“The Systems Team has made a major change to your hosting on Sunday which may have affected your website.  To increase security and improve server stability we have modified PHP.  This modification is the switch from “register_globals on” to “register_globals off”.  Most modern PHP scripts on your site will not be affected.  Older PHP software may have stopped functioning due to this change, and you are encouraged to test your website for correct function.

Any PHP programs which handle logins, files, or process forms could have been affected, and manifest as strange errors, the inability to login, or otherwise unexpected behavior from your website.  This sudden action was prompted by the discovery of active exploits on the servers you are hosted on.  These processes were causing issues with the stability and speed of your service, not limited to website responsiveness, strange slowdowns or periods of unavailability, and some forms of e-mails not being able to go through.  Given the relative rarity of PHP’s register_globals, the Systems Team made the decision to improve service and server reliability by shutting off this feature without advance notice in the effort to provide you with the best service possible.

PHP register_globals (now turned off) has been shut off in the default installation of PHP for 7 years now, although Superb had opted to keep support for this feature until now.  The register_globals feature is often cited on the web as a security risk.  On our systems it has been identified as the primary entry point for foreign hackers to abuse the systems you rely on.  Additionally, register_globals is being removed by Zend, the makers of PHP in PHP version 6.“