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Twitter Struggles Under DDoS Attack
ISPs have to revert to making you happy the old-fashioned way...
While a growing number of ISPs (even some of the smaller ones) now use Twitter to provide direct customers support, they might be having a hard time of it today. The social networking website in a blog post notes that they're working to counter the attack and keep the site online. "We are defending against this attack now and will continue to update our status blog as we continue to defend and later investigate," co-founder Biz Stone writes. While Comcast pioneered the use of the site for customer support, the vast majority of broadband ISPs have since followed suit.
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

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That explains...

Why I was having a hard time connecting on my iPhone today.
Expand your moderator at work

DoLeMiTe
My Dixie Wrecked
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join:2001-01-11
Pitcairn, PA

DoLeMiTe to ptrowski

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to ptrowski

Re: That explains...

it's the end of the world. what are we going to do?
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

3 recommendations

patcat88

Member

Re: That explains...

said by DoLeMiTe:

it's the end of the world. what are we going to do?
Goto the mall. Where else would a twitter user go?

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

said by patcat88:
said by DoLeMiTe:

it's the end of the world. what are we going to do?
Goto the mall. Where else would a twitter user go?
Wow, real witty. Maybe you have time to go to the mall but those of us with real jobs don't.
I like to see posts from some of my favorite comedians, radio shows, movie directors, and some clients.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

said by ptrowski:
said by patcat88:
said by DoLeMiTe:

it's the end of the world. what are we going to do?
Goto the mall. Where else would a twitter user go?
Wow, real witty. Maybe you have time to go to the mall but those of us with real jobs don't.
I like to see posts from some of my favorite comedians, radio shows, movie directors, and some clients.
Yet, with your "real job", you have time to waste reading non work-related twitter postings....

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
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ptrowski

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Re: That explains...

said by nixen:

Yet, with your "real job", you have time to waste reading non work-related twitter postings....
Correct, I do. Isn't it great?

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

said by ptrowski:
said by nixen:

Yet, with your "real job", you have time to waste reading non work-related twitter postings....
Correct, I do. Isn't it great?
Notice the use of quotation marks. If you actually had the "real job" that you claim - that keeps you too busy to piss off to a mall - you'd have other, more pressing things to do than wasting time online or with Twitter.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
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ptrowski

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Re: That explains...

said by nixen:
said by ptrowski:
said by nixen:

Yet, with your "real job", you have time to waste reading non work-related twitter postings....
Correct, I do. Isn't it great?
Notice the use of quotation marks. If you actually had the "real job" that you claim - that keeps you too busy to piss off to a mall - you'd have other, more pressing things to do than wasting time online or with Twitter.

Right. I guess placing software consultants for the past 15 years doesn't allow me any free time. Silly me.

kw0
Premium Member
join:2004-06-12
New Albany, OH

3 recommendations

kw0 to patcat88

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to patcat88
Twitter's existence and popularity baffle me.

FiL25
Premium Member
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD

FiL25

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

same...

Mark
I stand with my feet
join:2009-07-11
Canada

Mark

Member

Re: That explains...

Ditto...
averagedude
join:2002-01-30
San Diego, CA

averagedude

Member

Re: That explains...

double ditto

ctceo
Premium Member
join:2001-04-26
South Bend, IN

ctceo

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

Triple Ditto

It's bad enough I had to fight to keep my friends with the same free e-mail providers, then I had to fight to keep them on the same IM program, Then I had to fight to keep them on one profile site, Now Ihave to fight to keep them on the same blog site.

Here's my advice:

Step One: Offer your friends the option of using a program like Pidgin or Trillian. If that fails, screw it, give them you contact info and tell them to contact you when they wish to talk.

winsyrstrife
River City Bounce
Premium Member
join:2002-04-30
Brooklyn, NY

winsyrstrife to Mark

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to Mark
I think most of Twitter's popularity comes from being able to receive the person's feelings/thoughts right at that moment. Provided they aren't screened by that person's agent or PR person. I believe Ashton Kutcher doesn't screen his, and that's how his wife's pics (or something like that) were on the net.

It's a cool idea. I haven't used it yet, I dunno who I'd be interested enough in following.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
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join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: That explains...

said by winsyrstrife:

I think most of Twitter's popularity comes from being able to receive the person's feelings/thoughts right at that moment. Provided they aren't screened by that person's agent or PR person. I believe Ashton Kutcher doesn't screen his, and that's how his wife's pics (or something like that) were on the net.

It's a cool idea. I haven't used it yet, I dunno who I'd be interested enough in following.
I've seen just *one* use of it that made sense: as a tool for communicating between a presenter and an audience (e.g., a large lecture session in a university). Beyond that, it seems pointlessly instantaneous for a broadcast-style medium. Simply put, unless a communication is directly for me and requires real-time return communication, it seems a bit pointless. And, if it does, there's things like the phone or AIM/Yahoo/MSN/gTalk.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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ptrowski

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Re: That explains...

said by nixen:
said by winsyrstrife:

I think most of Twitter's popularity comes from being able to receive the person's feelings/thoughts right at that moment. Provided they aren't screened by that person's agent or PR person. I believe Ashton Kutcher doesn't screen his, and that's how his wife's pics (or something like that) were on the net.

