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DoubleClick Hit by DDoS Attack

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hard-rain-falls dept.

YetAnotherName writes "The Washington Times is reporting that everyone's most beloved online advertising distributor, DoubleClick, was subject to a DoS attack crippling the company's DNS servers, and preventing up to 75% of advertising from making it to web pages and surfers' eyes."

25 of 531 comments (clear)

  1. DoubleClick is still around? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's been so long since I've seen an ad I forgot about them.

  2. Re:Sad news by byolinux · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't think I've seen a banner ad in a year or so.

    I used IE the other day for the first time in ages, and was surprised by a popup.

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    Join the Free Software Foundation
  3. Old News for Nerds, Stuff that's Days Old by dsanfte · · Score: 4, Informative

    Seriously, Slashdot needs to shape up, or stop trying to be a news site. This happened yesterday. If you can't get your editors to greenlight stories faster than 24hours in advance, let subscribers do it like Fark does.

    --
    occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
  4. I didn't notice by Patik · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've had the following in my HOSTS file for a while now

    0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.com
    0.0.0.0 ads.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad2.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad3.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad4.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad5.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad6.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad7.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad8.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad9.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad10.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad11.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad12.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad13.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad14.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad15.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad16.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad17.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad18.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad19.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad20.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.ch.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.ca.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.de.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.fr.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.jp.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.nl.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.no.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ad.uk.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ln.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 m.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 m2.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 iv.doubleclick.net
    0.0.0.0 ebay.doubleclick.net

    Lameness filter randomness: eed d ed wdwe de ff g v fdovk fok fb f osvi jfvioj asv d vp vv jspavj spav dsv aspdvj ede oijf o greg ewrg

    1. Re:I didn't notice by owlmon · · Score: 5, Informative

      > I've had the following in my HOSTS file for a while now
      >
      > 0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.com
      > 0.0.0.0 ads.doubleclick.net
      > ...

      Some alternatives that are fun:

      1. Install privoxy from sourceforge.net. This is a local http proxy that allows you to filter out web content using regular expressions. So you can easily blank out any URL that contains the string "doubleclick." This is easier and more complete than trying to enumerate all the hostnames that Doubleclick Inc. uses. Privoxy is multi-platform; you can use it under Linux, Windows, etc.

      2. Install posadis from sourceforge.net. This is a caching DNS server that you can install on your computer. It allows you to control how domain names (like *.doubleclick.net) get resolved by ALL the programs on your computer. I use it to essentially blackhole domains that I don't like. Once again, this is a multi-platform project. In particular, under Windoze, it runs as a service. It has an irritating bug: under Windoze, it will occasionally start using 100% CPU. When this happens, you have to restart the posadis service. A hassle, verily. But I enjoy having the control that derives from running my own DNS server.

      3. Use a firewall (hardware or software) to block out numeric IP addresses. For example, 216.73.92.112 is www.doubleclick.net, so it should be blocked. I used to use this approach. I liked the idea of absolutely blocking any packets going to or from the bad guys, regardless of the DNS name used. The problem with this approach is that outfits like doubleclick.net will use a ton of different numeric IP addresses, and it's difficult to keep up with them.

    2. Re:I didn't notice by Rie+Beam · · Score: 3, Informative

      I should mention there's a firefox extension that blocks ads based on regular expressions. Yet another reason to drop IE.

    3. Re:I didn't notice by magefile · · Score: 2, Informative

      You can't use *.doubleclick.*? I do that in adblock. Granted, the hosts file and adblock are two totally different beasts, but I'm surprised the hosts file doesn't support regex.

  5. You know, I never noticed. by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 3, Informative

    Thanks, Mike!

    I rarely see ads in either IE or Mozilla.

    --

    ---
    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  6. Re:Sad news by adam+mcmaster · · Score: 5, Informative

    I agree, adblock is very useful.

  7. Re:Sad news by byolinux · · Score: 4, Informative

    Adblock most of the time or PithHelmet for those Safari Moments.

