• Almost all /convo.php functionality (Missing create new private convo and UGC like the Vendor chat)
• Native desktop notifications for mentions
• Thread Viewer - click any thread link to view it in-app
• Profile Cards - hover over usernames to see detailed profiles
• Reply to messages with quoted previews
• @Username autocomplete with typing completion
• Drag & drop images, videos and audio up to 200MB
• Native emoji picker
• Custom themes - create, save, import, and share with the community
• Blur images until clicked
• Mute members
• Censor words and messages
• Translator - select and right-click to translate text
• HF Wiki user lookup
• Custom notification sounds
• New embeds support for Apple Music, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, SoundCloud, GitHub, Pastebin, Audio, Videos and more
• And more!
I'm getting fed up with the constant abusive DMCA notices. It's like 3 this week now, all related to VPNs like [censored].
DMCA notices negatively effect SEO and while I counter-notice many of them it's time consuming and the general consensus is that repeated DMCA notices to a domain hurts rankings and Trust Score.
I just sent [censored] this email. I will be sending these types of emails more often.
Quote:[censored] Legal / Compliance Team,
I am writing to formally notify you of repeated DMCA takedown notices submitted by [censored] that target content on our platform (hackforums.net) which is not infringing and, in many cases, not even copyrightable subject matter. These notices have included posts containing user commentary, publicly available promotions, coupon information, and links to your own website, without any copyrighted images, files, software, or redistributed material.
We have disputed multiple notices through Google, and the affected content has been restored after review. These repeated submissions have nevertheless caused measurable SEO and traffic harm due to temporary delisting and suppression. Continued submission of DMCA notices against non-copyrightable or fair-use content materially misrepresents the nature of the content and raises serious concerns of bad-faith enforcement under 17 U.S.C. §512(f). Please confirm that future enforcement actions will be reviewed for copyright eligibility before submission. If these notices continue, we will preserve all records and evaluate further legal remedies.
Today I took a single day of Apache log files and fed them into ChatGPT. Told it to parse the logs and give me detailed stats. Then I told it to make a post for me for advertisers.
Why this matters for advertisers:
Hack Forums is a high-intent, tech-forward community with steady, real activity across threads, private messaging, and live chat. Below is a transparent look at recent server-side traffic from our Apache access logs.
Headline numbers
Total requests: 576,733
Unique IPs observed: 25,404
Unique user agents observed: 3,014
Successful responses (HTTP 200): 499,816
Note: These are server-side log metrics. “Unique IPs” is a conservative proxy for visitors. Many visitors share IPs (office, mobile carriers, VPNs), and some visitors rotate IPs. We can provide campaign reporting using standard ad tracking methods as well.
Engagement indicators
Most-requested pages include: homepage, index, threads, member pages, private messaging, and community features.
Healthy delivery rate: the vast majority of requests return successfully, showing stable site performance and consistent consumption of content.
Community actions are active: private messaging and live chat endpoints appear frequently in traffic, indicating real user interaction beyond passive page views.
Search + discovery visibility
Hack Forums is consistently crawled by major search engines and discovery platforms, which supports long-term organic reach and content findability:
Google
Bing
Apple
Social preview crawlers (Facebook/Twitter)
What this means for brands:
Threads and evergreen content continue to surface and be discovered.
Advertiser placements benefit from recurring exposure as content is revisited and indexed.
Brand-safe ad opportunities (HF)
We offer placements designed for visibility and performance:
High-visibility banner slots (above the fold, index and forum pages)
Thread-level placements where users spend time reading and engaging
Targeted sponsorships aligned with tech, security, privacy, gaming, and digital products
Direct deals available (no middlemen, fast turnaround)
Want the media kit + inventory?
Reply here or contact staff for:
Current ad inventory and slot pricing
Audience and placement recommendations based on your niche
Welcome back to the Hack Forum News. Where we keep you up to date on the weekly events and news happening on site and around the world. If you have never heard of the Hack Forum News, don't worry, we have you covered. We are a team of members from the Hack Forums community who are journalists and writers, and we are here to keep you in the loop of the changes around the site and the events happening around the world.
We have mentioned this thread previously, but a few more things have been done and progress has been made with a few notes from [mention=1] regarding future plans and what they are currently working towards. Feel free to check out what is on the list now and to see the progress so far. We are just about to the end of the first month of the year and the progress that has been made so far this year says we have got a lot of things to look forward to. What do you think, let us know below?
