August 6th, 2009

Twitter was brought down for several hours today by what is called a DoS attack  (Denial of Service).  This is done with several computers that are taken over by viruses and used to launch attacks against your own network or on other networks or services.  These computers that are overtaken are called Zombies.   If your computer isn’t equipped with up-to-date anti-malware software and the latest version of your operating system, you could  be part of the problem.

Twitter has confirmed that its outage Thursday morning and subsequent intermittent problems were due to an ongoing denial-of-service attack.

Typically a DoS attack, which is often called a distributed denial-of-service attack, results when multiple computers simultaneously try to access the site in question. Usually the reason that happens is because the attacking PCs are infected with malware that does the dirty work for whoever is behind the attack.

* Using a good anti-malware suite from a reputable vendors. Pathway Solutions can help you do an analysis to see if you are infected.

* Making sure your operating system has the latest patches. Visit Microsoft and Apple security pages for information.  Using a provider to make sure that you are up to date is a worry free way of taking care of this.

* Avoid clicking on e-mail links that take you to Web sites you’re not familiar with (malware is often distributed through “drive-by downloads” from unrepeatable or infected sites). Recently I have seen where you will get an email from yourself with an attachment that is infected.  This is a common way that the attack is introduced to your network.

For more help with securing your network and making sure all your systems are up to date and virus free visit http://itpws.com

Pathway Solutions. Inc.
scott@itpws.com

425.374.0888

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