Tyler
01-18-2006, 12:38 AM
I would like to introduce everyone to, Mat Sumpter. Mat is the IT Manager of iNET Interactive. iNET is in charge of many communities with a broad range of subjects. Mat is the man in charge of the technical background. :)
FU: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Mat: I am 21 years old and recently moved to Dayton, Ohio. I have a beautiful wife, Ashley, who I just married June 10th of last year. I work some of the strangest hours because of the nature of my position at iNET. Many people describe me as a perfectionist, I tend to disagree, I just like to do things right, very very very right. :-)
FU: What do you like to do as fun outside of work?
Mat: Out side of work? I live here! I love going out with my wife and hanging out, hopefully without my cell phone going off, and just enjoying her. I do a lot of reading, mostly forums and mailing lists to keep myself up to date. I also watch quite a bit of the History channel and Discovery.
FU: If you weren't an iNET Team Member - any idea on what your occupation would be?
Mat: I would likely be a systems administrator or network administrator some where.
FU: How did you get the name "The Prohacker"?
Mat: Friends gave me the name as I like to take something and make it work, even if it wasn't intended for the purpose I plan on. Its not always about completing the objective but finding a new path to take to get there.
FU: Do you visit any communities outside of iNET Properties?
Mat: ForumUniverstiy.com of course, vBulletin.com, vBulletin.org. Most of the reading I do are mailing lists that are pulled into Gmail.
FU: What are your responsibilities at iNET?
Mat: I handle all the technical issues ranging from building desktop computers to maintaining our cluster at RackSpace. I also oversee the general well being of our communities. I am on call 24/7 for any emergency issues that arise or if Dennis or Jan get lonely on WHT :-)
FU: What type of forum maintenance should forum admins be doing?
Mat: Timely upgrades of software and hardware as they arise!
Even if it's not an entire software upgrade, patching for security issues is important. Hardware upgrades, which are normally more costly, should be viewed as necessary and also kept in mind. With servers running constantly parts wear out faster and you need a plan of action when hardware needs to be replaced.
Keeping up with legal issues of running a business.
Even though you might not think of your forum as a business, it can be best to keep in mind the legal ramifications of certain actions as you can be held liable for them. Business law is normally a good rule of thumb doing several things in life, even running a web site that is non-commercial.
FU: For the forums that are running a dedicated server - what do you believe are the most common security issues overlooked? What about communities on a shared server?
Mat: Weak passwords are the biggest issue along with out-dated software on both levels of hosting.
Forums on shared hosting normally only have to worry about updating their forum software. Good quality hosts will keep their servers secure and as updated as possible as that is their livelihood.
Dedicated servers are for the most part unmanaged and with sometimes hundreds of software packages it can be hard to keep updated. Many people are still using RedHat 7.3 with very few updates applied.
FU: What technical problems should forum admins be prepared for?
Mat: Hardware and software failure! It's not a matter of if but when. Backups are the key for a quick and proper recovery. In my opinion, you cannot backup enough, once a day is great but how about every 6 hours? Many hosting providers are offering cheap backup that can help aid in this! Disasters happen, it's your responsibility as a webmaster to be ready for them!
FU: In your experience, which forum software programs, including free and non-free ones, do you find to be the most secure? Why?
Mat: I'm partial to vBulletin, which is commercial forum software that is often referred to as the king of forum software. Many large non-commercial software makers have great records of releasing software updates, but many smaller makers can lag behind weeks on issues as they are volunteers. In my experience most open source or non-commercial forums software falls under the latter category.
FU: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us, Mat!
FU: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Mat: I am 21 years old and recently moved to Dayton, Ohio. I have a beautiful wife, Ashley, who I just married June 10th of last year. I work some of the strangest hours because of the nature of my position at iNET. Many people describe me as a perfectionist, I tend to disagree, I just like to do things right, very very very right. :-)
FU: What do you like to do as fun outside of work?
Mat: Out side of work? I live here! I love going out with my wife and hanging out, hopefully without my cell phone going off, and just enjoying her. I do a lot of reading, mostly forums and mailing lists to keep myself up to date. I also watch quite a bit of the History channel and Discovery.
FU: If you weren't an iNET Team Member - any idea on what your occupation would be?
Mat: I would likely be a systems administrator or network administrator some where.
FU: How did you get the name "The Prohacker"?
Mat: Friends gave me the name as I like to take something and make it work, even if it wasn't intended for the purpose I plan on. Its not always about completing the objective but finding a new path to take to get there.
FU: Do you visit any communities outside of iNET Properties?
Mat: ForumUniverstiy.com of course, vBulletin.com, vBulletin.org. Most of the reading I do are mailing lists that are pulled into Gmail.
FU: What are your responsibilities at iNET?
Mat: I handle all the technical issues ranging from building desktop computers to maintaining our cluster at RackSpace. I also oversee the general well being of our communities. I am on call 24/7 for any emergency issues that arise or if Dennis or Jan get lonely on WHT :-)
FU: What type of forum maintenance should forum admins be doing?
Mat: Timely upgrades of software and hardware as they arise!
Even if it's not an entire software upgrade, patching for security issues is important. Hardware upgrades, which are normally more costly, should be viewed as necessary and also kept in mind. With servers running constantly parts wear out faster and you need a plan of action when hardware needs to be replaced.
Keeping up with legal issues of running a business.
Even though you might not think of your forum as a business, it can be best to keep in mind the legal ramifications of certain actions as you can be held liable for them. Business law is normally a good rule of thumb doing several things in life, even running a web site that is non-commercial.
FU: For the forums that are running a dedicated server - what do you believe are the most common security issues overlooked? What about communities on a shared server?
Mat: Weak passwords are the biggest issue along with out-dated software on both levels of hosting.
Forums on shared hosting normally only have to worry about updating their forum software. Good quality hosts will keep their servers secure and as updated as possible as that is their livelihood.
Dedicated servers are for the most part unmanaged and with sometimes hundreds of software packages it can be hard to keep updated. Many people are still using RedHat 7.3 with very few updates applied.
FU: What technical problems should forum admins be prepared for?
Mat: Hardware and software failure! It's not a matter of if but when. Backups are the key for a quick and proper recovery. In my opinion, you cannot backup enough, once a day is great but how about every 6 hours? Many hosting providers are offering cheap backup that can help aid in this! Disasters happen, it's your responsibility as a webmaster to be ready for them!
FU: In your experience, which forum software programs, including free and non-free ones, do you find to be the most secure? Why?
Mat: I'm partial to vBulletin, which is commercial forum software that is often referred to as the king of forum software. Many large non-commercial software makers have great records of releasing software updates, but many smaller makers can lag behind weeks on issues as they are volunteers. In my experience most open source or non-commercial forums software falls under the latter category.
FU: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us, Mat!