As a lot of you may have seen, -cL created a PHP optimization competition with the help of fellow admin, jjbutler88. The results are in (yes they were posted in the forum).

First place: system_meltdown
Second place: ynori7
Third place: define

Thanks to those who participated, hopefully another competition like this will be released shortly.

In other news, there have been some new challenges released (it says at the to of the page, but some people may not have noticed)

Timed 9 by -cL.
Steg 22 by 454447415244.
Steg 21 by Mouzi.
Enc 13 by god_peet.
Steg 20 by MoshBat.

A couple of these challenges are down at the moment, I'll let you know when they're back!

Enjoy!
-system.

Unfortunately both of these features have been lost in the roll back.

I may try and get round to redoing them, however the My Threads feature took a long time and there are no backups.

Well, the My Threads project has been completed finally. This project was originally started by root_op, but he neglected to finish it due to other commitments. Now that my exams are generally over (I have one left) I am able to start contributing more, as you may have seen from the fact Real 18 and Enc 12 are back up and running.

Basically, users can view threads that they have posted in the My Threads page, to keep track of them, etc. and also they can "watch" other threads, to keep track of posts whilst they are away and such.

When viewing a thread in the forum, there will be a green plus sign image near the Reply and New Thread images, this is the button to add the thread to your watch list. Once added the image will become a red delete button to remove it.

There is also now a link to My Threads in the user panel on the side menu. Please comment on this post leaving any feedback, positive and negative.

As stated by the title, there has been a new theme introduced to HBH. This theme was created by Futility and is available via the Edit Profile section, enjoy!

Thanks,
system.

For those of you who are unaware, there is a competition running currently, it involves taking a PHP script (badly coded) and optimizing it to the best of your ability, the lower your "score" is on the output, the better.

The thread which gives the source code to the script and the needed materials, instructions, rules and deadlines is available here.

This competition was made possible by -cL and jjbutler88, so be thankful to them, and good luck to all that participate!

As most of you have probably already realized, Futility has taken it upon himself to improve the quality of help that you get here on HBH. He realized that the old bot was difficult to use and, as a result, not exactly helpful. So, with help from ynori7, he coded up a newer, more accessible version.

This is just being announced now because only recently has he been able to remove the advanced AI he accidentally programmed in that was replacing various index files around the site. (Happens to all of us, right?)

Anyway- enjoy the new bot and be sure to use it before asking in the forum. That's what it's there for. Also note that he eventually plans on adding a link to everyone's profile so that it's easier to locate and use.

You're welcome.

The news has been awash the last few weeks with fears over globe-spanning botnets and their criminal intent: Conficker managed to hog the limelight for well over a month, and then came Finjan's disclosure of a previously unknown - and currently unnamed - botnet consisting of some 1.9 million malicious agents.

On August 10, 2007, a new section of the German Penal code went into effect. The statute, intended to implement certain provisions of the Council of Europe Treaty on Cybercrime, could be interpreted to make the creation or distribution of computer security software a criminal offense.

Calling all British HBH Members.

I am sure you are aware of the situation regarding Gary McKinnon, aka "Solo". If you do not, please read here: Free Gary.

There has been a Number 10 Downing Street petition to hopefully stop his extradition. Please take the time to sign the petition here.

Brooklyn, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Mikeyy Mooney, the 17-year-old creator of StalkDaily.com from Brooklyn, has admitted responsibility for the Twitter worm that rapidly spread through Twitter on Saturday, stating in an email to BNO News, "I am aware of the attack and yes I am behind this attack."

Twitter users were infected by simply visiting an infected users Twitter page. Following being infected, users began tweeting about stalkdaily.com with messages such as "Dude, www.StalkDaily.com is awesome. What's the fuss?"

Click read more for the rest of the story!

The US government has admitted the nation's power grid is vulnerable to cyber attack, following reports it has been infiltrated by foreign spies.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) newspaper reported that Chinese and Russian spies were behind this "pervasive" breach.

It said software had been left behind that could shut down the electric grid.

But wait- there's more! Click below to continue reading.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7970471.stm

... An electronic spy network, based mainly in China, has infiltrated computers from government offices around the world, Canadian researchers say.

They said the network had infiltrated 1,295 computers in 103 countries.

They included computers belonging to foreign ministries and embassies and those linked with the Dalai Lama - Tibet's spiritual leader.

There is no conclusive evidence China's government was behind it, researchers say. Beijing also denied involvement.

The report comes after a 10-month investigation by the Information Warfare Monitor (IWM), which comprises researchers from Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group and the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies.

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy.

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.
[us album sales]

Click below to read more.