On 8/6/09 Twitter was attacked! It came from computers all over the world and was so large that Twitter didn't even know it was under attack until it crashed. This was called a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Graham Cluley, a consultant at Internet security firm Sophos, explained in an article by C. McCarthy in CNET News, that DDoS attacks come from millions of infected computers called botnets.
During the DDoS attack, zombie computers were used to inundate Twitter's servers with communication requests and cause trouble. Some of these computers could belong to people who have Twitter accounts. Because they either did not install or update their security software, visited risqu sites, or downloaded movies and music from unsecure sights, their computers had become zombie computers.
It was difficult for Twitter to deal with the attack because it was hard to distinguish legitimate Twitter communications from communications that were part of the attack. They did not want to block access from IP addresses as many of the computers that were sending the DDoS traffic to Twitter belonged to law abiding people.
The question is "What Caused the Twitter DDoS Attack?" There are several possibilities.
1 So many Twitters, who did not have adequate security on their computers, had become zombie computers and made it easy for hackers to attack Twitter.
2 Paul Henry, a security analyst explained that it happened at the same time as the annual Hacker Convention where they introduced a new version of the Koobface malware. This malware was found on Twitter messages designed to lure potential victims to fake AV web pages.
3 A spokeswoman from Facebook thought that the DDoS on Twitter might have been directed at an individual who has a presence on a number of sites, rather than the sites themselves.
4 A blogger from Europe believes that a foreign country was behind the attack because an attack of such a large scale that affected three worldwide services with numerous servers could only be organized by someone with huge resources.
If your computer was a zombie computer that was used in the Twitter DDoS attack, you can learn how important it is to install security software on our computers and continuously update them. This will keep them safe and secure and not put Twitter or any other site at risk of being attacked.
I can identify with you because a few years ago I had no security software on my computer. Then it started to slow down. I met someone who told me he could help. I took a test and they found 7,500 malicious codes on my computer. I signed up for personal computer services. A team of techs cleaned up my computer and installed professional grade software. I occasionally call them if I have any computer related issues.
Check list to see if your computer security adequately protects you from hackers:
Does Your Computer Security Have
Alerts of unexpected events that could harm your computer?
Daily scans that detect and remove malware before it harms your computer?
The latest security updates?
A combination of antivirus+antispyware?
Anti-rootkit technology that closes up the holes in the back of your computer so hackers can't get in?
Protection for your critical data and sensitive information so it won't become compromised or modified?
Protection for your organization's computing assets so it won't be lost and/or damaged from network attacks?
A firewall that is monitored?
Fully protected emails and attachments?
Improved performance of your computer?
A team of techs to keep your computer clean and running well?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, check out my information blog or contact me to find out how your computer can be protected from hackers and cybercriminals and never become a zombie computer again.
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