Oops, something went wrong. Looks like a hacker somehow got hold of the domain name RubyOnRails.org and slapped a page filled with ads on it. It looks the former owners are aware of the issue and have already started the process to get the domain name back, so this doesn’t appear to be a simple case of forgetting to renew the domain. (Update: as others have pointed out, it probably is and Softmind could simply blowing smoke)
Update 2: yup, the latter.
On the other hand, the actual registration date of the domain name (19 April 2004) seems to suggest this would be about the right time for the domain name to expire, so we’re not really sure it’s an actual hack or a simple oversight (it was last updated on 23 April).
We’ll update if and when we know something more.
Update: RubyOnRails creator and 37signals partner David Heinemeier Hansson claims the registration service ‘fucked up again’ and parked the domain name. I’d suggest switching providers.
Why claims of a hack are circulating is still a question mark, we’ll find out soon enough I’m sure.
Before
After
Hacked? As in… they waltzed into their Namecheap (or wherever) account and altered it? Or what?
Yeah I’m not sure either, I asked why they’re claiming a hack.
Hacking as in…. hacking wiki….
Trusting namecheap with your domains is the problem.
Choose, Enom.com (US) or Rebel.com (non-US)is a much better/safer choice IMO.
We just had enom not renew a domain of ours and had to manually renew it again (was set to auto renew), so I’m not sure if they are the best choice either…
It isn’t possible to ‘hack’ someone’s domain without the AuthID code…
and if you are able to know the AuthID code, my suggestion would be to hack some bigger traffic site…
I second your suggestion. If you have the AuthID code, then go ahead and hack something astounding…
whose information is that listed on whois ? the owners or the hacker?
DHH wrote “My domain registration service for rubyonrails.org has fucked up again and parked the domain. Hopefully it’ll be back very shortly!”: http://twitter....atus/1590279638
The domain was purchased on April 19, 2004. Based on the timing, it looks like they forgot to renew. Ha! Idiots.
David Heinemeier Hansson said the domain registration service provider screwed up, but at the same time the former owner is claiming it’s a hack. (post updated)
Who is claiming it is a hack? That “SoftMind” on Twitter … who is that? You can’t just grab Tweets and throw them up as trusted sources. Lazy reporting at its best.
It isn’t a hack. Most likely, DHH renewed at the last minute and something got messed up. That or he failed to renew. He is still on the whois though.
Currently, registrant name is Next Angle, based in Denmark.
Yeah dude … Next Angle is DHH … you just dig yourself DEEPER and DEEPER into the hole. Man your reporting is HURTING!
I’ve checked his website, but it has the same problem as the RoR domain: http://www.nextangle.com/
I’m going to go out on a limb and say the following:
Google cache for nextangle.com shows the park. Chances are, DHH dropped involvement with Next Angle permanently, focusing his energies entirely on 37Signals. Therefore, sometime ago, he probably stopped hosting a website at the domain nextangle.com, but retained ownership and had the registrar run a park.
That being said, the fact that both domains are parked is nothing more than coincidence. nextangle.com simply doesn’t exist anymore, while rubyonrails.org is an epic fail.
Could be, but expiration date for nextangle.com shows October 09.
It actually shows Oct 3, but that is irrelevant. The domain nextangle.com isn’t expired, it’s just parked. There is a difference.
On the other hand, rubyonrails.org is currently in the auto renew period, signaling that DHH forgot to renew it. It’s pretty simple to see what happened here. DHH forgot to renew the domain, the registrar took over the domain, the registrar initiated the auto renew period and parked it until the 45 grace period is over or DHH renews.
Now, regarding “SoftMind”, I know you guys are hard up for Twitter, but you need to realize what it really is, which is a bunch of anonymous blowhards pumping out bs. The fact that you would cite some guy off of Twitter as a source shows the quality of your reporting at TC (Twitter? Former domain owner? Is that guy even who he says he is?). Instead of viewing Twitter as a breaking news source (IT ISN’T!), please just treat it as the toy it is and stop trying to incorporate it into modern journalism.
LOL. Good job DHH. Classic. I really believe it was the registrars fault. No seriously, I do. This is me believing.
In cases where I don’t renew a domain name I own(ed), in almost all cases within minutes after the domain name expires this kind of page pops up. It looks to me like it actually the registrar that does this. I think this is definitely not a hack, just a case of forgetting to renew the domain.
How can the domain service just park a domain without consulting his clients. I don’t get it. Poor service.
lol no,, that is the page you see when the domain expires.
is not a hack
I think “hacked” is being used totally erroneously here. It looks like when they renewed the domain the registrar reverted the nameservers to the default… which is usually some P.O.S. parked page. This isn’t really news by any stretch of the imagination.
What else is a reporter to do?
They probably don’t own any good domains and are jealous of domain owners who are able to buy domains when they expire.
So they want all domainers to look evil.
When the true story is the website owner is stupid in not renewing his/her domain. If the owner leaves like this for 30-40 days, they end up losing the domain, and somehow it is the new owners fault for the stupidity of the old owner NOT paying his/her bills.
If the power in your home goes out, do you wait 2 months to turn it back on? If you don’t pay your mortgage payment for 2 months, and you get evicted and the bank sells the house is it the new owners fault?
