Well, I can only speak for phpBB3, not any of the others.
I personally have worked with and used phpBB3 since the start of the version 3 in Beta's and before that on phpBB2.

phpBB3 itself is very secure. They actually had the core code audited by a outside security company before its release.

There are a ton of free phpBB3 themes available. Just make sure they are for the correct version you are using and only download them from good sources. I can point you to them, if needed.

phpBB3 modifications should only be installed on a live site from someone reputable or from the phpBB.com mod database where the mods are approved and audited by their team.

As far as spam bots, and spam posters, you will get that with anything.

If you use phpBB3 from the phpBB.com download, support is freely available on a great community that is very active.

Also by me here, in this Warrior Support area. If I see phpBB in the title I will most likely read it and answer.

Ever notice that you don't hear too much about viruses on Linux? That doesn't mean that Linux is necessarily inherently more secure than Windows (although I think it is!), but it is in large part due to it not being as popular as Windows, so the bad guys focus their efforts there to maximize their returns.

In that spirit, I would also consider some not-so-well-known, but well-regarded forum platforms. A few come to mind:

• Vanilla Forums
• SMF Forums
• FusionBB

Cheers!

I have seen hacks for nearly all you mention here. Most you can do is just keep up with the security updates.

A few more things that will make your install a little more secure
1) Move things around, rename directories (and update the code to reflect them)
2) Looooooong passwords
3) Keep track of your logs, log bad login attempts and IP addresses, add these to your .htacess as deny
4) Run checks yourself, ratproxy, skipfish etc

I like SMF... is more enhaced.

Will you consider vbulletin?

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Every platform is vulnerable to attack. That said, some are better than others and this usually relates to the responsiveness of the community to release patches as required.

If you can only go with a free product I would be putting my money (or reputation) with the latest version of phpbb.

That said, how you actually install, configure and use this platform will also have a great bearing on its attack surface and robustness. Make sure you follow a good guide on how to install and use it most securely or pay someone who knows what they are doing to set it up for you.

I agree with spudnick - Linux kernel is definetly more secure than that of Windows.

A.

Hi,

I would recommend you to go with PHPBB as mostly you can customize the DB as well as code as per your requirement with you can bridge this forum with your existing site.
As per my knowledge, PHPBB is also proven for security.