It's a cool idea. I haven't used it yet, I dunno who I'd be interested enough in following.
I've seen just *one* use of it that made sense: as a tool for communicating between a presenter and an audience (e.g., a large lecture session in a university). Beyond that, it seems pointlessly instantaneous for a broadcast-style medium. Simply put, unless a communication is directly for me and requires real-time return communication, it seems a bit pointless. And, if it does, there's things like the phone or AIM/Yahoo/MSN/gTalk.
So you can call up Kevin Smith and talk to him about howthe filming is going on his new movie, or maybe shoot him an IM? Wow, you are important.

I like to read what is going on with things like that. Opie and Anthony post pictures during the show. You read it, say "that's neat" and then move on.
Pv8man
join:2008-07-24
Hammond, IN

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Pv8man to kw0

Member

to kw0
I would have to say that Twitter defiantly has it's uses and benefits.

For example the Iranian people revolting and organizing after almost all forms of communication was blocked by the Iranian government.

Twitter has a play in this Iran revolution, I hope people around the world are watching and learning from the people of Iran.

They are also using Facebook by posting pictures of the army militants faces that are beating and killing random men, women and children, all over the internet, which is making the militants very worried about being identified and prosecuted if the people DO take back their government

BOGBS
Premium Member
join:2004-05-11

BOGBS to kw0

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to kw0
said by kw0:

Twitter's existence and popularity baffle me.
I must know when someone takes a dump, and every other piece of their daily life.
PittsPgh
Premium Member
join:2003-08-21
Pittsburgh, PA

PittsPgh to patcat88

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to patcat88
said by patcat88:

said by DoLeMiTe:

it's the end of the world. what are we going to do?
Goto the mall. Where else would a twitter user go?
But they couldn't Tweet that they were going to the mall.
LOL
Expand your moderator at work
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned) to ptrowski

Member

to ptrowski
Oh no. Stupid Twatter users can't use their stupid twitter. booo hooo.

DoLeMiTe
My Dixie Wrecked
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join:2001-01-11
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DoLeMiTe to ptrowski

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to ptrowski
Here is my twitter page.

»twitter.com/jadams821

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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ptrowski

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Re: That explains...

said by DoLeMiTe:

Here is my twitter page.

»twitter.com/jadams821
That is actually funny. I never post on Twitter because that would be my posts. My life if not that exciting.

But I listen to Opie and Anthony, and follow some of them. I really like the Kevin Smith movies and follow his posts. And there are CEO's of companies here that post.

Pretty simple solution. Don't like it, don't use it.

quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium Member
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI

quetwo

Premium Member

should have seen it coming...

I guess the network admins or security folks didn't go to DefCon where they showed everybody how to do this really simple DOS attack. Pretty much it boils down to one linux machine can take down one web server, regardless of bandwidth.

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb

Member

Re: should have seen it coming...

Yeah, it's slowtris and it's real easy to guard against. Limit your TCP connections to something less than 2.5 hours (usual default) to something a little better like 300 seconds.

Slowtris works on the principal that web servers are "nice" and will keep you connections open for you, except it just sends data at around 1 bps so that the web server keeps it open, then it just opens another connection and then another, eventually just filling up all 65535 connections.

Another easy way to prevent this, don't allow unlimited connection sessions from a single IP
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: should have seen it coming...

said by knightmb:

Another easy way to prevent this, don't allow unlimited connection sessions from a single IP
What about ISPs in countries that weren't well endowed with IPs where the major ISPs all NAT 1000s or 10000s of users behind 1 IP? what about AOL users behind the AOL proxy?

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb

Member

Re: should have seen it coming...

said by patcat88:
said by knightmb:

Another easy way to prevent this, don't allow unlimited connection sessions from a single IP
What about ISPs in countries that weren't well endowed with IPs where the major ISPs all NAT 1000s or 10000s of users behind 1 IP? what about AOL users behind the AOL proxy?
Tough love I'm afraid. The key word is no "unlimited" sessions, even allowing 1,000 would allow all of these people to use it and still keep your web server from drowning in slow connections.

The worst that would happen is people from that ISP would be unable to connect, at least then the firewall logs would reveal where the attack is coming from.
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn to quetwo

Member

to quetwo
Funny part is Facebook got hit with the same attack but thanks to the akamai network survived with little to no slow downs.

Seems some admins don't know how to limit connections to 60 seconds and only allow 4 connections per ip

houkouonchi
join:2002-07-22
Ontario, CA

houkouonchi to quetwo

Member

to quetwo
said by quetwo:

I guess the network admins or security folks didn't go to DefCon where they showed everybody how to do this really simple DOS attack. Pretty much it boils down to one linux machine can take down one web server, regardless of bandwidth.
If the machines IP or IPs get firewalled (or all their subnets which you can get from their AS number) then no one machine isn't going to take down a web-server for every long until they get firewalled. If they are spoofing IPs then you just:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_syncookies

Problem solved...

