Posted on 03/29/2012 1:50:56 PM PDT by therightliveswithus
The computer hacking group Anonymous has promised to shut down the Internet in its entirety this Saturday, March 31st, according to a post on "pastebin" which has since gotten 165,000 views. The piece states that Anonymous will be attempting this in order to protest "SOPA, Wallstreet, our irresponsible leaders and the beloved bankers who are starving the world for their own selfish needs out of sheer sadistic fun."
The post, which was then uploaded to Reddit, promises an attack on 13 root DNS servers. Anyone trying to access a website, it promises, will get an error message. The group, however, states that their action is not to "kill" the internet, but make a point.
How long the "blackout," as the post calls it, will last is unknown even to the hackers: "The very fact that nobody will be able to make new requests to use the Internet will slow down those who will try to stop the attack. It may only lasts one hour, maybe more, maybe even a few days. No matter what, it will be global. It will be known."
Members of Reddit have given the post over 1,000 "upvotes" at the time of this article, and the number is expected to grow. Under comments, Reddit users are arguing about whether this could actually work. The top comment reads, "Good luck with that...," with the second highest reading, in part, "I do wish them the best, simply for the fact that it would be historic and entertaining."
(Excerpt) Read more at punditpress.com ...
Simple Remedy: write down the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for your favorite sites (e.g., 209.157.64.200 for FR) and substitute that in the URL in the address you are seeking (e.g., http://209.157.64.200/tag/*/index) and voila! you are connected without using DNS to resolve the alphabetic host name.
You can find the IP address by connecting to a site normally now, and opening a command window in Windows and using the netstat command to see where your http session is connected. (MAC has a way also but it eludes me).
I have a list of all the sites I use daily so I can bypass DNS if needed. Comodo offers a secure DNS that will likely prevail even if the fabled root servers get attacked (see http://www.comodo.com/secure-dns/ for info). Internet is survivable in the extreme. Pretend you are Chinese and trying to stream Rush. Be inventive.
All I got is
Grow up and KMA.............
I have two families flying on Saturday. Two adults in one, and two adults and two grandchildren in the other.
Since my husband just died, I am feeling faint.
Please tell me that messing with the internet will not affect flights and travel plans!
Thanks for an informative post.
I’m sorry for your loss.
As for air travel this Saturday, I’m sure it will be the same as it was last Saturday.
Whatever. It would probably be a healthy thing for Americans to actually venture out into the real world for a little bit on Saturday.
Please accept our deepest sympathy.
Be assured thar Air travel will be unaffected precisely because their ‘real work’ is done on networks separate and apart from the ‘commercial internet’. Ditto for DOD.
You would be well advised to write down the airlines’ customer service and flight arrival time phone numbers in advance of this ‘game’ -
It is just that, and there are many reasons why it will not succeed (see http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-anonymous-cant-ddos-root-dns-servers.html for more info).
Don’t work in DT Minneapolis do ya?
I am not with the group. But I did manage to bring down a whole building network today (intentionally!! all the name of “upgrades”)
it may affect message boards and computer terminals at the airport but the systems in the tower and on the plane do not need the type of servers they are going to try and attack Saturday.
Thank you for reminding me about "Earth Day". I think we will grill steaks for dinner in honor of the wonderful event!
“Nobody likes a know-it-all.”
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Speak for yourself!! Mikey likes it.
Just bookmarked FR, using the IP address, if I learned how to do that right, from the helpful “know it all”:
http://209.157.64.200/tag/*/index?tab=articles
:D
That should be the way to read FR, even if the DNS serveras were somehow down.
Mods if I got the IP wrong using that approach, please delete the post...
Whew, many thanks for that info.
Saturday is not exactly the best choice for maximum impact.
Certainly would aggravate the pr0n addicts.
It might screw up travel plans and the airlines ability to remain organized would probably be impeded. But the actual physical part of flying the planes won’t be effected at all, so anything in the air will remain there until its planned and controlled landing at the intended destination. Anybody not in the air might have a hard time processing their ticket.
Saturday, 31 March?
It makes me wonder what news scandals are going to come out in the Fed’s Friday P.M. news dump.
Looking good so far! (see http://www.internettrafficreport.com)- Asia taking the most hits.
You are here==> http://map-o-net.com/?d=freerepublic.com
Well, if the attempt was made, it doesn't seem to have to come to much.
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