Has my site been hacked or the server's error?

[vanpelt]

My forum has gone totally skewiff. It's showing up differently each time you load, usually not the entire page - sometimes just the background graphic, sometimes just the background colour, sometimes the header, and sometimes just script on the page. It is random. When I click on 'members' when I finally get the top part of the forum, I get the entire index page and then underneath the member list starts - like I said, entirely skewiff. Has the site been hacked, and if so what do I do to start fixing it?

Ah, if you look at the page source, you see a heap of links to viagra and other spam. Where on earth has this got in, and where do I look to fix it?

I think it runs 3.6.8.

http://planet-flipside.com/vboard/index.php

[Lynne]

It kinda sounds like a database issue - maybe. Try doing a repair/optimize on the forums.

[vanpelt]

I can't optimize it because I can't access the admin panel.

[Lynne]

Do you not have access to cPanel or phpMyAdmin or anything like that? What about talking to your host about the issue? I don't suppose you have a limit on your database size, do you?

[vanpelt]

I am with Servage, which has been going downhill lately with both security and tech support. I put in a ticket about two hours ago and it still hasn't been answered. They have their own type of admin panel so they don't have cpanel.

I've got way too many mods and plugins on the forum, and it seems that something's gotten in via one of those. I have asked for the logs from Servage but they haven't replied. Their service is really bad these days and I've been meaning to find another host but haven't gotten around to it.

If I were to rename the current forum folder to, say 'vboard1', and then make a new vboard folder, and install a fresh copy of vbulletin into it, can I import my old database into it with no problems?

[Lynne]

With no problems? I can't answer that for you. Some people have absolutely no problems doing what you want, but some people do have problems because they forget a file here or change a path there or..... If done correctly, and if done using a database that is fine, and if the database itself is not the problem, and if the server or host is not the problem, and if none of the files are the problem, then it should go fine. But without knowing the answer to some of those ifs, it's hard to know.

[vanpelt]

Thanks Lynne. Do I just do a new install, include the old database in the config file, and then when it prompts to make an an admin account, use the same name as the old admin?

[Lynne]

You should read this section in the manual - Moving Servers (http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/moving_servers)