August 8 update: please read!

First off, because I don’t want you to miss it, I want to tell you that we are sunsetting the Hyena Cart blog. We’ll leave it up for reference, but will be moving our communications to this Hyena Cart google group in the future. Why? A few reasons:

• Crisis communication has obviously been an issue in the past few months, sometimes because people feel they are not getting the direct communication they need, and sometimes because it’s actually impossible to send communications via the server because it is down or needs to be taken off-line immediately. Using a google group greatly speeds and simplifies the process of notifying everyone of updates.
• Google groups is an opt-in option. Many have asked for an email to all vendors in recent situations and I have struggled with this. We explicitly state in our Privacy Policy that “Hyena Cart will not send promotional, service-related or information emails of any kind. If you wish to stay abreast of the latest Hyena Cart news, you may request email notification from the HC Blog. You can also request to be removed from this mailing list at any time.” and this reflects our belief that everyone has their own comfort level with quantity of communication and should be able to control it.

So, if you would like to receive updates on Hyena Cart code updates, and, most importantly, if you would like to be emailed directly during server issues (crashes, malware, hacking, etc.), please go to this page: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/hyena-cart and click Join. Alternatively, you can send an email to hyena-cart+subscribe@googlegroups.com (you can leave the subject line and body blank.)

That said, we had another malware attack late last night into early this morning. The good news is, based on the issues a few weeks back, the host had put some tracking measures in place and was able to identify the security gap the hacker was exploiting. The gap has been closed, so we are protected from that particular exploit. You’ll note that I still can’t say that the site is 100% safe from here on in. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. No site is 100% safe, and there is a group of people that is constantly developing new ways to attack websites. I can say that the different hacking methods used this past April, last month and today have all been blocked, and we have implemented some changes that will hopefully prevent other methods in the future. I can also say that I will be working with a third party specialist to strengthen site security even further.

This has been difficult for our businesses, and our customers. We’re working behind the scenes to prevent issues in the future. For those of you who have lost faith and trust, I hope you will consider returning after a period of security. If not, I understand. For those who are continuing to use Hyena Cart, thank you and thank you again. You’re the best group of sellers on the internet, and I’m grateful to play a small role in helping you showcase your items and reach your customers.

Thanks, and don’t forget to join the google group for future updates!