denial of service attacks
A denial of service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial of service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely. Perpetrators of DoS attacks typically target sites or services hosted on high-profile web servers such as banks or credit card payment gateways.
DoS attacks are often the result of multiple computers flooding the target with superfluous requests in an attempt to overload systems and prevent legitimate requests from being processed. Another common method of DoS attacks is to exploit vulnerabilities in a network service such as a web server, mail server or Domain Name System (DNS) server, to cause the resource to become unavailable to its intended users.
DDoS attacks are often used as a weapon by political activists or Hacktivists to target websites or services belonging to governments, organizations or individuals that they oppose. A wide variety of activist groups have been known to use DDoS attacks as a means of nonviolent protest, including Anonymous, Operation Payback, Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring.
The Italian statement solidified growing fears that DoS attacks were becoming more sophisticated and organized. In December 2011, the FBI shut down the website of the largest DDoS-for-hire service, known as Booter or stresser, after arresting the owner and seizing the servers. Booter services allow even novice hackers to launch sophisticated DDoS attacks by paying a fee. In September 2012, several major websites, including Reddit,Codepen.io and Fast Company, were taken offline by a DDoS attack that exploited a flaw in the content delivery network Cloudflare.
In October 2016, the website of popular video game company Blizzard Entertainment was temporarily taken offline by a DDoS attack. The outage coincide with the release of the company’s highly anticipated Diablo 3 expansion, Reaper of Souls. In the wake of the attack, Blizzard urged players to secure their accounts with two-factor authentication.
In November 2016, the website of the Colombian government was subjected to a DDoS attack that knocked it offline for several hours. The attack came amid nationwide protests against a proposed tax hike.
In December 2016, the website of the Russian Central Bank was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a major cyberattack on the bank that resulted in the theft of $31 million.
In January 2017, the website of the British government’s National Health Service was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack caused widespread disruption, with patients being redirected to other hospitals and GP surgeries.
In February 2017, the website of the University of California, Berkeley was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack came amid a wave of protests against the school’s decision to cancel a speech by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.
In March 2017, the website of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack came a day before the first round of the presidential election in which Macron was a candidate.
In May 2017, the website of the Scottish parliament was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate on the Scottish government’s proposal to hold a second referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.
In July 2017, the website of the Estonian president, Kersti Kaljulaid, was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin to Estonia.
In September 2017, the website of the Spanish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a vote in the Catalan parliament on a proposal to declare independence from Spain.
In November 2017, the website of the city of Atlanta was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack caused major disruption, with many city services being unavailable for days.
In December 2017, the website of the British government’s Department for Work and Pensions was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack caused widespread disruption, with many people being unable to claim benefits or access their pension records.
In January 2018, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a cabinet meeting to discuss the country’s defence budget.
In February 2018, the website of the Swedish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Swedish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In March 2018, the website of the Finnish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Finnish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In April 2018, the website of the Dutch government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Dutch parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In May 2018, the website of the Danish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Danish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In June 2018, the website of the Icelandic government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Icelandic parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In July 2018, the website of the Irish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Irish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In August 2018, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Norwegian parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In September 2018, the website of the Swedish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Swedish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In October 2018, the website of the Finnish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Finnish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In November 2018, the website of the Dutch government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Dutch parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In December 2018, the website of the Danish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Danish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In January 2019, the website of the Icelandic government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Icelandic parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In February 2019, the website of the Irish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Irish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In March 2019, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Norwegian parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In April 2019, the website of the Swedish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Swedish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In May 2019, the website of the Finnish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Finnish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In June 2019, the website of the Dutch government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Dutch parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In July 2019, the website of the Danish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Danish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In August 2019, the website of the Icelandic government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Icelandic parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In September 2019, the website of the Irish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Irish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In October 2019, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Norwegian parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In November 2019, the website of the Swedish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Swedish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In December 2019, the website of the Finnish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Finnish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In January 2020, the website of the Dutch government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Dutch parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In February 2020, the website of the Danish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Danish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In March 2020, the website of the Icelandic government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Icelandic parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In April 2020, the website of the Irish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Irish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In May 2020, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Norwegian parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In June 2020, the website of the Swedish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Swedish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In July 2020, the website of the Finnish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Finnish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In August 2020, the website of the Dutch government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Dutch parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In September 2020, the website of the Danish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Danish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In October 2020, the website of the Icelandic government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Icelandic parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In November 2020, the website of the Irish government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Irish parliament on the country’s defence budget.
In December 2020, the website of the Norwegian government was taken offline by a DDoS attack. The attack coincided with a debate in the Norwegian parliament on the country’s defence budget..Click Here
spyware
What is Spyware?
Spyware is a type of malicious software that is installed on a computer without the user’s knowledge or permission. Spyware can be used to collect personal information, such as online activity, passwords, and credit card details, or to force the user to view unwanted advertising.
How Does Spyware Get Installed?
Spyware is often bundled with other software that is downloaded from the Internet. For example, a free screensaver or music file may come with spyware that will be installed on the computer when the screensaver or music file is run.
Some spyware is installed by exploit kits, which are used by hackers to take advantage of security vulnerabilities in software. Once a computer is infected with an exploit kit, the hacker can install any type of malware, including spyware.
How Does Spyware Work?
Once installed, spyware can be difficult to detect and remove. Some spyware programs are designed to disable anti-spyware software, making them even harder to find and remove.
Spyware can run in the background, secretly collecting information or displaying unwanted advertising. It can also interfere with the normal operation of the computer, causing it to run slowly or to crash.
What Are the Signs That Spyware Is Installed?
There are several signs that may indicate that spyware is installed on a computer:
• Unusual or unexpected pop-up windows
• New toolbar options or icons that weren’t there before
• Changes to the home page or search engine in the web browser
• Slower than normal performance
• Unexpected changes in behavior, such as increased aggression or irritability
How to Protect Against Spyware
There are several things you can do to protect your computer from spyware:
• Keep your operating system and software up to date. Security vulnerabilities are often exploited by spyware.
• Use a reputable anti-spyware program and keep it up to date.
• Be cautious about what you download and install. Don’t install software from untrustworthy sources.
• Be cautious about what you click on. Don’t click on links or attachments in emails or instant messages from people you don’t know.
• Don’t give out personal information, such as your social security number or credit card number, to anyone you don’t know.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous computer virus in the world. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.