OK, so we all know that the Internet is inherently insecure, but Peter's Row has a responsibility to see that this site
operates in a secure manner.
We were recently informed that we had been hacked. The attack came, we believe, a few days before Christmas
of 2016. As far as we can determine, user data was not disclosed. Information you provide to us is sent to and from a
secure server. For example, when you place a book order, you can check to make sure that the address bar shows "https" or that a lock
icon is shown. In addition, you should see a Go-Daddy seal on these pages that indicate the use of a secure server.
The hackers apparently targeted our mail software, the code pages that automatically generate email when someone makes a purchase on this
site. The hackers were able to use our pages to send spam. Go-Daddy, our web host, detected the hack and suspended our automated
email service. This explains why purchasers did not get confirmation or download instructions from us. As a result, they contacted
us at the AOL address.
We initially thought that Go-Daddy was having problems with its email servers. It took us a while to learn of the hack.
We have begun instituting changes to provide better security for the users of this site:
The extensive use of cookies and verification software
The removal of nefarious code added to our site
The use of software to monitor our site and report suspicious activity and vulnerable files
