What happened to Gearslutz

One of the most respected audio recording bulletin boards has gone to the dark side of the internet.

Gearslutz, whose racy name hid the audio gear geek content, has been converted to a porn site.

Actually the site has been hacked.

On Facebook, Gearslutz claims the problem is fixed, no not fixed, yes fixed. As of 4 AM ET March 1, 2012, it was not fixed and you will get a porn site. You might even pick up a nasty virus which is one of the goals of hacks. Make sure you’re virus checker is up to date.

Anyone can have their site hacked and hijacked. The government of Canada and various US government agencies have been hacked.

Although some hacks are sophisticated, most rely on lazy site operators and slack security.

NJN Network was hacked two years ago by the Grep virus, along with thousands of sites hosted by Network Solutions. We’ve moved since then and use the best tools and advice to stay clean. More Grep attacks at Network Solutions and Network Solutions hosting compromised thousands of accounts

For the story about how sites were hacked by Anonymous, check out The Anatomy of an Anonymous Attack

Gearslutz is a bulletin board for audio recording gear heads. It is populated with people who range from opinionated experts to novices who would rather ask a question than read the manual. No question is wrong which invites people to openly share their views.

If you want to find out how to solve a problem in audio recording, Gearslutz is the place to go. Discussions range from polite to emotional battles over which gear is best. There are esoteric technical conversations about audio minutiae. Manufacturers trying to plug products are politely outed. For a lifetime gear geek, Gearslutz is a place to park your brain.

There is a self-worth affirming forum called “High End” which covers only expensive gear. Posts about low-end gear are summarily bounced. Another forum discusses the issues with computers in recording which is a must read if you build or tweak your own recording DAW.

Gearslutz recently started a user review section which has been less than illuminating. There are monthly prizes for reviews submitted which has created a fair amount of user-generated drivel. Readers are reviewing everything from their cat to their cables.

Gearslutz is not the ultimate source for information but it is less biased than advertiser driven trade publications such as Sound on Sound and Mix.

 

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network