msgroup.org?

[Alan_Hepburn]

So I've been out of town for a couple of months and I find that I can't access the msgroup.org website - my browser tries to connect but all it does is spin. I've cleared my cache, erased cookies, and still no luck. Does anybody know what's going on with that? Did Mr. Davis shut it down or what?

 

[Strigoi]

Msgroup.org is DOWN for everyone.
It is not just you. The server is not responding...

http://www.isitdownrightnow.com/msgroup.org.html

 

[ScottRNelson]

James Davis was dealing with some serious health issues and I'm guessing pulled the plug on the site. It required quite a bit of work on his part just to keep it running, even though he had pretty much stopped posting anything there.

I was last in communication with him on May 29. Unfortunately, the only e-mail address that I had was through that web site, so I have no way to try to contact him.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

Thanks, Scott - I figured it might be something along those lines. Hope he's okay...

 

[rootkit]

I was last in communication with him on May 29. Unfortunately, the only e-mail address that I had was through that web site, so I have no way to try to contact him.

The mail server can be independent of the web server, give it a shot and see if it bounces.

 

[ScottRNelson]

The mail server can be independent of the web server, give it a shot and see if it bounces.

I just tracked down a gmail address and have sent a note off. I will report back if I hear anything.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Just found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycle...out_what_happened_to/?st=j71zrq8y&sh=5dfe5709

It says that the hosting site was hit by a ransomware attack. Not sure if I buy it, since it should only take a few days to restore from backup. I haven't received a response to the e-mail sent to the gmail account.

Since the owner is located in Houston, I'm guessing there are bigger problems right now anyway.

 

[DataDan]

I occasionally check msgroup.org, and usually it times out. But today, I got the message "This Site Is Under Construction and Coming Soon" from Network Solutions.

A "whois" for msgroup.org shows James Davis (the longtime proprietor of the site) as owner, renewed 10/31/2017 and expiring 9/25/2018. Maybe someone who knows something about domain registrations could interpret the results better than I.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

I ckecked the website today and it's back online! James said the host got hit with ransomware, but a ransom demand was never received. All files, and backups got encrypted and were unusable. Fortunately he had an offline backup that was safe, but it was a few years old. He's got a new administrator who is working on redesigning the site, but for now it's back.

 

[ScottRNelson]

Thanks for posting this. I already posted something over there. Time to get another safety discussion or two going over there. :thumbup

 

[Gary856]

I read thru a lot of the very helpful (but a bit technical and dry) "Safety Tips" on msgroup.org when I started riding in '09. Glad to see the site is back up; it'd be a shame to lose all those tips.

 

[ScottRNelson]

For those of you who claim to have missed the site, go post something there to help it get going again. :cool