without proper precautions is just inviting trouble and exposing themselves to all forms of abuse.
If you connect to the net without a combination of a current virus protection programme, proper firewall software, and a current spy-ware programme, then your passwords are vulnerable and your machine is as good as an open gate!
Make sure your computer is protected with up-to-date security software and make sure you check for vulnerabilities. The big providers (Norton, McAfee, etc) allow you to check the system. DO NOT use unknown checking sites or those sent to you by e-mail, as they may be the ones who are trying to break your protection. My own recommendation is only to use Norton (www.symantec.com) and McAfee (www.mcafee.com) for security audits.
Also be careful about using public access nodes. When you go to an Internet café you have no control on their system or its settings and normally it is not secure enough because they need to provide access to people with varying needs of security. The bottom line is that public access nodes are not secure and any body could steal your passwords.
Then what about my organisation/employer network? Although most companies provide virus programmes and firewall, they are not very secure. This is because the organisation needs to cater for varying requirements. They will no have a blanket ban on cookies, java applets, or Active X controls, the very routes preferred by hackers to gather information about your machine. The bottom line is that if you do not have protection at the local level (i.e. on your own PC) then your machine is vulnerable.
So if you access Sudaneseonline from your office machine then there is no guarantee the hackers will not get to you.

Bakri Decisions:
We Sudanese always have the tendency to forget that we are guests in a specific home and start behaving like the landlord.
We may agree or disagree with Bakri but at the end of the day Bakri is the person with legal responsibility for whatever published on Sudaneseonline. Few days ago our esteemed friend Abureesh raised the issue of Class Action. Anyone examining that issue must realise Bakri’s obligations under US law.
I do not want to add a lot to this but I wonder why those who do not like the tone of Sudaneseonline or Bakri decisions don’t just go away and form their own discussion board that reflects their preferred views?
The behaviour being displayed so far is indicative of a determination by some to censor and silence anyone with views not liked by the neo-Nazis of the NIF.
Personally if I have a problem with Bakri decisions I will just leave this forum and go where I feel comfortable. After all I am just a guest here!

And my last request to Bakri is to remove any user name that was dormant during the last one or two months and let them register again after proper checks. I believe this will help reduce the number of names registered for malicious purposes.
Enjoy the forum