Newsletter for March 25th, 2008
Codename "Attack of the Antivirus"
1. Newsletter EditorialMarch was a busy and stressful month for DonationCoder. On March 2nd the site was hacked by someone who actually tried to put a link to a virus up on our homepage. The intrusion was detected within 2 hours but we decided that we would take the opportunity to rebuild a new server from scratch with tighter security. The move took us almost a week to do, but everything is back and working smoothly now.
Ironically, soon after the server came back up, McAfee antivirus decided this would be a good time to give a *false* positive alert on some of our programs. Even though McAfee confirmed right away that it was a false alarm and that none of our programs contained a virus, it was an unpleasant coincidence. You can read more about these events in the threads below. In March we also learned the importance of a supportive community -- everyone was incredibly nice and encouraging during the troubles (see the first thread in section 3).
2. March 2008 Discounts and GiveawayThis month's giveaway and discount is only open for a tiny window of time, so you'll have to act fast. While the DonationCoder.com website was offline for a week in March, many of us stayed in touch using the IRC chat network. So we thought it would be appropriate to bring members a discount on one of the best irc clients around: mIRC.
3. Your Input RequestedA warm welcome to all the members who have joined over the last six weeks. If you're a new member, or have never posted before, here are some great places to make your Donationcoder debut!
4. Software (and other) Releases by DonationCoder.com MembersSome fun new releases by members on our site in the recent weeks:
5. Mini-Reviews by MembersMini-reviews are a great resource for people researching software solutions and may be found on a dedicated
Mini-Review Board. Please remember to acknowledge the efforts of the reviewers with a few donationcredits if you find their reviews interesting and/or helpful.
6. Living RoomThe Living Room section of the forum is where we discuss general issues that don't belong anywhere else. It's always hard to select ten or so posts to highlight here because it, along with the General Software Discussion board, is very active. Here is a small sampling of the discussions that have been started since the last newsletter.
7. Fun and LeisureEveryone needs a break from work now and then.
8. General Software DiscussionOnce again the General Software Discussion board has seen an enormous amount of activity over the past six weeks. As noted above (see the Living Room section of the newsletter), these are just a few highlights of the new threads from the past few weeks.
9. Specific Software DiscussionsPostings made to the General Software Discussion board often relate to specific applications. Here are some highlights.
10. Developer's CornerThe Developer's Corner section of the forum is not just for developers -- it's also where we talk about entrepreneurial issues.
11. Member Site SpotlightNick Pearson, the artist who created DonationCoder's beloved mascot, "Cody", has created a new website documenting a mysterious book he found..