[mention=1] has created a thread regarding the way guests who have not signed up to the site recently. With this change, guests who have not got an account can now view any thread but will be limited to the first page and wont be able to see all replies moving forward. This change may get a little change again, but this is just the start of the week of changes marked off the HF roadmap.
Google has once again been a little mean to the site. As some of you know, this has been something Google has been doing with the site since 2023. Google has made the discovery of the site a little bit of a pain due to the reviews they have made and stating that, due to their higher expectations, the site still wont be changed to allow the best results for the site under the news and discover side of the search engine. [mention=1] has stated this was one of the reasons why blogs were removed from the site but as this change hasn't made any difference within the review blogs have now returned via https://hackforums.net/blog.php
The Hack Forums Help Docs have now been updated with a new formatting. This has been something that was on the roadmap for a little while and, with AI making things easier these days. The documents have been updated to make things a little more clear for everyone to follow. Some of the default MyBB parts have been removed due to not being needed here.
A new plugin has been added to the site thanks to the member [mention=5674562] The new plugin has added the Markdown code formatting which will allow many new features on the site for threads. This plugin will allow members to make formatting things a little easier for everyone's eyes.
The Hack Forums Wiki has returned. The site has been under some work recently as the site was sadly left with a load of issues and no one was running the official site. Thanks to everyone within the HF news team, the site is now under new leadership and, thanks to [mention=1] allowing the team to start their work on this while maintaining the HF news, the site is back getting some lovely changes and getting updated daily to bring it back to a new modern day Wikipedia with a load of information for everyone to read up on.
Are you looking to join the HF news team? Do you enjoy making threads or even want to become a better writer? Well, we are looking for members of the site to help write each week and are looking for anyone who has any interest. We have a few new sections opening up right now, and we would love for you to see if they would be anything of interest to you. If you are interested, please check out the thread or contact [mention=2331053] to discuss joining the team behind the HF News.
Writer - [mention=2331053]
[mention=379152] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=2495990] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=126220] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=1545765] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=3018464] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
The group Quantum is hosting another giveaway offering two lucky winners a chance at winning $250 and the award "Blazing Ember"
The second winner will get a prize of $150 and everyone has a great chance at the contest. If you have not already joined the contest, this might be a great time to check it out and get a chance at winning the exclusive award as the giveaway ends on the 31st of January.
The member [mention=564970] is hosting the biggest crypto giveaway of 2026 so far on the site. There will be six winners each getting $25 in crypto. The winners will be announced on the 25th of January 2026. The winners will be randomly picked by a staff member on the site and everyone can enter more than once aswell, meaning everyone can increase their chance of winning.
The member [mention=811] is hosting a little bit of a different giveaway that is quite fun. They are hosting the giveaway with the way to enter is to post on the thread your current post count and, once you have entered all your posts on site, count towards the giveaway. So one post is equal to $1 and the more you post, the more money you could win. The giveaway ends on the 30th of January.
[mention=5655318] is hosting a contest in relation to the user group Quantum and is giving out to two winners a prize of $400 or a rare award, which is the Blazing Ember award, which is very rare as only 5 members can have this award in total, and you could be the 5th member to hold this. The giveaway ends on the 31st of January so get your entry in today.
This weeks Song Of The Week: BELIEVE (The Song!) - Fearless Soul
Writer - [mention=5458992]
The Science of Forgetting & Memory
A Feature, Not a Glitch:
Forgetting is a biological necessity (called Synaptic Pruning). The brain deliberately clears out "noise" and outdated information to save energy and prioritize what is currently important.
When to Worry:
Forgetting becomes a medical issue when it disrupts daily functioning.
Normal: Forgetting where you put your keys.
Abnormal: Forgetting what keys are used for, or getting lost in your own neighborhood.
How to Upgrade Your Brain:
Sleep: It is the only time the brain "consolidates" memories, moving them from short-term to long-term storage.
Aerobic Exercise: It boosts blood flow and helps grow new brain cells.
Active Learning: Mastering complex new skills (like a language) builds new neural pathways, whereas passive entertainment does not.
Quote of the week
The Quote (Instructions for King Merikare)
"Make your memorial last through the love of you... A good character is a man’s true monument."
"Do not seize the property of another, nor covet the work of their hands."
"Do not oppress the widow; do not take the portion that belongs to the fatherless."
"More acceptable is the loaf of bread from an upright heart than the ox of the evildoer."
"God knows the treacherous, and He will requite him inevitably."
Advice of the week
"Do not let the easy, artificial dopamine from a screen desensitize your brain, making real-life intimacy feel slow or unstimulating by comparison."
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