My Stupid Ranting and Raving
Crap! Where do I d/l Ruby 1.8.7 and Rails 2.3 for my Mac now?
It’s not hosted on rubyonrails.org, it’s on github:
http://github.c...s/tree/v2.3.2.1
(Don’t clone the master branch, it’s the new 3.0-unstable)
RubyOnRails.org hacked??? I cannot believe it! Is it possible to hack it? Domain renewal thing definitely!
Definitely seems more likely, but I’m still trying to get the former domain owner to give me details on the hack he claims took place.
so fix your story until he does. You look like an idiot reporting on it.
Not hacked! Domains expired normally have their dns redirected to name-services.com, where they slap up the default advertising page.
Just have a look at your screenshot, that site wasn’t hacked at all … the registrar just parked it.
just do a whois on the domain and you get
Created On:19-Apr-2004 22:40:29 UTC
they obviously didn’t renew it.
http://www.whoi...rubyonrails.org
So it’s not a hacker, but a clever domain name squatter?
The site is down due to web hosting goof-up!
http://twitter....atus/1592662852
I will suggest you if you have authorization id then you can hack
For me it’s simple, was not a hacker, but some one that wants to win money with ads. I guess rubyonrails needed money and it’s trying to get some… and for not losing the good graces of the programmers it’s blaming the registrar ou some hacker..
Damn hackers, what is the damn use of such a stupid act!
It’s open source technology and free for everyone.
Oh God, it’s the chick with the backpack again! She must be some kind of evil super-hacker. ;(
Probably Willy on Wheels.
TechCrunch F-A-I-L-S again!
We were discussing internally yesterday when the name of the community also changed…did not realize it had come to this…omg!
shit happens.
http://yousuggest.us
Another job hunter lol
So tweets are a primary source now? I find it funny that an extremely popular blog with “Tech” in its name can’t discern between a parked domain and a hack.
Must have missed a lot of tweets including mine – http://twitter....atus/1589697730
Beyond that, I can’t believe they can’t use google. Here, TechCrunch – let me google that for you – http://lmgtfy.c...t+angle+hansson
You continue to make yourselves more irrelevant…
Lord! You get your Rails tweets from SoftMind? Man… biggest troll / naive idiot out there! Get it from the horses mouth, not someone with no damn clue.
Hello,
I am here to clear out all the misunderstandings.
Strange news are spreading around, without asking me or talking to me. I am a Old Ruby and Rails fan, fascinated with this Technology.
I have never said, i own this name, or this old name belongs to me. I was just cursing and blaming the hackers for stealing away such a good name from Rails Community. I was hoping to get back the domain name for all of us .
By ” US ” I clearly mean the whole Rails community, who always refers the site on regular basis.
I am coming to Rails field after a huge experience on Asp.Net and was never involved directly with ROR team.
The domain name was booked before i entered the Rails Fascination, and this name never belonged to me.
I am requesting the author to kindly remove our name, which has caused lots of confusion in Rails community and please clarify this as soon as possible.
Please read this tweet again and check it out, whether i have anywhere specified this domain name belongs to me.
This domain name belongs to Ruby On Rails Team and i shall be more than happy if we all can get this name back for ” US “.
SoftMind Technology.
It’s not your fault, and the blame lies solely on TC and it’s shoddy journalism. First, it’s pretty obvious that this was a renewal problem and not a hack. Second, for TC to grab a quote off of Twitter from an unknown source and publish it as a trusted authority is not only incredibly amateur, but scary.
As a community, we need to understand that proper journalism requires proper research and vetting. In the race to real-time, we skip steps and lose authenticity, resulting in damage for all parties involved. At the end of the day, if you are going to operate a major online publication like TC, you really need to make sure you understand the practice of journalism and practice due diligence before publishing information.
Also, I just want to add that I don’t think your name should be removed from the story. If TC removed the info, their ethics, if they have any at this point, would seriously be brought into question.
Give it a rest you stuffy old bastard. Now you must feel important !
@Derek,
Shut the f%&k up. Anon is right. The article is outright stupid.
I love the Django ad
Fail.
Techcrunch fail.
Seriously Techcrunch, massive fail. This is very disappointing. Hopefully you do not use such shoddy journalism on all your articles.
I must say, this is very poor on TC’s side. The author (in his tweets) even refuses to take responsibility for his misinformation.
Facts: Author “claims” hacking. His only “source” is someone who isn’t part of the RoR team.
Fine mistake made, but at least update the article properly. Anyone reading this for the first time still sees this:
“Oops, something went wrong. Looks like a hacker somehow got hold of the domain name RubyOnRails.org and slapped a page filled with ads on it.”
Update the article up top and move on.
Anyway now the Rails site is back.
Sorry, TC. If you don’t know the difference between ‘reporting’ and ‘guessing’ by now, then you lose. I’m off, and your feed is off my list…
you guys really outta put a a redaction or something. this was pretty absurd. thanks for turning what I used to think as a stimulating field (tech news) into some sort of gross celeb gossip. your worse than people magazine
Well said Anon. This is shoddy reporting at its classic best. Just imagine the kind of damage such reporting can cause. Frightening indeed !
There should be a death penalty for hackers… maybe that would stop them. If you have talent, do something good with it.