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    Join the Free Software Foundation
  8. Re:Sad news by JPriest · · Score: 5, Informative
    Not that box, I am pinging their primary DNS server and still getting a reply, they have 4.

    ns1.doubleclick.net
    ns2.doubleclick.net
    ns3.doubleclick.net
    ns4.doubleclick.net

    This way you can check your networks to see if any machines are hitting these DNS server. I am going to keep my ping going to make sure ns1 stays online. j/k

    You can do your part to reduce the load by adding doubleclicks ad-servers to your /etc/hosts file as 127.0.0.1 (this can be done in windows too).

    --
    Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
  9. Thank you MyDoom! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Thanks Mydoom! =)

    I didnt notice though.. those are blocked anyway

    Id recommend everyone add this to their hosts file:

    127.0.0.1 ad.ca.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.de.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.es.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.fr.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.free6.com
    127.0.0.1 ad.it.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.iwin.com
    127.0.0.1 ad.jp.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.kr.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.linkexchange.com
    127.0.0.1 ad.linksynergy.com
    127.0.0.1 ad.nl.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.no.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad.preferences.com
    127.0.0.1 ad.se.doubleclick.net

  10. Old news by EvilStein · · Score: 4, Informative

    IF this isn't a second DDoS, then this happened a couple days ago already.

  11. Re:Sad news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Or a host file update! I use the host file from this website: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/ it's updated every month. That in conjunction with Firefox and no ads! Yay!

  12. Re:Sad news by Pharmboy · · Score: 2, Informative

    I use this little thing called a "hosts" file, so my IE popups are all blank ;) stuff like:

    127.0.0.1 ads.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad2.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad3.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 ad4.doubleclick.net

    except I DO allow ads.osdn.net because im a nice guy and dont mind looking at the purdy pictures from them (and they are not usually popups). I found the hosts file here on /., with about 100 lines of entries.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  13. Re:Sad news by rmohr02 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Why 127.0.0.1 instead of 0.0.0.0? Wouldn't you rather the requests for files go nowhere as opposed to right back at your machine?

  14. Re:Sad news by Pharmboy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Have you tried firefox?

    I have it installed on this box, along with IE. I still use IE half the time. I use mozilla on my linux boxes, but (i hate to say it) there are are certain aspects of IE that are more comfortable, or at least more familiar. Keep in mind, im an old geek, not a hobbiest. Been using Linux and GNU software for years and it is catching up very fast, but I still use the tools that make me more productive, and IE fits that bill at least half the time. The pops ups don't annoy me as bad as they used to, now that they are all blank pages.

    Oh, i found that hosts file address here. I chang a few lines for my uses (travelocity.com and osdn.com for instance) because it may break a few things, like Pogo, but its a great template for a hosts file if you customize it a bit for yourself.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  15. Re:Quick refresher on how the "FREE" sites work... by dsanfte · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ad blocking is something caused by a social dynamic, and as such appeals for single individuals to unblock ads in order to "save the site" are utterly futile. It makes zero difference. People hate ads.

    Five people listening to you isn't going to save the web advertising industry any more than me convincing (at great personal effort, mind you) five people to stop pirating Photoshop is going to see a noticeable increase in revenues for Adobe. It is not a statistically significant number, and all it ends up doing is hurting the individuals.

    Lastly, on the subject of "innovation". You know those piracy statistics software companies put out, so they can point to them and say "This is why software prices are so high! Piracy!"? Please tell me, have you ever heard of a company dropping prices because their sales went up?! The very thought of it is insane.

    Piracy, like ad blocking, in the end, is caused by social dynamics that no single invididual bucking a trend could ever hope to reverse.

    --
    occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
  16. Re:Sad news by JPriest · · Score: 4, Informative

    Becasue it takes a long time for nowhere to reply.

    --
    Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
  17. Re:Sad news by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 4, Informative
    Ok, I realize

    you are joking

    alexa is crap
    but doubleclick doesn't give a flying fuck about slashdot.

