Chtika Using Insecure Backend
Jeremy over at Shoemoney broke a story about Chitika’s backend, recently. It appears that Chitika is powered by PostNuke, the old - and insecure - php-based portal system.
So I am logging into my Chitika account the other day and I look at there navigation system on the side and I just keep thinking to myself man I have seen this whole theme before somewhere. With the + dropdown links and other stuff it just seems so familiar. Then all of a sudden it hits me. Chitika has stolen a Postnuke CMS theme. The default theme that comes with Postnuke. OHH BUT WAIT it doesnt stop there…. After viewing source on there webpage after logging into there system we see this <meta name=”generator” content=”PostNuke - http://www.postnuke.com”>
Jeremy goes on to mention the fact that he used to work for the PostNuke project, and is well aware of how insecure it is. Personally, I’ve read many, many horror stories from PostNuke-driven sites regarding being hacked, having their data corrupted, stolen, or even flat out deleted. I used PostNuke for a brief time for an old community website I used to run, and was hacked within a week of putting the PostNuke version online (with current security patches in place). Needless to say, I quickly moved to a homebrew system that I knew damned good and well was secure.
Let’s see how Chitika’s been doing, lately, shall we?
- Chitika’s ad unites are pegged as misleading. (November 12th).
- Chitika’s revenue has dropped, as a result of their recent changes in auditing and practices (in an attempt to alleviate “curiosity” clicks). (November 27th)
- Now this… a potentially insecure backend to their reporting structure.
Chitika has a possibility of making it in this industry. They’re a unique concept, they’re paying out at a higher CPC than most, and they’re lenient on their policies involving competing systems. Unfortunately, however, it seems Chitika has made some potentially bad business decisions, lately. I know I’m watching them closely, and it’s coming closer and closer to my deciding whether or not to keep Chitika, or replace them.
Technorati Tags: chitika, eminimalls, postnuke
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