Hookem99
Deep In The Heart
join:2007-07-18
Pflugerville, TX

Hookem99

Member

No problems here...

I saw an article earlier about this, but have had no issues sending or receiving tweets..... so far!

pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium Member
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA

pokesph

Premium Member

DDoS

It seems to be ok loading the pages, but tweeting a twit is a bit slow.. 1min+ post times (and counting)

Hope they sort through this soon :|

Titus
Mr Gradenko
join:2004-06-26

1 recommendation

Titus

Member

Re: DDoS

said by pokesph:

It seems to be ok loading the pages, but tweeting a twit is a bit slow..
Isn't it always?

nopantsdan
guiding you home
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join:1999-12-05
Parker, CO

1 edit

nopantsdan to pokesph

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to pokesph
yeah, i can't wait! //end sarcasm

rodriro
join:2007-05-21
Palo Alto, CA

rodriro

Member

Twitter

It's probably a bunch of Google networking engineers...

Hazy Arc
join:2006-04-10
Greenwood, SC

Hazy Arc

Member

Meh.

Who cares. The script kiddies didn't have a better target in mind?

milnoc
join:2001-03-05
Ottawa

milnoc

Member

A bit slow, but...

I'm still trying to get the Fail Whale!

siouxmoux12
@sbcglobal.net

siouxmoux12

Anon

So far No sign of that Fail Whale for me either.

twitter is working for me. and for everything else on the net. so this DDoS attack on twitter is just another news media frenzy to show how everyone is so dependent on all of these real time social media sites.

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Ahhhh....

Tweet!~

Niarlan
Excelsior
Premium Member
join:2002-11-09
Manville, NJ

Niarlan

Premium Member

Re: Ahhhh....

Sylvester finally got the bird eh

Nia

Mr Anon
@k12.il.us

Mr Anon

Anon

Don't know if its related or just me.

About 10:50ish Central time I had an issue getting to facebook it just timed out, haven't tried since.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Don't know if its related or just me.

said by Mr Anon :

About 10:50ish Central time I had an issue getting to facebook it just timed out, haven't tried since.
Seems it may be: »tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/2 ··· _twitter

Scatcatpdx
Fur It Up
join:2007-06-22
Portland, OR

2 edits

Scatcatpdx

Member

Re: You summed the Fail Whale

You summed the Fail Whale
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

I wonder if?

Will Weaselly ISP's want to charge Twitter for the use of their network while using Twitter's servers without paying a fee?

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Bet its not really a DDOS

they've always had issues with scale
kd6cae
P2p Shouldn't Be A Crime
join:2001-08-27
Bakersfield, CA

kd6cae

Member

and why would someone want to DDOS Twitter?

OK and why exactly would someone want to DDOS twitter anyway? Surely there must be a better target to satisfy their DDOS cravings, like say the RIAA or MPAA pages, lol. With all the good things the internet has to offer, I can't help but wonder what makes some people want to attack sites that don't mean much in the grand skeme of things when compared to other sites? Maybe we should have sites out there who's sole purpose is to be DDOS'd. I can understand folks perhaps wanting to attack RIAA or stuff like that, but Twitter, makes no sense.

•••••••

gigahurtz
Premium Member
join:2001-10-20
USA

gigahurtz

Premium Member

Imagine all the status updates..

when it comes back online!

JohnInSJ
Premium Member
join:2003-09-22
Aptos, CA

JohnInSJ

Premium Member

my twitter status

"trying to update my status on twitter"

Facebook kinda fell over for a while too.

Some really angry and bored 12 year olds out there, I guess.

•••

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

1 recommendation

SLD

Premium Member

I think it is the technet swarm

Actually, it is all the users downloading Windows 7 RTF from MS Technet and MSDN. Now *that* is a DOS attack!!!

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
Premium Member
join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Re: I think it is the technet swarm

Ya and its so slow only 50-90Kyte/sec

I thought I'd have a test computer ready to go by now

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Re: I think it is the technet swarm

You can get it fast using the Anakami (sp) download. I just got 1.5 - 2 MB/sec. Took about 20 minutes per disc. Go to the Top Downloads section.

GlobalMind
Domino Dude, POWER Systems Guy
Premium Member
join:2001-10-29
Indianapolis, IN

GlobalMind

Premium Member

Not much of a surprise.

Yea, well I use it, alot of the racers I watch use it...it's interesting on a number of levels at least for me.

Use is increasing in the business world as well, and sure enough news of the DDoS was on CNBC today. Funny stuff.

I think it's interesting when the media outlets freak out about this kind of thing. Like Twitter or Facebook are the cornerstones of our information grid.

Dude, it's a service, a free one at that...and some azzhat decided to play some games. Other sites were targeted as well. LiveJournal was one of them.
Rob_
Premium Member
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL

1 edit

Rob_

Premium Member

She would be phreaking out..

Need I say no more?
(warning, adult language)

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· H63Ali9U


»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· =channel


-Rob
dagg
join:2001-03-25
Galt, CA

dagg

Member

whats this twittter thing you speak of?

oddly, this issue has not affected my life in one bit.
i know, you are all shocked.

•••
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