It was not a fun day for many IT guys at some big Websites. Why? Because several were hit with Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS)? What is that, you may well ask? Actually, there several ways that DDoS attacks are implemented.
One common method of attack involves saturating the target machine with external communications requests, so much so that it cannot respond to legitimate traffic, or responds so slowly as to be rendered essentially unavailable to legitimate users.
Such attacks usually lead to a server overload. In general terms, DDoS attacks are implemented by either forcing the targeted computer(s) to reset, or consuming its resources so that it can no longer provide its intended service or obstructing the communication media between the intended users and the victim so that they can no longer communicate adequately.
There are many ways to implement a DDoS attack, most are too complicated to go into here. But in the last 48 hours, DDoS attacks have hit Evernote, Feedly and several World Cup sites. In the case of the latter, they were warned some time ago by the hacker group “Anonymous” that such an attack would be forthcoming. And sadly, they lived up to their promise.
In the case of Feedly, they were also warned that an attack was imminent, but it would be called off if they paid a ransom demand. They refused and the attack took place. Actually there were two attacks…one yesterday and another one this morning. I am not sure why Evernote was attacked.
The attack on Feedly made it difficult to get this blog out. Feedly is the news aggregator I use to find stories used here. I comb through hundreds of sites aggregated on Feedly, looking for stories that fit my intended audience. Thank God, Feedly came back on this afternoon so I was able to finish up this blog in time. Evernote is also back on line, but I cannot tell you the current status of the World Cup sites.
Of course, it is against the law to do such a thing, but it is difficult to track down the perpetrators. Law enforcement agencies have been looking for “Anonymous” for years with no luck. The only good thing I can say about them is they don’t use blackmail as a weapon against sites…they are more politically motivated. Whatever!
In another story, Amazon quietly introduced their own music streaming business this morning. Currently it is for Amazon Prime members only (but its free), and as I am one of those, I had a chance to play with it. An updated application for it was installed on my computer today as well as on my iPad. It works as advertised, however I use the Amazon Music Player on my Roku Box to play most of the music through my stereo and it does not yet work on Roku. So I doubt I will use it much until it does.
There is much more info on these stories and others, so I suggest you give them a read. So until next time, I wish you a happy weekend. -JRC
Tech News and Opinions
Feedly and Evernote hit with DDoS after refusing to pay ransom
Evernote's service is returning to normal after a DDoS attack hit yesterday, while Feedly has been knocked offline after refusing to pay a ransom and stated on its blog that it is currently "working with our network providers to mitigate the attack as best as we can". It is now back on line. Update: Feedly was knock off the Net by a second DDoS attack this morning.
World Cup websites struck down by DDoS attacks
Various websites associated to the World Cup have been struck by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack ahead of the tournament's opening match today.
Amazon Prime Music is no Spotify killer, but it doesn't need to be
Amazon is getting into the streaming music game. The company has officially launched Prime Music, a new service that offers Prime customers access to over 1 million songs and hundreds of curated playlists.
Hey, Apple! Don’t forget about the Windows users
The level of integration between Apple mobile and desktop operating systems looks impressive, but maybe Apple should be focusing on how to provide that level of integration for Windows users with iOS devices. Microsoft is integrating its apps for Apple users now.
Apple's Beats buy the result of executive ignorance
According to sources, many of the company's own employees have opted for Pandora and Spotify over Apple's streaming service, iTunes Radio. Those sources also said Apple's management failed to see Spotify or Pandora as threats, causing the company to "panic" and acquire Beats.
Computer Tips and Tricks
Download the ‘Windows 8.1 Work Smart Guide’ from Microsoft
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Review: Microsoft Office Online vs. Apple iWork for iCloud vs. Google Drive
Online word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation apps can be surprisingly useful, or surprisingly lame, and not even Microsoft aces Office document compatibility
Firefox 30 Delivers 7 Security Fixes, Other Changes
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How to Fix a Computer that Keeps Waking Up
Malware infections are sometimes the cause but more often it is some device that is waking the machine up. In this tip, I will describe several settings in your system that may keep waking up your PC.
Netflix Has a New Tool for Checking Video Quality
A new tool has been discovered on Netflix's website which lets users test their ISP's performance on the video streaming service in real-time
Mobile Computing
The best file managers for Android
There are a lot of good file managers for Android, but which one should you use?
The Android 'toxic hellstew' survival guide
Android itself is a strong operating system, but the way that the platform is delivered to end-users is critically flawed. This survival guide gives Android users the information they need to stay safe.
Fastest Mobile Networks
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Siri tips and tricks that don't require iOS 8
Apple unveiled new features for Siri in the latest version of its mobile OS, but you don't need to wait for iOS 8 to find cool stuff to ask the voice assistant.
Skype 5.0 brings a taste of Windows Phone to iOS
Microsoft announced a big refresh to its Skype for iPhone app earlier this week, and it’s now starting to roll it out to handsets.
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