    --

    There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
  18. Re:Sad news by Trent05 · · Score: 3, Informative

    These might be useful too. I direct em' to 0.0.0.0 cause I'm gangsta. :P

    1.primaryads.com
    a.tribalfusion.com
    ad.doublec lick.net
    ad.aboutwebservices.com
    adlog.com.com
    ads.accelerator-media.com
    ads.ebaumsworld.com
    ad s.nwsource.com
    ads.vnuemedia.com
    ads.weather.com
    ads.webtender.com
    ads.x10.com
    ar.atwola.com
    a sg01.casalemedia.com
    c.casalemedia.com
    c4.maxser ving.com
    clk.admt.com
    g.msn.com
    isg01.casalemed ia.com
    isg02.casalemedia.com
    isg03.casalemedia.c om
    isg04.casalemedia.com
    isg05.casalemedia.com
    media.fastclick.net
    mediamgr.ugo.com
    oas.foxnews .com
    oascentral.premierinteractive.com
    oascentra l.theonion.com
    oascentral.washingtontimes.com
    pa gead2.googlesyndication.com
    rd.yahoo.com
    regman. freeze.com
    rightmedia.net
    servedby.advertising.c om
    shopping.msn.com
    spe.atdmt.com
    us.ard.yahoo. com
    view.atdmt.com
    www.googleadservices.com
    www .kinghost.com
    xads.zedo.com
    z1.adserver.com

    Apparently the lameness filter dosen't like me just copy and pasting my hosts file.

    --


    --
    The Marines: The few, the proud, the not very bright. - Slashdot tagline 04/21/05
  19. Re:Quick refresher on how the "FREE" sites work... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    Want to keep the subscription sites down and keep the free web up? Leave the banner ads be. Hell, click on them once in a while. If the advertisers and website are satisfied with how their ads are doing, they'll be less aggressive and less likely to piss you off.
    Simply clicking on ads is not going to please the advertisers. They are advertising because they hope you will buy their product or service, not just that you will see their ad. Click on all the banner ads you want; if you never buy anything after clicking on an ad, you are not supporting the advertiser. Yes, clickthru rates may be one metric that determines how much money your favorite free site gets from an advertiser, and in that way you can support a site by clicking on the ads, but that advertiser will stop advertising on the site entirely if they aren't getting a return on their investment.

    Meanwhile, by the time the ads are blocked by your proxy or whatever, your favorite site has already cashed its check and taken the advertiser's money. You should not feel guilty about browsing free sites while blocking or ignoring ads. I liken it to television advertising; when was the last time you felt guilty about getting up for a sandwich during the commercial break on your favorite show? You shouldn't, of course. The people who made the show have already been paid by the time you see it. It is the advertiser who risks losing income when people ignore ads.
  20. Re:Quick refresher on how the "FREE" sites work... by strider44 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I like using AdBlock with the setting to just hide the ads instead of not download them at all activated. This doesn't really hurt anyone (I don't usually look at the ads anyway, and refuse to click it even if it is tempting and catching my eye, so the ad companies don't really lose money, and the site still gets their view).

  21. Re:Sad news by Read+Icculus · · Score: 3, Informative

    Use a real hosts file, like This one . It's massive, constantly updated, and formatted nicely to show you how to redirect slashdot.org to "s".

    --
    Anti-social? My code is just platform-specific.
  22. Re:Sad news by kuiken · · Score: 2, Informative

    copy this to a file and import to adblock and you'll almost never see an add again

    [Adblock] /(hot|spy)log/ /[\W\d](double|fast)click[\W\d]/ /[\W\d](onlineads?|ad(banner|click|-?flow|frame|im a?g(es?)?|_id|js|log|serv(er|e)?|stream|_string|s| trix|type|vertisements?|v|vert|xchange)?)[\W\d]/ /[\W\d]click(stream|thrutraffic|thru|xchange)[\W\d ]/ /[\W\d]dime(xchange|click)[\W\d]/ /[\W\d]value(stream|xchange|click)[\W\d]/ /[\W\d_](top|bottom|left|right|)?banner(s|id=|\d|_ )[\W\d]/ /[\W_](b(an|nr)s?|jump|redir(ect|s)?|stat)[\W_]/ /\/buy_assets\// /\D\d{2,3}x\d{2,3}\D/ /\W(cy|r)?c(ou)?nt(er|ed)?\W/ /p(artner|ing\.cgi|romotion)/ /sp(onsor|ymagic)/ /top(100|cto)/
    googlesyndication
    http://a.as-us. falkag.net/dat/bgf/*
    http://view.atdmt.com/MSN/iv iew/*
    reklama
    us.yimg.com/a/

    --

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